.

VTips for Autism — Visual Spring Lessons for Any and Every Group

OK, so yes, I realize that these few spring-like days we’ve had recently in the north are just there to get our hopes up, so they can then be dashed to ash by the next snow storm (with the powers-that-be chortling “bwahahahaha” in the background)… But it really is time to start thinking about spring, and spring lessons. VizZlers are sharing new spring-themed lessons in Share, so we know it is true (and not just a figment of our pathetically optimistic and easily bamboozled imaginations…)

Group Play with a Spring Theme

Blending social skills practice with academic learning is a brilliant two-fer. The VizZle game format has that combo built into every lesson, and VizZle books used on an interactive whiteboard work equally well to engage a group and create a joint focus. A couple of great examples with a spring theme are:

• Spring (Book), VizZle ID Number: 10477
  Images and text w/audio about common associations with spring, with popups and videos including a chick hatching, lambs frolicking and time lapse growth of plants, with custom celebration, 17 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• How Many Eggs? (Game), VizZle ID Number: 9833
  Each tile has a photo image of an Easter egg image number set and a popup matching quiz, with same image TO number in a field of 3 choices, 12 tiles, number spinner
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Spring Themes for Varied Ability Levels or Goals

But finding materials that a group with widely differing ability levels will all engage with can be a more daunting task. VizZle creators have come up with some ingenious ways to differentiate lessons so everybody in a class with varying levels of ability or differing goals can work together.

Books can be differentiated by using varied levels of quizzes on each page. Here are two great examples, one for spring, and one for Spanish and spring vocabulary:

• April Showers III (Book), VizZle ID Number: 30129
  Images and text w/audio of spring rhyme about flowers, with differentiated quizzes for flower ID (black), writing practice-for whiteboard (red), rhyming (blue) and identical matching/discrimination (green), 12 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Spring / Primavera II (Book), VizZle ID Number: 30152
  Images and text w/ audio about spring, first in English, then in Spanish. With differentiated quizzes for identical image English to Spanish (red circles), English to Spanish text (blue circles), Spanish to English with identical images (black squares) and Spanish to English text (green squares), 7 pages, set for single page playback
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Matching boards can be created with a group in mind as well. Varying the level of difficulty of questions in a pattern, and then setting the board to play in order (rather than randomly) can allow students to take turns answering questions that match their goals. Here’s a great St. Patrick’s themed example:

• St. Patrick’s Day Differentiated (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 31028
  Differentiated for varied levels to play together: some difficult image and text questions (e.g., “What is St. Patrick’s real name?”) TO text; some moderate image and text question TO image and text label: some discrimination / identical matching image and text label, all about St. Patrick’s Day, field of 3 choices with set distractors, 24 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

An Awesome Interactive Lesson for Women’s History Month

Thanks to Heather from OH for sharing a great lesson in celebration of National Women’s History Month:

Women’s History (Book), VizZle ID Number: 110133
Images and text w/ audio about the women’s rights movement and women’s enfranchisement in the United States, with popups and quizzes, 8 pages with a custom video celebration
(No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Thanks to Mary Pat from Ohio for sharing Dr. Seuss just in time for celebrating his birthday on March 2nd! If you are looking for a fun interactive lesson to celebrate the birthday and life works of Ted Geisel, here is a terrific example thanks to Mary Pat!

• Dr. Seuss (Book), VizZle ID Number: 112471
  Images and text w/ audio about the life and works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, in celebration of the March 2nd anniversary of his birthday, with videos throughout, 10 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

4 Strategies for Helping Kids Cope Safely with Anger – Autism VTips

It is extremely rare that a child on the autism spectrum doesn’t have issues with dealing with violent feelings of anger. Coping with the hallmarks of ASD-difficulty communicating your needs, thoughts and feelings plus difficulty understanding the feelings, needs and social cues of others–has to be incredibly frustrating. Feeling misunderstood and misunderstanding much of what happens around you has to be both painful and infuriating.

No matter how much we can empathize, it is vital for everyone’s safety (theirs, their peers’ and ours) that our kids learn to cope effectively with those feelings and frustrations, and learn not to lash out at the people around them. But it goes beyond a safety issue. The ability to control angry acting-out is key to socially acceptable interactions as well as academic and later vocational success.

Visual social narratives (often colloquially called “social stories,” a term trademarked by Carol Gray, but actually encompassing a much broader spectrum of formats) can be amazingly effective. But only if you can get the child to engage with it and pay attention to it. That is where the first strategy comes in.

1) Use screen-based, interactive media to engage the child initially
How you first present the story can make all the difference. Often, a child will be drawn into an interactive, screen-based version when they can’t (or won’t) attend to the same content in print. (An interesting side note—often after becoming engaged with the interactive version, the child will then engage with and want a print version as well to keep with them and refer to.)

Here’s a great example of a clearly stated and easy-to-understand visual story about coping with anger (shared by Anita H from Minnesota) that engages so well thanks to its interactive format:

• Anger Management (Book), VizZle ID Number: 106379
  Image and text w/ audio about ways to deal w/ anger (e.g., “I could take deep breaths.”), popup image and text label or quiz, 12 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

2) Adapt available resources
Not everyone is a natural author or psychologist. It can be hard to figure out what to say, or to come up with strategies in a vacuum. There are tons of resources and strategies that you can adapt to your needs. If you are having trouble finding them, ask other team members or therapists for recommendations.

And for you VizZlers, search the shared library first! No need to reinvent the wheel. This is a subject we all deal with, so there are lots of great ideas and examples in the VizZle shared library already. Here’s a great example from the library (shared by Melanie A from Massachusetts) that adapts a classic therapy strategy:

• Engine (Book), VizZle ID Number: 39185
  Images and text w/ some sound effects about self-regulation, popup questions (e.g., “How is your engine running now?”), 20 pages, content comparable to The Alert Program by Therapy Works Inc.
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

3) Use a favorite or respected character
If the kiddo is fixated on The Miz or obsessed with Thomas, use it to your advantage! You’ll be amazed at how much better the child engages and absorbs the lesson. And when a melt-down approaches, it is far more likely that you can distract them off the beaten path of anger by reminding them with, “What would Cinderella do?” than with a generic, “Remember to breathe!”

Here’s an awesome example shared by Shelley P from Texas:

• When Cinderella Gets Mad (Book), VizZle ID Number: 106151
  Image and text w/ audio about what Cinderella can do when she is mad (e.g., “She can tell someone she is angry.”), last page contains popups w/ image and text w/ audio restating 3 strategies for calming (e.g., “walk away”), 9 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

4) Be both child-specific and behavior-specific
Different kids lash out in different ways. Even the same child will exhibit (new, exciting and fun fun fun!) different negative behaviors as they develop. Be as concrete as you can in describing the specific negative behaviors you are addressing, the consequences of the negative behavior, and in providing positive behaviors and ways to appropriately channel those feelings. The child won’t necessarily correlate the feeling “being mad” with the negative behavior you are trying to prevent. They won’t automatically understand what it means to “be nice.” Spell it out so there is no misunderstanding.

Here’s a great example shared by Kyra S from Ohio:

• When I Am Mad (Book), VizZle ID Number: 30616
  Images and text about the socially acceptable things to say (and things you should not say, like, “Shut up”) to show others you are mad, with quizzes, 11 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

New York City PS creators have shared some awesome lessons celebrating Black History Month. The VizZle moderators were especially impressed with Dachka B’s lesson Ruby Bridges and Angela S’s Etta James. But we really loved Erin S’s George Crum lesson, as potato chips hold a place near and dear to our hearts… Many thanks to all the authors who shared lessons honoring Black History Month–may the extra bonus good karma points rain upon you!

Here’s the details on theses three lessons (but you can run a search fot “Black History” in Share to find lots more):

• Ruby Bridges (Book), VizZle ID Number: 99919
  Image and text w/ audio about Ruby Bridges and school integration (e.g., “At the start of school integration, many white parents were afraid of the protesters in front of the Frantz School. Even if parents believed in integration they didn’t want to put their children in danger by sending them to class.”), 16 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Etta James (Book), VizZle ID Number: 100729
  Image and text w/ audio about Etta James (e.g., “In 1993, Etta James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!”), includes recordings of two of her songs, 12 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• George Crum (Book), VizZle ID Number: 100157
  Image and text about George Crum, the inventor of potato chips (e.g., “George Crum is an inventor. An investor means a person who makes or creates something.”), 10 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

Cynthia C from Minneapolis shared this great lesson on Leap Year. Thanks for sharing Cynthia–bonus good-karma points are winging your way!

• Leap Year (Book), VizZle ID Number: 102107
  Image and text w/ audio about 2012 being a leap year and why (e.g., “We can’t have ¼ of a day, so we just set it aside. 2009 had 365 days.”), 11 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

Looking for Easy Ways to “Theme” Your Lessons?

A holiday theme like Valentine’s Day can add interest to the “same old” skills practice, making it fresh and re-engaging a student whose attention might be wandering. Here are three easy ways to add a holiday twist to your lessons, followed by terrific examples themed for Valentine’s Day.

1) Use an object that goes with the theme (e.g. hearts, balloons, roses)

• Color Words (Hearts) (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 8379
  Text of color word TO image of heart of that color, field of 3 choices, 10 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• How Many Hearts? (Game), VizZle ID Number: 8365
  Each tile has an image of a heart with a popup quiz for matching number set of hearts to the numeral for numbers 0 to 10, field of 3 choices, 13 tiles, number spinner
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

2) Use real world examples related to the holiday

• Valentine’s Gifts Which Buys It? (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 26569
  Image and price with text question (e.g., “Flowers: $19.99. Which can buy it?) TO image w/text label of U.S. currency, field of 3 choices with set distractors, 10 pairs, with custom celebration
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Valentine’s Gifts Next Dollar (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 26565
  Image w/ price and text question (e.g., “Chocolate rose: $4.95. Next dollar?”) TO next dollar amount, field of 3 choices with set distractors, 11 pairs, with custom celebration
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

3) Use holiday-related subject matter for informational reading and comprehension practice

• Who Was Cupid? (Book), VizZle ID Number: 9074
  Images and text w/ audio about the Roman god Cupid, 7 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)
• Who Was Cupid? (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 9073
  Image and text w/ audio question about information from the book of the same title (e.g. “Cupid’s mom is named____?”) TO image and text w/ audio answer, field of 3 choices, 6 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

Want More VizZle Lesson Links?

Want more new free lesson links in between the VTips? Like the VizZle Facebook page—you’ll see when the moderating team posts favorite new lessons on our page as they enter the shared user library. Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/VizZle/78023535714

.

Our thanks to Sarah T from Ohio who shared this great lesson for listening comprehension called What Do You Hear?. Not only is it an awesome listening lesson–the moderators gave her extra extra bonus good-karma points for sending it in 100% error-free!

• What Do You Hear? (Matching), VizZle ID Number: 93839
  Image of an ear and text (“I hear”) w/ audio of a specific sound (e.g., sound of a harp playing) TO image of object that makes the sound and text label (e.g., “harp”), field of 3 choices, 8 pairs
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

Many thanks to Erin O from Shaker Heights, OH for sharing a terrific edit of a book called Open Things. The moderators were impressed by the most excellent use of video to help generalize the verb.

• Open Things (Book), VizZle ID Number: 85541
  Images and simple text containing the verb “open” (e.g., “open book”), each with video models depicting open, 7 pages
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

.

Thanks for stories on Chinese New Year Angela McV (OH) http://goo.gl/LXXTS and Amanda C (NYC) http://goo.gl/9Go9Q! (#autism #spedchat) We appreciate your sharing your terrific lessons with the VizZle community!