To Mainstream or Not To Mainstream?

Here is a link to a Prezi I created to share with my faculty members on mainstreaming students with autism into the general education classroom.

http://prezi.com/tab4czlcgpjs/untitled-prezi/


These are some charts on the data I collected on my general education classroom teachers' attitudes toward mainstreaming students with autism into their general education classrooms.

 

In summary, I was NOT surprised with our teachers' attitudes, but it was interesting to see their feelings "in black and white."  Overall, I feel that our teachers are not prepared professionally to meet the needs of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD.)  I do not think that this is their fault, I just feel we have been inadequately educated on the best ways to make accommodations (both academic and behavior) for these students.  How is your faculty educated/trained on issues such as this?  Do you feel prepared as a classroom teacher?

It was also interesting to see that all teachers who took the survey felt that general education students take on a mentoring role toward the child with autism.  While this says a lot about our general education students and their character, I can't help but feel like this is not their place to do this.  I say that as empathetically as possible.  I said in another post that in no way do I feel that students with special needs shouldn't have the opportunity to be in a classroom with their peers.  But, again, my concerns for the purpose of this project are to uncover (if any) negative effects of mainstreaming students with autism into the general education classroom for general education students.  What are your thoughts?  If you presented this same survey to your faculty, how do you think they would respond?  I would be interested to hear from school to school how opinions differ (or if they do differ!)  Let me know!  

Advancing on the Spectrum

Another book that I read while researching mainstreaming autistic students into the general education classroom is called Autism: Advancing on the Spectrum. This was a great book to gain LOTS of information on Autism...and it's a newer book, so there are current practices included--which is great for novice and experienced teachers.

Let me give you a little background on my research project in order for you to more fully understand the dimensions of the project. Initially, I wanted to gauge teachers' views on mainstreaming students with autism into their general education classroom. I knew how I felt about it, but I wanted to see how others teachers felt in regard to their general education students. With classroom sizes becoming bigger each year, it is difficult enough to keep all students engaged, meet each child's needs, and deal with any discipline issues that arise. Mainstream a student with autism into that classroom...WHEW!

Saying that, I want to say this. In no way am I implying that I am not sympathetic to the behaviors that come with autistic spectrum disorders. I am also definitely not saying that I don't believe ALL students should have the chance to be in a classroom with their peers. I am simply speaking as a general education teacher and as an advocate for those "average" students who (let's face it) sometimes get pushed aside to deal with students with special needs. We (and I am guilty as well) get so involved in making accommodations that we often forget about the "sea" of students waiting for our attention as well. THAT breaks my heart for those students. I'm not sure that we are heading in the right direction in regard to EVERY student involved.

We have tons of laws and regulations safeguarding the rights of students with special needs, but when are we going to stand up for all of those other students who want to learn? And who is going to do it? That was the basis for my research.

In my next post, I will share a Prezi presentation on information from this book that will help you understand more about the Autism Spectrum Disorders. I will also present some data that I collected from my faculty about their attitudes' toward mainstreaming students with autism into the general education classroom.

The Birds and the Bees, Bullies and Other Things

This book was one of two I chose to read as a supplement to a project I am researching in graduate school.

This was a pretty good read.

If you haven't read this, and you have ever had a student in your classroom who was autistic, you should at least grab this book, and skim over it.

Here is a quick summary of the book provided by Amazon.com:
Jack Gunthridge is known for his books. What his fans don't know is that he grew up not realizing he had a high functioning form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome.

This is a collection of his memories of trying to figure out members of the opposite sex while having a condition that made it harder for him to interact in social situations. Sometimes his awkwardness caused him to be the target of bullies.

He offers his opinion and advice on how he dealt with these issues. He's hoping it helps other teenagers going through similar situations. He also talks about how he came to terms with his own autism diagnosis.

While this book talks a lot about the author's experiences as an adult with members of the opposite sex, it does give some insight into how Asperger's has affected his life.  It was interesting to see things from "his eyes."  

I know, as a teacher, it is easy to get frustrated or irritated with students who are autistic because they think differently than an average child does--they have behaviors that we might consider abnormal, and they tend to not "fit in" as well with their peers.  I like this book for that reason...the author describes it as, "In a world where they are getting made fun of for being themselves, it makes it worse for them to have people be afraid of them..."  "They can already be isolated from the majority of their classmates for being different.  They want friends and to be accepted."  Instead of educate bullies like schools are doing, Gunthridge suggests that we "actually need to do something totally crazy and reach out to the people who are different and let them know that we accept them."

This was insightful to hear as a general education teacher.

Tech Tuesdays: iPads in the Classroom

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to present for my faculty in my first session of "Tech Tuesdays."  You know, it's funny, because I used to HATE presenting and speaking in front of people.  But, now...I actually enjoy it!  I feel like I have found a little niche for myself.  I have always known I wanted to work with curriculum, and presenting on different topics seems to be something that I really like!  Anyway, I promised everyone that I would put the resources I shared here...so here they are!  ;)  

My idea was to USE various presentation apps to share a variety of content area apps that we can all use in our classrooms.

I began the session with this video I made of the 21st Century Classrooms at our school.  I'm so proud to be a part of this!  ;)

Here are the handouts that I gave to the participants:

Agenda

Handout 1

Handout 2

Handout 3

(When I converted the Word files to a Google Doc, the format went funny...if you want the originals, just email me or comment, and I will be glad to send them to you!)

This is link for the Prezi I created for the training...I, of course, used the Prezi Viewer app to show the presentation.  :)  

For the slide titled "A Whole Class Set," I used the Nearpod Teacher app and asked my participants to download the Nearpod Student app on their iPads.  Love this app--check it out if you are not familiar with it! 

The next portion of the training was "30 apps in 30 minutes..."  Here is a link to some of the apps I shared, organized by content:

READING

ReadWriteThink Trading Cards

ReadNRespond

Toontastic

VOCABULARY

Word Collage

Chicktionary

Sparkle Fish

MIND MAPS

Tools4Students

Corkulous

Mind Meister

LANGUAGE

Bluster

Grammar Jammers

Grammar App

MATH

Arcademics Grand Prix Multiplication

Sushi Monster

Show Me

SOCIAL STUDIES

Google Earth

9/11 Memorial

Maps (Built-in)

SCIENCE

Lists of Science Apps

MORE

SmartOffice 2
Splashtop
EverNote
Edmodo

Skitch

Khan Academy

Dropbox

Quickoffice

CommonCore

iTunesU

Wonderopolis

TED

Pinterest

VoiceThread

Stick Picks

eClicker Host

I also shared some iPad tips and tricks.  Here are links to some of the ones I shared on the Prezi:
50 iPad Tricks
Ridiculously Awesome iPad Tricks

I'm already looking forward to next month's Tech Tuesday!!

Also, a little note...I haven't posted much lately, but I finally feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things.  Look for another post in the next couple of days!  'Til then!

Progress??

Well, it's taken me a lot longer than expected to get my room somewhat in order.  I decided to re-paint my shelves and cabinets and do some other "unplanned" projects, but I think it's coming together...FINALLY.

Here are a few things I've been working on:
Here are my bulletin boards...my version of a "Proud Wall" where students can display work they are proud of...notice those cute clothespins I dyed earlier with Rit Dye??  And my little owl lantern (that's turned around) I made by spray painting an old one I had, then adding the features using scrapbook paper and hot glue.  I will get a better pic of that one soon!

I will put anchor charts on this one...finally decided I love the scrunchy border.  You can find a "how-to" here.

This bulletin board is right beside the doorway, and I use exit slips as a closing strategy often in my room.  I liked the idea of having several different ways to use this strategy without having to take them down, put back up, etc...so this is my "Wonder Wall."  

This is my door (hallway view).  I was so happy with the way it turned out.  

Some before and after pictures:
My "new" bookcase (the left one)...I primed and painted, then added contact paper to the backing.  You can also see my computer table with the ugly red tablecloth...

Here is this whole area now...still working on this!

My small group chairs...I used Krylon plastic spray paint, then sprayed them with a gloss protectant.  I also sprayed the legs with a metallic spray paint.  Thanks, Tara Vincent, for the inspiration!  ;)

So...not quite finished, but definitely getting there...it's a work in progress...

I will post more this week!  I'm pooped after first day activities!  ;)

'Til then.

Toddler Fun!

So, I do have lots of classroom stuff to share in my next post, but I had to show you some things Dax (my three-year old son) and I have been doing.  I took a break from working in my room the last two days to spend some quality time with my babies...*sighs*  Gonna miss you, sweet summertime.  We went to the splash pad yesterday with some friends, but it's been too hot to do anything else outside...soooo, we have been having fun inside.  Check it out!

SMASHING BAKED COTTON BALLS

This was so easy and Dax loved it!  You will need flour, water, cotton balls, and food coloring.  We did green, yellow, and red...Dax's choices.  We mixed equal parts of flour and water with just a drop of food coloring in each bowl.  Dax loves to mix, so he did this part.  

Then comes the messy part...Dax's favorite.  He dipped the cotton balls in the flour mixture (make sure to coat all sides) and placed them on a baking sheet I lined with wax paper.  

Mia says, "Ooh, what a mess!"

If you notice, he takes after his momma when it comes to sorting and placing everything just so...

After we spread them out a little, I baked them at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes.  They get really hard on the outside, but stay fluffy in the middle.

Now the fun part!  Take them off the tray and smash away!  Dax thought this was great.  (Goggles optional!)

Thanks, Making Boys Men blog, for the idea!

And this was my project...I keep all of Dax's projects and things that he does at school and at home, but I've been wanting to do something with some of Dax's writing and coloring for a while, and I saw this on <where else?> Pinterest, and thought..."perfect!"

Here are the writing samples I already had, and I got him to do a few more scribbles for me as well.  You'll also need a canvas, paint, scissors (or a craft punch), and modge podge.

I painted the canvas lime green (woo hoo) because I want to put this in my classroom.  Then I started punching!  I used a 1 1/2 inch circle craft punch to punch out parts of Dax's work that I wanted to include on the canvas.  I picked colors of my classroom--blues, yellows, greens, purples.  I arranged them on my canvas, then outlined a bit of a pattern with a pencil.  I traced over the outline with paint, modge podged the circles on, then put modge podge over the whole thing.  I'm so excited about this...I know to you it might look like a lot of circles and scribbles, but to me, I see my sweet baby boy's hard work every time I look at it!  :)  

My First Blog Award!!!!

Wendy P. at 4th & 5th Grade Happiness has given me my first blog award for a blog with less than 200 followers!  How exciting!  Thanks, Wendy!!  Check out her blog at 4th & 5th Grade Happiness.  I am finally getting some followers, and I love it! 

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.
2. Post the award to your blog.
3. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.  (Very hard to find blogs without this awesome award.)
4. Let the other bloggers know they have won.

For the Liebster Blog Award, I have chosen these awesome blogs...check them out, and leave a comment to tell them how great they are!! 

• Fifth Grade Fancy
• Organized Teaching Addict
• The Ramblings of a Fifth Grade Teacher
• The Box of Crayons
• Can't Make This Stuff Up...Adventures in Teaching!!