This school year, the students had a great time developing their reading, writing, and math skills through a variety of engaging and interactive activities. During group reading lessons, they participated in shared readings using stories from the Learning Without Tears reading program, each aligned with a letter of the alphabet. Following each story, students answered simple “who,” “what,” and “where” questions using picture cues and recordable speech buttons. They also practiced sequencing the story using picture word cards to identify what happened first, next, and last. Using the digital version of the story on the SMART board, students identified objects beginning with the weekly letter and then created vocabulary books with picture word cards. Bianca enjoys reading her completed vocabulary book. In phonics lessons, students worked on identifying beginning letter sounds by matching picture cues to corresponding letters. Carlo and Gracie particularly enjoy the letter-themed songs and videos that accompany these lessons.
Each week, students also completed writing prompts connected to the story or weekly theme. For example, after reading Yolanda and the Yo-yo, in which Yolanda shares a favorite toy with a friend, students responded to the prompt, “I would share my _____ with a friend.” They used their preferred mode of communication, whether through AAC devices, verbal responses, or selecting from picture word choices to express their thoughts. Anthony loves writing letters to friends throughout the school and delivering them through the Midland mailbox.
Math instruction focused on building skills through hands-on learning with a wide variety of manipulatives. Gabby enjoyed sorting tasks using colorful people and house figures. Orianna worked with magnetic ten frames and counters to solve addition problems and used her AAC device to create corresponding equations. Building towers with blocks and then comparing to see which tower has more (taller) was a fun activity that Jinal enjoyed. A class favorite is counting pennies earned throughout the week and shopping at the school store, an exciting and practical way to learn about money!
