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=Point of View Questions= Place date before each entry under each question.

Webster 10-1-2010 Language Book C - Unit 13 Lesson 7 TransMath Book C - Unit 1 Lesson 8
 * 1. Where are you in your long range plans? For those teaching LANGUAGE and TransMath, what unit and lessons are you on? For those not teaching these programs, what are you currently teaching in your classes? **

Lacy Von Plinsky - 10/1/2010 Language Book B - Unit 7 Lesson 3 Transmath Book C- Unit 1 Lesson 4 Transmath Book A- Unit 1 Lesson 3

Lisa Smathers - 10/1/2010 I'm right on track on my long range plans. This week, I taught transition skills (careers, BOLT, etc.). I taught a human body unit for science, and my students took their animal care unit post-test.

Wendy Sherman 10-1-2010 Transition Skills and Authority and Rules unit for Social Studies. I am right on track with my long range plans.

Lisa Smathers - 10-8-2010 I'm continuing on track with my long range plans. I taught antonyms for ELA and citizenship for social studies.

Lisa Smathers - 10/15/2010 Science: 5 senses & Math: unit 2 (algebra) Denise Webster Language - Need to go back and review simple subjects, simple predicates, and direct objects with students as well as writing paragraphs Math: completed unit 1 and everyone did great with fractions; beginning Unit 2: variables and patterns

Lisa Smathers - 10/22/2010 Social Studies: US democracy Transition: Cleaning Maintenance unit (students took pre-test at the beginning of the week) I'm continuing on track with my long range plans.

Wendy Sherman- 10/22/2010 Science-Simple Machines ELA- UNIT 2- listening comprehension, writing activity, Antonyms activity

Lacy Von Plinsky- 10/22/2010 Language- Students have mastered the sounds of a, e, i, o, and u. Still need to work on sounds for x. Some students need to work on writing paragraphs with flow and adding in details. Others still need to work on writing complete senteces. Fluency has increased for all within the past 9 weeks!!!

Transmath- Group 1: Students need to review extended formation of addition problems; children did wonderful on place value and have begun working on simple addition and multi step addition Group 2: STudents have mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions. Children need more work on box and whisker plots. Stepp 10/22/2010 Thinking Skills - Lesson 32. The students are learning to compare/contrast, make analagies, answer true, false and maybe questions. This program really helps improve comprehension. Reasoning & Writing Lesson 26. The students are in the process of identifying the parts of a sentences and write sentences that name the group and tell the main thing that they are doing. Math Level C Lesson 32. The students are setting up word problems and starting to understand the process. They are adding and subtracting with regrouping and memorizing the multiplication tables. Math Level B Lesson 104. The students are learning how to measure andregroup. They are working on understanding place value. Reading Mastery Lesson 32. The students are learning social studies facts as they read for comprehension. They are also improving fluency.
 * Everyone as a whole still needs to work on word problems. Working on learniWrng key words and how to break down a word problem.

Denise Webster 10/22/2010 Language: Students have done well with Unit 13; we have been able to accelerate through the phonetic and spelling steps; students are struggling the most with steps 3 and 4 (vocabulary and grammar). TransMath: Students have surprised me with how well they have done with fractions. We will begin Unit 2: Variables and patterns

Lisa Smathers - 10/29/2010 Transition: finished Cleaning Maintenance unit & gave post-test Science: Simple Machines

Lisa Smathers - 11/5/2010 Transition: BOLT & started CAPTURE grant Soc. Stud.: Jobs, work, & money

Wendy Sherman 11-5-2010 Transition: Capture Grant ABC photo book Science: Animals Unit

Lisa Smathers - 11/12/10 Science: animals unit ELA: idioms

Lisa Smathers - 11/19/10 social studies: ancient civilizations math: graphs

Smathers - 12/3/10 ELA: rhyming words science: metal & motion

Stepp - 12/19/10 Social Studies: 7th Grade just finished unit on Industrial Revolution 6th grade: Greece Math Book B: Lesson 80 adding with regrouping, place value Math Book C Lesson 60 recognizing and writing fractions Language Arts: Writing a paragraph, finding the verb, correcting errors for things such as run on sentences, increasing fluency and comprehension Level 4 Book 60, Level 5 book 1 Thinking Skills: increasing vocabulary, finding patterns

10/22 Lisa Smathers: During morning meeting, my students practice their personal information (name, address, phone number, DOB, age, and parents' names). They practice every morning and try for 100%. I encourage them and give verbal praise and "high fives." On Fridays, we have a "test" and if the students make 100%, they get to choose an item from the prize bag.
 * 2. How are you motivating and engaging your students in order to help them succeed? **

Wendy Sherman: I use a lot of verbal praise during all activities. My students are motivated by verbal praise and excitement from teachers. My peer tutors assist students during activities and this is extremely motivating for all students.

Lacy Von Plinsky: My students have goals that they write up weekly to show what they need to achieve in the area of fluency, word problems, multiplication facts, and comprehension questions. The students work on these goals throughout the week and during that time we give high fives, pat on backs, smiley faces and they cheer each other on. On Fridays is when we take the test on the goal and if they reach their goal then they get to add points to their bank which they spend at the end of the day on Fridays.

Stepp - Social skills are an important part of my student's day. We teach one new social skill a week and continue to reinforce learned skills. The students that complete assignments are don't get five warning cards are able to spend 15 minutes a day of "free time". This time is used to play academic games or solve puzzles. They also receive tickets for good behavior which is a big motivator for most of my students.

Webster: Students are involved in their own progress monitoring and are showing their motivation by watching their own progress; we dicuss bi-weekly where they need to be and what have been their success and needs

12/19/10 Stepp Just had school store yesterday to reward good behavior. Started to turn more instruction into a game style format.

3. Transition is an important part of our IEPs, please share of one way you assess your students transition needs and how this assessment guides your instruction. 10/22 Lisa Smathers: I use the Activities for Integrated Living Annual Assessment and the Transition Into Adult Life Inventory of Skills, parent survey, Occupational PICS Profile (from Lisa Proffitt), and student interview (using pictures). I use the information to continue to work on job skills training and increasing the students' independence in the areas of transition and daily living skills.

Wendy Sherman: I use a self-created activity that allows students to choose three activities that they are interested in for job paths. I am write an objective on their IEP that includes practicing skills in this area. For example, a student chose animal care as a job path and I wrote an IEP about sorting equipment used for animal care.

Lacy Von Plinsky: For this first nine weeks my students and I looked at their career interest inventory from last year and talk about if they are still interested in doing that job area. The students that are still interested now are making up questions to answer that will improve their knowledge on the career area. Also students that are not interested retake a career interest inventory that shows them the areas that they are a good fit for.

Stepp: I looked over the students jobs last year after working with Ms. Profitt. The group discussed these jobs. The students researched the job and were taped in a "What's Your Line?' type of game. The will start to look at another possible job choice.

Webster: Students completed their interest inventories and career surveys; they are now in the process of researching these careers.

12/19 Stepp Transition Students are presently involved in making a power point about a job that interests them.

4. Explain how you are creating personal connections for your students in the classroom to help meet their transition / self-advocacy needs. 10/22 Lisa Smathers: Every morning, during morning meeting, I ask each student a personal question (what they ate for dinner, what they did over the weekend, etc.) to make a personal connection. At the end of the school day, I conference with each student about his/her day. We discuss how their day was, their favorite activity from the day, and any related services or therapies they received that day. The information is recorded on the daily communication sheet and then sent home in each student's communication folder for their parents.

.Wendy Sherman: My students and I are a team. We talk each morning to start off our day with a question during our morning meeting time. We also end our day with an individual conference about their day and favorite activities. During these times we are working on communication skills which is a HUGE part of helping them with self-advocacy. Lacy von Plinsky: Every lesson that I teach I make a connection with their life about the topic. I either have the kids act out the information or we compare definitions of words to items that relate to their lives. Also when the students are doing writing activities I try to pick topics that would interest them so they are able to show more information into their writing since they know about the topic. Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

Stepp - Students are writing personal information. We used this information to fill out forms as if we were entering an item into the fair. As we write the connection is being made about how many times in the "real world" we need to share information and write notes.

Webster-In suppot lab we talk about how to speak with teachers regarding their learning needs. We also "predict" how teachers may respond to certain requests and why a teacher may or may not say yes to something.

12/19/10 Stepp - We have spent a great deal of time learning how to control anger. We are learning about what we look for in a friend. We are applying this to our everyday lives.