Holiday themes are always an easy way to put a fresh face on the skills you are working on, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. For ideas and lesson samples, scroll down.

Ideal for Higher Level Money Math!

Gift giving holidays like Valentine’s Day are an ideal theme to use for ADL goals like purchasing and budgeting. One search on a shopping site (and VizZle’s stock images of currency) will net you all the images and prices you need to quickly create next dollar, which bill buy it, change back or any number of other lesson types that address goals common to many IEPs.

Look up these ID numbers in Share in VizZle to check out how one set of imports made two lessons. Just change some wording and your answer field, then “Save As” for a quick and easy new lesson working on a different aspect of purchasing.

• Valentine’s Gifts Next Dollar , 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.)

• Valentine’s Gifts–Which Buys It? , 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.)

Perk Up Your Drills

Holiday themes are always an easy way to put a fresh face on drills for other familiar subjects too, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. From counting and colors to following directions and handwriting practice, Valentine’s themes add some fun. Check out:

.

• How Many Hearts? , VizZle ID Number: 8363
  Match the set of hearts TO the numeral, for numbers 1 to 10, 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.)

• Color Words (Hearts), 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.)

• Coloring Hearts (3 Step) , VizZle ID Number: 8361
  For print activity, practice following 3 step directions using coloring hearts. Print out pages of hearts to be colored in following the written directions on each page (some with color prompts, some without).
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

• Valentine’s Day Writing , VizZle ID Number: 7762
  Designed for use on electronic WRITEBOARD ONLY. Each tile has Valentine’s-themed image with popup quiz. Quiz has image with text vocab word and blank single match for copying answer by hand on writeboard (game write board directions) Directions for Writeboard use: 1) land on tile to open quiz 2) pick up pen to open ink layer 3) write answer 4) close ink layer 5) touch white blank answer area to move to next player
  (No access to VizZle? Click here for a browser version—remember to maximize your browser and click play at the bottom.)

All of us here at MTT wish you and yours a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous new year. Welcome to 2011!

My favorite thought for the holiday… “Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to.” Bill Vaughan.

How about some last-minute interactive winter holiday lessons that will engage even the sugar-shocked holiday-party hoard? Read on (scroll down) or click here for our holiday gift to you!

Last-Minute Lessons for the Holiday Party

Click on the blue lesson title to open a Preview of the lesson in your browser. Click Play at the bottom of the Preview screen to play the lesson for its full effect. Or look it up by ID Number in SHARE.

• 10 Chubby Snowmen, VizZle ID Number: 23140
• 10 Little Snowflakes, VizZle ID Number: 23141
• Winter Story, VizZle ID Number: 7262
• Opening Presents, VizZle ID Number: 8029

.

Have a great break!

.

For those of you going on break Friday (or next week), the VizZle staff wish you a most excellent holiday! If you want to get a jump on preparing for the new year over break… (scroll down for more)

… don’t forget that you can log on from home, and all your work will be there for you when you get back to school! That’s because VizZle saves to a server instead of your computer–you can access your stuff from anywhere.

You can install VizZle on as many computers as you like, and access it from any computer connected to the web. You can browse SHARE and find some lessons. Save them in a playlist, and you’ll have a great way ready to play to get the kids back focused on work after the break.

Here are some links you might want to take home with you!

Already an Expert? Then you just need to Download VizZle and go! Get the download at: www.goVizZle.com

Just Starting Out? Get training at VizZle U (including a handy-dandy how to for download and install): www.learnVizZle.com

How can you maximize the probability that homework you send over break to help retain skills will actually get done? Read on (scroll down) or click here for this week’s tip and lesson samples.

Don’t Lose It Over the Holidays—Autism VTip of the Week

Homework is vital to retaining newly acquired skills—especially over a break. Everybody needs some time off, but too much time away can lead to skill loss. How can you maximize the probability that the home work you send will get done to help your students retain their hard-earned skills?

1) Keep Expectations Realistic

Skills practice every day? Not very likely to happen–especially during the holidays. And expecting it isn’t realistic. Keeping expectations realistic makes everybody (kids, parents and you) feel good about meeting them.

.

2) Set Clear Expectations

Do you want the homework done more often than just the night before school starts? Instead of sending home a bulk packet of work to be completed “over the holiday,” consider breaking it into smaller groups and putting “due dates” throughout the break on each packet.

.

3) Make it Relevant

Working on correspondence? Give the student credit for thank you notes (have them make a copy before they mail it). Or mail an assignment to your student. (Remember pre-bills, when getting mail was a thrill? Well it still is for them!)

.

4) Make it Engaging!

The more fun it is, the better the chance it will get done. An interactive activity is more likely to appeal than a worksheet. Lessons from the shared library can be sent home over break. Look for the Tell A Friend button in the lesson’s activity summary in Share. Click it to send a link (like those below) to any email address.

.

Lesson Samples for a Few Common IEP Goals

Check out these great examples of lessons that tackle common IEP goals for students with autism, shared by educators across the country. Click on the blue lesson title to open a Preview of the lesson in your browser. Click Play at the bottom of the Preview screen to play the lesson for its full effect. (You can look up the lesson by ID number in Share to generate a link of your own!**)

ELA

• The Alphabet Book , VizZle ID Number: 5814
• Sentence Meaning , VizZle ID Number: 8004
• Idioms 3 , VizZle ID Number: 14821

MATH

• Counting (1-10) , VizZle ID Number: 1146
• Time (Hour and 1/2 Hour) , VizZle ID Number: 14641
• Angles , VizZle ID Number: 14475

SPEECH

• Olympic Happy or Sad? VizZle ID Number: 10270
• Appropriate Responses 1, VizZle ID Number: 14541
• Generalization : Boy, VizZle ID Number: 15963

ADL

• Functional Grocery Vocab 1.10, VizZle ID Number: 3941
• Signs, VizZle ID Number: 12714
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Recipe, VizZle ID Number: 4904

.

**Want to edit a lesson to send to a student for homework?
Submit the edited lesson to Share, and drop us an email at lessons@monarchtt.com with the lesson title (not the ID—the title please) as well as your account email address. We’ll expedite the moderating process and send you a link when the lesson enters Share.

.

.

Register now for the next VTips Webinar on Thursday, December 9 at 3PM EST (Noon PT) Making the Holidays Happy. Scroll down to learn more or click here to register!

Making the Holidays Happy: Autism VTip of the Week

This live webinar hosted by MTT’s VP-Visual Learning Solutions, Lauren Stafford, will focus on practical ways to make the most of holiday themes and to help your students cope with the changes in routine both in the classroom and at home during the holidays.

Space is limited, so click here and register today!

One of the many things I am thankful for this year is creators sharing Thanksgiving lessons. Scroll down or use the slider to the right for great examples.

The Feathers on Our Thankful-Turkeys–The VTip of the Week

When you get creative, even the most basic skills you need to drill can be fun and engaging. Use the slider to the right to scroll down for this week’s Autism VTip and some great examples below!

Tricks and Treats for Halloween—Autism VTip of the Week

Welcome to summer! The 4th of July is just around the corner, and VizZle authors have added some great new holiday-themed lessons to Share. Use the slider to (to the right) to check out the list below!

ID 14493 The Fourth of July (book)
ID 14505 The Fourth of July (matching)
ID 14570 The History of the 4th of July
ID 14578 Betsy Ross and Our Flag
ID 14575 Original 13 Colonies
ID 14496 Going to the Fireworks
ID 5989 Symbols of the United States (book)
ID 5991 Symbols of the United States (matching)
ID 14400 Fireworks
ID 14402 Color Words (Fireworks)