Environmental Print

Over the past 2 weeks our language unit lessons have focused on environmental print. Environmental print is the print we see in everyday life. It includes signs, symbols, numbers and colors found in fast food and grocery store signs, labels on the foods we eat, street signs, building based signs and so much more. Environmental print is a natural place for our young readers to start recognizing letters, letter sounds and words since they are already familiar with many of the signs and symbols. For those students who are already well into beginning reading, environmental print offers a connection with what they are reading while also providing a chance to work on more complex word families and blends.



Students began the unit by discussing common restaurant symbols. They identified the symbols for the restaurants, differentiated among which foods they could get at which restaurant and identified vocabulary that went with each restaurant. We also used one of their all time favorite songs "Pizza Hut" by Dr. Jean!












(Top Left: PECS symbols for nonverbal communication related to restaurant lesson. Bottom Left: Symbols, pictures, and vocabulary words. Right: Matching fast food symbols game)






During the second half of the week students worked on food labels they are familiar with including their favorite cereals. This also gave us a chance to include a functional skills lesson on making your own bowl of cereal. Students helped to create a book we read on their favorite types of cereals and worked on puzzles created from cereal boxes.

During week 2 students began working on identifying signs and symbols. We focused on signs we see and use everyday (restroom, exit, playground, stop, walk, etc.)

Students matched, identified, read and explained signs based on their individual level and needs. We took picture walks through the books I Read Signs and I Read Symbols both by Tana Hoban. 

Next week we are on to a short unit focusing around the Thanksgiving holiday. Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

This week during language & specials we are talking and learning about pumpkins. We have talked about size, shape, texture and color as we explore lots of different pumpkins. We are reading & acting out Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino.

We've even added a little pumpkin fun to our circle time with the "Find Your Pumpkin" name game and our alphabet pumpkin we use for letter recognition and spelling.

Fall is in the Air!

You can FINALLY feel it, that crisp autumn air! Fall has arrived and in room 140 we have spent the month of October talking about the seasons and the changes we see in the trees with each season. Last week, during our specials time we focused on the apple tree. We read two great books, The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall and The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson. Students made their own apple trees by tearing green tissue paper while working on their fine motor skills. We even made our own apple crisp for snack!

Language Unit- Month of October

During the month of October students will be learning about the four seasons during language time. This week students will be introduced to the seasons and learn vocabulary associated with the seasons. We will talk about the weather, activities, and holidays associated with each season. Our 3rd-5th grade group will get a glimpse into why we have seasons.

Non-Fiction text and questions for 3rd-5th grade science 

Students use verbal and augmentative communication to identify the seasons and temperature for each season.  

Just for Fun!

Our book for the week is Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson. This fun picture book lets students help change the look of a tree as it goes through the different seasons. We also created felt boards of trees during the different seasons; a great fine motor activity!

3rd- 5th Grade Language Unit 9/16- 9/27

Our 3rd-5th grade students have gotten off to a great start using the Unique Learning System curriculum for the daily language lesson. Our monthly topic is "Friends in Different Places." Our first 2 weeks consisted of talking about birthday celebrations, our birthdays and how birthdays are celebrated in other parts of the world. This week we will be taking a closer look at "friends in different places" by exploring Mexico & Canada and celebrations in these countries. Students have also enjoyed the new math, reading, writing and spelling lessons that correspond with our ULS lessons. You will see many of the corresponding worksheets coming home with your students in their home folders throughout the month.

Work Stations

Each day students complete independent work stations. Work station are set up in the back of our sensory room giving students a separate space outside of the classroom to complete these tasks with an aide. This also allows for small group instruction in the classroom when groups are out completing work stations.

When students enter the work station area they find their seat and check their task card for the day.

Student Task Card

Students are given three tasks each day. All task boxes are numbered and color coded. Students match the numbers on their card to the numbers on the boxes and complete one task at a time. 

For students who are not yet ready to find the correct boxes independently, they complete their 3 work boxes in a 3 drawer cart.

Work box tasks include academic, fine motor, matching/sorting and functional skills at varied levels. The objective of work stations is to teach independent work skills and task completion, so tasks are assigned at a level which allows students to complete independently. Work stations are considered pre-vocational education, beginning to work with students on simple skills they will need to be able to gain independence. 

New Curriculum

Starting this week our 3rd-5th grade students will begin using a new curriculum for language units. The curriculum is called Unique Learning System. ULS is a standards-based curriculum designed for special education students. Each month a new thematic unit is presented which includes lessons in math, science, social studies, reading, writing, and language arts. Each lesson includes differentiated levels to meet each student at their level of functioning. Lessons are aligned to common core standards at each grade level. If you are interested in looking at this curriculum further check out their website: https://www.n2y.com/unique/. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can choose to view a sample of lessons and materials. Make sure to put in "intermediate" to view 3rd-5th curriculum.