Math Skill Tasks

Here are some easy to make task ideas for math skills. These are not only great for students with Autism, but for all students. It allows them another way (that looks like fun) to practice much needed skills.

Skills: counting by 1's with fine motor that requires handling small Legos which means getting those fingers working on fine motor objectives

Skills: addition facts using touch dots. Large index cards, velcro, and laminating film...makes adding more interesting then a worksheet.

Skills: recognizing money by name and value. Designed for a student who can read.

Homemade book

Skills: Reading, money name and value

Even if these are not EXACTLY what your students need, they might steer you toward an idea for your students.

Leave me a comment with a link to your ideas! 

Paula

Camping Classroom Unit at Summer School...Class tour

Ok, this is how our school district does ESY (Extended School Year): a school is chosen that is sort of a central point for the district, our district is HUGE by the way, mile wise. Then all the students who were signed up for it attend that school with the exception of the more remote locations, they have their own.  We have preschool through high school there all at one time. It is amazing to see, all ages and types of students under one roof!

This year my classroom theme is Camping around Alaska! The Teacher Assistants assigned to my classroom are awesome and jumped right in with ideas to make this the best Summer School classroom ever!

This week we set up the classroom for the 5 week session. The first three days,  the unit is introduced, the routines and expectations are reviewed, we get to know each other.

This year I really lucked out. It is always a surprise which classroom we will be assigned, as well as how much space you are allowed to use. This time, the room is in transition, the previous teacher moved out completely and the new one has not moved in yet...meaning we had practically the whole room available to us!

Campfire area: calendar, counting, story time, whole group activities.

 The Bear Station: meeting with the teacher in groups of 2, working on objectives. (added a small table since this picture)

 The writing tent: writing, fine motor tasks.

 Check in area: turn over tent card and check your job for the day.

Reading Tent: literacy tasks, reading

 

The Cabin: sensory bin, puzzles, and other fun stuff!

 

 

 The Moose Station: independent stations or you might think of them as TEACCH stations.

 

 Science Table: This is where we display and explore what we find outdoors on hikes, also include items related to the week's camping place. Other items not pictured: magnets and a balance with weighted pieces.

 

 

After some trial and error, we came up with the station rotation schedule. There are three adults, and each class session has 5-6 students. We split them up in groups of 2. Each group is assigned to the Bear Station, Writing Tent and the Reading Tent. When finished with the initial station, they can choose to go to the Cabin, Science or the Moose stations. After about 5 minutes, we rotate again. At this time, I have a 30 minute slot for rotating and it is a little short! Our entire session is only 2 and a half hours long. The buses were running late last week, I think they will be on time next week, so we will gain some time.

 

The next time I will share our schedule, routines and an art project or two!

 

Paula

 

More task ideas...simple and fast

This is a continuation of the Creating Tasks segment.  There are a few more I wanted to share that are easy to put together. It also illustrates how presentation  makes such a difference to our kids!

This is the very first one I put together. Materials: oatmeal can, string, beads, duct tape.
First, punch a small hole in the bottom of the can, just big enough to thread the string through. Tie a knot so the string cannot come back out. Use a piece of duct tape to make the string as flat as you can. Second, cut a hole in the lid large enough for a stringed bead to go through. Third, cover the outside of the can with construction paper, laminating it first is even better. Velcro the beads to the outside of the can.

Skills: fine motor, hand/eye coordination, color identification, counting.



Another simple and fast task is setting up a puzzle:

These rectangle shape boxes with a short lip are invaluable! I am always digging these guys out of the trash.... box lids, water flats, ramen noodle boxes, there is no end to their uses! (sometimes at Wal-Mart I load one of these up with cans of vegies or whatever I'm buying) I orignally had a small box  on the left of the puzzle, to place the pieces in.  This format seems to work better because all the pieces can be seen.

I found this magnetic Sesame Street board at a thrift store for a dollar, it was all alone...I got my handy dandy box of magnet letters out and dug out close matches. I like to spread out the letters so we avoid frustration if it is taking too long. A fun variation is to hide the letters in a sensory table or box full of rice. As they find letters, ask them to tell you the name and/or sound it makes and match it on the magnetic board. Kids of all skill levels have fun with this one.

Mr. Potato Head! They love him but are not sure what to do with him. Providing  visual step by step directions is very helpful. They quickly learn how to put him together without them. 



 



Play skills

This is a basic "put in" task that is very useful. It is great for students who are learning how to play and it is motivating for students who are reluctant to go to the table or desk. Once you have introduced this task, all that is needed is to hand a car to the student and he/she will go straight to the box and put it in. It will take a bit of shuffling, but he/she will sit at the table/desk and continue the task! I made a new one because the previous was used so much, it wore out and we threw it away finally.

  The materials:
box, recycled from snack box
green, blue, yellow and gray duct tape
clear tape
clear tube, recycled from plastic Easter eggs
Velcro, I buy the roll so I can customize the size
Box cutter knife
small cars

The secret to getting the tube to fit correctly: cut the hole for it a tiny bit smaller, so the tube fits tight. I also trimmed the end that is inside the box a little so the cars would roll into the box easily, this box had it's own garage door, so removal of cars is easy.











I used some good ole' duct tape to anchor the tube to the box on the inside. Since the box and tube you use will be recycled from different sources, you will have to experiment to make your activity fit just right. The beauty of duct tape is that you can remove it and adjust. Duct tape is awesome!





Cut velcro into little pieces, a good way to place the item with the velcro is to attach to item first, stick the adjoining piece of velcro to the item and then place onto box. Do a test run on the first car to make sure the velcro doesn't interfere with the car rolling.




Here it is in all its glory! Ready for many hours of fun.






Another fun activity pictured here is to drop frogs down the tube, watch and listen to the "plop!"as they splash into the water! When gathering your materials, the most important feature to look for is a clear container.

I used this activity with a student who had limited language skills, and loved songs. We would sing the "Five little speckled frogs song" while he played with this. Fun and laughter! Priceless..

There are many variations to these tasks, experiment and have fun with your students.

Paula

Creating Tasks

Creating tasks, they are referred to as task boxes most of the time because we use a lot of boxes to put them together. However, in truth, lots of other types of containers are used, including simple folders.

The rules for creating an effective task:
1. Have a clear beginning
2. a clear path to follow
3. and a clear ending.
4. Begin at the left and go to the right, just like we read words.

That’s it! Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words? So for this article I am going to show pictures of some of my favorite tasks and include a brief description for each. Not all students who benefit from this type of structure are low functioning, many can read and are working near their grade level! They need to learn new skills and be motivated to keep moving forward.

This task can be adjusted depending on students skill level: counting one type of coin or a mixed set. Writing the amount or using number cards to identify the amount. The velcro strip along the top is for the number cards. 

Matching objects to a photo

fine motor skills, the tweezers light up as an additional motivation!

Reading simple sentences...matching to the real object.....the finished product goes in the last box.

This task has been modified several times, it started with a real picture, then a line drawing, words were added and then the drawing is phased out, leaving only the words to match.

There are some awesome books with task ideas, once you start making them, you will get your own ideas, it will be based on:

• your students' skill level 
• current curriculum 
• materials you have available

Basic materials: duct tape (gray and colors), velcro, boxes, envelopes, folders. I have a box full of various items that are waiting to be in the perfect task. These are the pieces of games, puzzles, old programs, that you no longer use, but hate to throw away. Task building is recycling!

Conclusion

Remember that if a task doesn't work, don't give up, modify....adapt....sit down at a desk and be the student, does it make sense?  When you present it to your student, you almost always spot the flaw immediately!

I have many more tasks I would like to show here, but for now I think I will finish this. Please contact me, ask questions, make suggestions!

Using Visuals

It is absolutely true that a picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to teaching children with communication delays.  Using visuals with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder has been well documented, but they are also very helpful for all children.  It really is better to point to a picture, rather then talk, talk and talk some more.

Temple Grandin, a well known adult with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) has shared that she “thinks in pictures” and using visuals has helped her to become a successful independent person. She recommended that teachers and parents adjust the environment and their teaching strategies to this type of communication. Teachers can use visual supports to assist students who have difficulty with social interactions, behavioral challenges, organization, transition and communication.

When I first began to use visuals with my class, I would display a medium size visual with a word or phrase in the order of activities that we were going to do. I had a daily schedule and another for group activities. I didn’t use it for every step of the day, I wasn’t sure HOW to.

A schedule for Circle time

When we began to expand the use of visuals, each student had his or her own schedule, the type of visuals varied, based on each student’s skill level:

Object first/then schedule

a) objects: tangible objects that represent an activity. For example, a puzzle piece or peg to transition to the fine motor table or a marker to attend the art table.







b) photos or drawings: There are some handy software programs to assist with picture schedules. Taking digital photos is also a good option. Taking a picture of the place they need to go to is very helpful.

Digital photos

A checklist for the reader

c) words/phrases/sentences: Introducing words/phrases with a picture is many times the best way to ease into using words only.  Students who can read are successful  using a clipboard with their schedule attached, they can read and cross off each item as they complete it. A plastic sleeve is useful in putting the schedule in and erasing at the end of the day.
Depending on the student’s ability, the idea is to move them up through these type of schedules, the less cumbersome the schedule, the more mobile it is, and the more successful the schedule is in the long term.

Here’s the process: 

1. Hand student a “check your schedule” cue.  The cue can be a card or an object such as a domino.
2. Student goes to their schedule, located at their home desk or perhaps located in a central area that is for transitions.
3. Student looks at their schedule, if they have a removable item, they take it with them, the item/picture card leads them to their destination. They may place the item in something at the destination, an envelope or a box or even a puzzle or peg board where their piece finishes it.
4. At their destination, the next picture schedule tells what is happening while they are there, what is expected and when it ends. It is reassuring to them to know it will end!



The power of pictures became very evident to me when I was attempting to work with an Autistic student. He was resistant to sitting with me to do the lesson. I put a picture of the  work table on his schedule and he willingly walked to and sat at the table.  The lesson was one to one correspondence counting to 10. I had a number line 1-10 and 10 counting bears. I modeled first, placing a bear on the number 1 and saying “1” and so on. Nothing. I tried a little hand over hand. Bad idea! He screamed and got under the table. I got out my digital camera, took pictures of myself placing a bear on the number line, I went up to 5, hoping he would continue after getting to that point. I printed them out in black and white (color ink is expensive and we usually have to buy it!), glued it on a strip of construction paper.
I went back to the work table, yes, he was still sitting under there! I got on the floor and showed him the picture strip, I had starred the first picture of the sequence. Here is the miracle! He took the strip from me, got up, sat in the chair, and completed the activity! He smiled big at me! It seemed he was saying “Finally! You are making sense!” I nearly cried. After that, he happily worked with me whenever it was on his schedule, our “work schedule” got less detailed, but he still would try everything I presented to him.

Schedules and instructions aren’t the only uses for visuals in a classroom.  They can be amazing in behavior management, show a student a strip with 1-5 on it while he is engaged in a fun activity, tell him (or sing it) “5 more minutes to play”, he removes the 5; adult moves away; return in a short time (we don’t really time the minute) and say/sing “4 more minutes to play”; repeat until student removes the last number and gently begin the clean up song. Depending on your student’s needs, a picture of the “clean up” might be under the 1. The key is for the student to move the numbers, they acknowledge they know a transition is coming up. We sang it because our student loved music and singing, we could get him to look and focus with music.



Organizing all these visuals is overwhelming! You have spent a lot of time printing out these cards for specific activities and will use them over and over, but you need to be able to find them when needed again! I am still working on the perfect organizational system for them, I have 3 drawers full of bags of cards and strips with Velcro. When I pack for summer school, I try to figure out how to travel with them and make them useful. One idea I have used for the last couple of years is a large 3 ring binder system. Cut  file folders in half, label the tabs, apply rows of Velcro so your cards will stick, then you can flip through quickly and find the picture you need.

     


Resources

Fettig, A. Meadan, H., Michna, A., Ostrosky, M., Triplett, B. July/August 2011, “Using Visual Supports with Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”, Teaching Exceptional Children.

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-handicapped Children) Classroom Training, 2009.

http://www.do2learn.com

Pictures were made from Mayer-Johnson's Boardmaker and/or Writing with Symbols 2000 programs.