Unique Curriculum

So, every blog post I always say.. up next is how I organize the Unique Curriculum in my classroom.  I think I have now said that at least 4 times.  Well, guess what! It is a Sunday morning and I am working in my classroom... the first thing I did was take video and pictures of how I organize Unique in my Classroom!  Just like anything, you need to do what is the best for you.  Here is just what I do.  Excuse some of the coughing, got to love the crazy weather change here in Texas right now.

As soon as the Unique Curriculum is posted for the month I print it off.  I have some amazing fairies by the names of Lopez and Lucy that cut it, laminate it, and put it together for me :)  I read through the information and pull out the Big Ideas.  This is posted as soon as you walk in my door.  These are just the big ideas we are going to work on throughout the month.  I pair the big Unique Idea with a picture symbols so my students know what we are talking about also.  Under each category is non-bold and bolded list.  The non-bold is for my level 1 learners and the bolded is for my level 2/3 learners.  I have 5 grade levels in my classroom and I want to make sure that I bump up the rigor and instruction as much as I can.  I also love that Unique also offers State Standards, Instructional Targets, and Scope and Sequence.  I also love that lesson 1 is always going to be a book, lesson 2 is going to be comprehension questions to go with lesson 1 and so on.  So, although the theme changes, the state standards for each lesson doesn't.  When planning for 5 grade levels, this is very helpful!  You cover everything... but don't have to reinvent the wheel to figure out what standard it goes with.  Thanks Unique!

Anyway!  So once I have the curriculum printed it off it goes to my lovely fairies and they cut, paste, laminate, and put it all together.  Before any lamination, however, we LABEL everything!  It might just say  U3 L2 (which stands for Unit 3 Lesson 2)

One of my folders with all of the materials laminated and inside (make sure to read to the very bottom to see some of my other tips.  

During the month I store my materials in a hanging folder box.  Each lesson has its own folder that has all of its materials inside.


So, I have it organized.. I have read over all of the information and it sounds great.. but how in the heck do I actually use it?


Having 5 different grade levels has made it a little tough to get as organized as I like to be, but I finally found what is working for me (okay.. okay.. so it took me to December to get that far)  On my lesson plans I have it broken into whole group, Keller small group, Lopez small group, Lucy small group, and science/social studies.

During my group I am always going to work on IEP's, PCI (our reading) and STAAR-alt objectives (our standardized testing)  Lopez is always going to work on language objectives and Lucy is always going to work on math objectives.  When planning for the week I look at what Unique recommends and use that in my plans.  We rotate groups about every 45 minutes.  This works for me this year because of the staffing I have... but as with anything this could change in a minute :)  I love that Unique has it leveled out for the different expectations of what a Level 1 student will do but also what a Level 2 and 3 student will do.  Thanks again Unique for bumping up my instruction!  So, if my lesson says Lesson 26 my staff knows to get the materials from the pink bucket for lesson 26.  If I am not using a Unique lesson during the group that day I still level out  my personal lesson plans.  Every Thursday, for instance, we work on spelling words for my level 3 students, my level 2 students work on putting the alphabet in order and filling in missing letters, and my level 1 students will participate in alphabet naming. 

Confused yet?  Bored out of your mind for reading the LONGEST blog ever?  If you have questions or want copies of my different materials feel free to email me! 




Other Tips:
-Unique uses alot of paper.  But it is SO beneficial!  So, to cut down on paper I print mine on half sheets.  
-I also do the velcro the SAME way on ALL of my materials!  The male side is on the part that leaves and the female side is the part that stays.  This is a great trick I learned during my student teaching :)  those little pieces I can stick on felt, on the carpet, or other areas to play games
-After a month is over I bag them in ziploc bags and store them away
-books that we used during the month go into our book center or independent work area
-some of the games will go into independent work area

Next blog (or 2) my AWESOME Secret Santa ideas at school using Pinterest and how I changed up my News 2 You. 

What a "Wonder"ful World

This year has been by far one of the craziest years ever!  Yesterday my husband called and asked if I was going to ever be home again.  I of course responded with yes, but I just need to finish a couple more things... give me 30 minutes.  You know that 30 minutes turned into an hour and a half.  I did eventually make it home to enjoy an evening of football and food.








I digress... This year has been a year of changes.  A year of ups and downs.  A year of just needing one thing to get a hold of.   A year of doubting myself if I was differentiating enough to meet the needs of my 5 different grade levels in my classroom.  This weekend I finally found it! I am an AVID user of www.brainpopjr.com as my students love it and I can modify and adapt it to all of my different learners.  I had been using wonderopolis.org and had a small space for it on my calendar area.  This weekend I saw the tweet for Wonder #427 and it all clicked! I am always looking for different ways to introduce topics, make learning exciting and different, and of course differentiate!  Because of this one Wonder my calendar and teaching went from the same old calendar time I have had for the last 5 years to something more inviting, "wonder"ful and different.  Please remember that since I have students that are in 4th and 5th grade I am in charge of STAAR-alt assessment.  Wonder #427 is What is your Favorite Holiday Cookie.




Here is what I did:
-wrote out all of the wonder words
-put picture symbols with some of the more important/easy to remember ones
-My 4th and 5th grade students will have to alphabetize these
-my younger students will participate in reading them
- The picture symbols next to the words, those are also at the bottom in a matching game I create.  
-my non-verbal students will be able to interact with the wonder words by matching picture symbols
-This week we are going to have a cookie exchange and all of my students will get to vote and GRAPH their favorite cookie!


Wow!  That little wonder changed my whole outlook.  It was a reminder that I do know what I am doing.. I do know how to differentiate.. I do know how to meet the needs of all my students.


Today ROCKED!
We started off with the wonder.  Our wonders we use for the whole week.  Today our wonder was... I wonder where we bake cookies?  I was SO IMPRESSED when my students answered with oven, kitchen, stove!
Wow.. way to rock it guys! I love my BUSY BEES!

Some more of my classroom calendar area.


Have you ever just changed one little thing in your classroom... and received a whole different outlook?  Thanks wonderopolis.org

Things That Make Me Happy

As many of you know, I am a slight overvolunteer (thanks Angela for the great word)  I have been since I was in 6th grade.  My parents instilled in me at a very young age to be a hard worker.  Not only to be a hard worker, but to give back to the community in different ways. The summer of my 6th grade year is when I began volunteering with Girl Scout Day Camp in Canyon.  I then began to volunteer with the education part of the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum.  I have spent countless hours volunteering on tons of different things.  One of my favorite quotes is:

"Do something because you love it, not because you expect a reward."

When I moved to Irving it was even more important for me to be involved in different activities because I longed for the small community feel of my home town.  I am so thankful that my parents taught me the importance of community and volunteering.  They also taught me that even though not everyone appreciates what you do, it is the thought that counts... and not to  stop what you are doing.

This past weekend I participated in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer 3 Day.  This was my 4th year.  I walked my first year to participate in it.  If you don't know about the event it is a 3 day walk that spans 60 miles.  During the weekend you tent camp in pink city.  To be able to walk you must also raise $2300.  After I walked the first year, I realized that I am a much better cheerleader and behind the scenes worker so I signed up for Crew.  I was put on Camp Logistics.  Camp Logistics is the advance team.  Our team goes in on Thursday morning and lays out the tent grid for the 1000s of tents, puts up the thousands of chairs, puts up hundreds of 8ft tables, puts out tons of trashcans, and does other odds and ends to get ready for the almost 3000 walkers.  On Friday when the walkers arrive we do what we can to make their life easier.  This means bussing the tables, picking up trash, emptying trash, offering kind words, and so much more.  We do this for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We are up before the walkers are up and we go to sleep much later.  On Sunday our job is to get up, make sure the walkers are taken care of, and then take everything down again so the staff can move to the next location.  This year the Dallas 3 Day raised over 7.1 million dollars for breast cancer.  Wow! I was a part of that!  How amazing to be a part of something so much bigger than me!  This year the school that I moved to had their first ever pink week and we raised over $430 in one week!  I was SO PROUD to be a part of a new community that was willing to give what they could!

This year I am learning so many new things, learning how to juggle my time better, and hopefully learning how to be a better person.  At the first of the year I asked someone for help or suggestions on what I could do to get everything done.  The response I got was.. "Andrea, you know you are at a new school this year, so maybe you shouldn't take on as much as you have in the past of after school activities." Wow... I have run into so many people this year that are having a tough time at their jobs.  I understand.. I get it.. I am there!  We all have tough jobs.. ones that take up so much of our time.  If I only did my job... I wouldn't know what else is going on.. what else is important in my community.  I think that we forget though, that there is so much more beyond us.  I do things because having a community makes me the person that I am.. and more importantly the person that I want to be.  Last year I did the school yearbook (and had for 5 years), was on PTA board (and had been for 5 years), was on CIC,  co-managed a Destination ImagiNation team, helped head up Pink Week, hosted STAR Events, participated in the Breast Cancer 3 Day and so much more.  I don't list these to toot my own horn.. I list these because it is a reminder that yes.. I have a school community.. but my after school activities make me a better person that is ready to get my own students and anyone I come into contact with a better contributing member to society. 

So.. I didn't listen to that suggestion, it just wasn't going to work for me.  This year I have started a DI team at my new school, just completed my 4th Breast Cancer 3 Day, helped host our first pink week, hosted a STAR event, am on the CIC, am on my new schools PTA board, and so much more.  I do these things because they make me happy, help my community, and help others see that there is more important things than the looming test or all of the deadlines that we must all make.  Am I tired.. very much so.. do I spend alot of time at school.. of course I do (it is almost 6pm and I am still here).. do I want to give up anything so I am not so overwhelmed... NOPE (it hasn't gotten that far yet.. and I have an Amazing Husband that lets me the person that I am)

What are you doing for your community?  How do you stay involved, but also ahead at school?

Want to see more pictures from the 3 day? Check this link out!  Thanks for listening to me ramble :)  Next blog will be over how I organize Unique.

People First Language- Response to 60 minutes 10/23/11

I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing students and parents. I feel very honored to work with these individuals.

Tonight I was watching some recorded program and a friend called me to remind me that 60 minutes was airing information about apps for autism. I of course I automatically changed the channel to watch to see what they said. I have been using my personal iPad, but was honored to have a private donor donate an iPad 2 to my classroom. I am always looking for new apps to use in my classroom.

One of the first words out of the interviewers mouth was an autistic child. An autistic child! One of the first conferences I ever went to a parent was sitting in the audience and she quietly raised her hand before the session started and she asked if we would make sure to use people first language. Since that day 10 years ago I have been very conscious of using people first language. When talking about a person they are a person first. When talking about a child they are FIRST the child!

I love using the iPad in my classroom. As the people on the interview said, it is not appropriate for every student. It is important to try all different styles of teaching methods and ideas. I love using the iPad for many reasons. A couple of my favorite right now are to Skype and tweet. I mean, for my class to Skype and tweet.

As the interview ended I loved listening to the mom when she talked about her child interacting with the iPad and then looking up and responding when they answered a question correctly. The interviewer came back with that is such a small thing. I wonder how she is able to determine that this was a small feat? I know that when my students have made that first step of communication that is HUGE! I wonder how she was able to judge?

These are all of course my own personal opinions. As you look at a child or another human being, I hope you look at them first. Just as the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. As you look at accomplishments of yourself and others I hope you celebrate them all! Time is too short.

Take a moment to correct yourself and use people first language and realize that every milestone is huge.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Do You Wonder? Wonderopolis.org

Do you wonder about things as a class or as a family?  Have you checked out Wonderopolis? for their wonder of the day? Our class has been using Wonderopolis for the wonder of the day during our closing meeting. The format is fabulous and so easy to modify depending on the learning! There is a wonder that poses a question with an attention getting picture.  What a great conversation starter.  There is also a video to go with the wonder.  Not only is there a video, but there is also great starters ie. Have you ever wondered...  Once we have wondered as a class it has information on how to answer the and some great vocabulary to use!


So, here is my try at a wonder (now, it is totally modified)
The Busy Bee Wonder #1
Why does it thunder after lightening?

Peterson, Jane. thunderheadatsunset.jpg. February, 2005. Pics4Learning. 22 Oct 2011 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>
Why does it thunder after lightening?

Have you ever wondered:
-Why does it thunder after lightening? 
-What does thunder look like?
-Can you have thunder without lightening.


Did you Know:


A Fantastic Website for information on Thunder.


Try it out:


Try to make rain like the video above.


Wonder Words To Know:
-lightening
-thunder
-electricity
-sound
-clouds
-weather
-meteorologist

Texas Autism State Conference

I always have a tough time missing school, but I am so thankful I had a chance to attend and present at the 20th Annual Texas State Autism Conference  I left Dallas around 3:30am on Thursday morning to make it to the conference that started at 8:30am.  I didn't make it right on time, but I was able to make the end of Jamie Canales session (she rocks! Always love running into her.. even nicer to actually hear her speak this time!)  The afternoon session I was able to hear Dr. Braman and Dr. Catlett speak about ABA and the IEP.  It was a FANTASTIC session!  It was one of those sessions where you get ideas, but it also validated what I was already doing in my classroom.  They also talked about the importance of data collection (I love learning about new ways to do data collection!) Check out Autism in Action for great Autism How To Programs.  I personally can not wait to check out the Instructional Objectives Handbook!
"Understanding the significant time demands placed on teachers everywhere, Autism In Action™ has also developed a time-saving resource for writing measurable Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Containing more than 200 objectives with fill-in criteria to support the general education curriculum, the Instructional Objectives Handbook comes in a convenient CD format that allows you to copy and paste into your existing IEP software."


On Friday I had a chance to do the thing that I have learned I enjoyed tremendously!  I LOVE PRESENTING! It makes me so happy!  Today I presented   3 sessions that were 1 and a half hour each over Digital Storytelling in the Multi-ability classroom.

 

During the session I had a chance to share with participants different ways to use technology to create digital stories and modify and adapt to meet the needs of different level learners.


I have been so appreciative of all of the people that I have met, all the people that participated in my sessions, and all of the people that work for Education Service Center 2 (as they have been so patient with me and answered my 100's of questions)  I always gain something from the conferences that I attend, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this conference! I love learning ideas, gaining knowledge on new topics and teachings, connecting with other educators and parents, sharing my own ideas, and most importantly validating that I am doing things correctly in my classroom.


This blog has taken so much longer than usual.. my brain is so tired from the super busy week I have had!  I leave you with this note, how do you remind yourself that you are doing the best for your students and yourself?  How do you tell stories in your classroom?  What are you favorite conferences?

Tweet All About it!

Our class has ventured into the Wide World of Tweeting this year!  I have wanted to try it for a couple of years, and I decided this is the year to do it! Now, tweeting in our classroom is not necessarily for the back and forth conversation, or at least not yet! 

Every afternoon we come back to the carpet and we think of one thing we have done during the day.  We write it out together on a dry erase board.  While writing it we pay attention to capitalization and punctuation.  Once we have our sentence we read it together as a class.  I then choose one student to type it for me.  Some students need hand over hand guidance and some students just need the written prompt.  Each student gets a chance to type it.

Although we are tweeting and working on comprehension about activities during the day, we are also using this time to see who we are connecting with.  What a great way to learn about the map!  This map is outside our classroom.  Every time we have a new follower we add them to our map.  The first day we looked at our map we talked about the legend.  Our legend has The Flat Stanley Project, Twitter Followers, and Video Conferencing.  I can't wait to fill up our map more with all of the connections my class is making this year!

Some important things to remember!
1. Nothing is ever private, I have signed permission forms from all of my students. 
2. Keep up with your followers
3. Don't post personal information- any pictures that we might post do not have students in them

Are you using twitter in your classroom?  Are you following us @mrskellersclass How do you make connections?