Crack the Code

Here's my buddy, Lauren, again with another of her amazing ideas for helping kids in school:

Attached are pics of a fun handwriting activity I did with one of my 1st grade students. I gave the teacher several copies of the activity & she is going to put it at one of her “handwriting centers” for all the kids in the class to use.

My ever so creative name for the activity is “Crack the Code”. Here’s how it works:
I put an alphabet code at the top of the page.
Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding number ~ for example, letter A is 5, letter B is 14, etc.
Below the code I came up with some Christmas theme words (you could use whatever theme you want).
For each letter of the word I put a line on the handwriting paper.
Under each line I put the number “code” for the letter that I want the student to write on the line (ie. for “a” I would write a 5 under the line because that is the # code for letter “a”).
The student must then “crack the code” by filling in each letter based on the # written below the line.

For students working on correct letter size within writing lines, I use handwriting paper corresponding to the student’s grade or developmental level.

For students who are just working on letter formation & who are not yet focusing on handwriting lines, I use rectangle boxes as place markers for where to put each letter & base the size of the rectangle on the students motor skill level.

I sometimes place the activity in page protectors, for novelty & so that it can be re-used. Other times I will use paper/pencil.

Not the mall parking spots

A smart third-grader has visual needs which require many accommodations at school. His equally-smart OT created this sturdy pull-out drawer for him to more easily locate the many books, composition books, workbooks, subject folders and other papers necessary for daily life in the classroom. In one photo you'll see the "parking spots" with attached pouches containing crayons and other needed manipulatives. I noticed that using black Velcro instead of the usual vanilla variety made the empty parking spots less noticeable since they blended into the color of the desk. For some students it would have been a good visual cue to use a contrasting color of Velcro, but this student can find the pouches easily and sure doesn't want to draw any further attention to himself.

Rather than suggesting specialized software to enlarge the font on the computer, we're suggesting he uses a Large bold font in Microsoft Word for now. This way, he'll be familiar with using the easily-accessible tools available on all school computers and also at home. Since the lengthy writing demands are not frequent in 3rd grade, we'll save the big gun software for a little later down the academic road.

Can I have Triwall with that?

Our Sunday newspaper included an article entitled, "Be More Productive," by Alexandra Levit of the WSJ. WSJ.com/Careers She had some interesting quotes from Kevin Purdy, an editor at Lifehacker.com, so I checked it out. The website is an OT's dream come true!
Just for fun, peruse the site for all the low and high tech ideas--some pretty quirky--about work, home and life in general. One set of ideas, which should be near and dear to our OT hearts, can be found via this link: http://lifehacker.com/5256514/top-10-cheap-but-great-cardboard-creations

Typing Resources--FREE!!!

My good OT buddy, Lauren Swedenborg, compiled this list of resources for keyboarding. Please send me any additional resources you use, or your comments on the ones listed here.

KEYBOARDING PROGRAMS
For Learning Touch Typing


Free On-Line Programs

Dance Mat Typingwww.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml

Touch Typingwww.sense-lang.org/typing

Nimble Fingerswww.nimblefingers.com

Typing Lessons with Peterhttp://www.typing-lessons.org/preliminaries_1.html

Free Typing Tutorial
http://www.alfatyping.com/

Free TypingGame.net
http://www.freetypinggame.net/
This site also has a number of different typing games to help practice letters learned



Commercially Available

For a comprehensive review of each of these programs, as well as information on additional programs, please go to http://typing-for-kids-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ .

Type to Learn
There are many versions of this program. The most current version is Type To Learn 4, which retails for $79.95, but you can download a 30 day free trial.
Purchasing/Free Download Source: http://store.sunburst.com/Home.aspx

Type to Learn 3 is more cost friendly, retailing for around $29.99 ($32.99 for Vista compatability).
Purchasing Source: http://www.smartkidssoftware.com/ndsun3.htm

Typing Instructor for Kids 5.0
Purchasing Source: http://www.hermanstreet.com/store/smarthtml/typing-instructor-for-kids-5.html

Typing Quick & Easy
Purchasing Source: http://www.hermanstreet.com/store/software-typng-quick-and-easy-17-149763.html

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer
Purchasing Source: http://www.qwerty.com/Prices%20and%20Ordering.htm
Free trial download available

UltraKey
Purchasing Source: http://ultrakey.com/
Free trial download available

Typing Pal Junior
Purchasing Source: http://www.typingpal.com/typingpal/tpjr.asp
Free demo trial available

SpongeBob SquarePants Typing
Purchasing Source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NKPF7U?ie=UTF8&tag=ttr%5Ftyping-for-kids-software-20

He's Got MY Word!

Oh, those word sorts! That's the new way to practice spelling in the county schools I serve. Once the students cut those tiny little rectangles apart they then have to arrange them in word "families" and use them all week long for different activities.

As the week progresses there are lots of little rectangles all over the classroom, tucked into desks, loose in bookbags, strewn on the floor. "He's got my word!" "No, it's my word." How to solve this social dilemma?

Have the students quickly draw straight lines on the back of their paper before they cut apart their words; that's the answer of many of the smart kindergarten teachers I now work with in various schools. Most students have the amazing ability to recall the exact crayon shade they used for coloring their papers. One teacher even thought of using the mini sentence holders (see blue plastic contraption in photo) she bought at "Targhet" to hold those slippery word sorts. Works great for a little sweetie who has difficulty using one hand to stabilize small objects.

Handwriting to Make You Cry

For a good reason! This is gorgeous handwriting, done by a 2nd grader whose mom is a teacher for students with learning disabilities and who LOVES the Handwriting Without Tears program. Be ready to be amazed.

Use Music to Increase Alertness

Last Friday I spent a time working with a student in a classroom that is new to me this year. While we worked together I got to hear the kindergarten teacher and several students sing the alphabet song to a modern tune, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" As the teacher pointed to individual letters on a large alphabet poster, she and the students sang about the object in each alphabet square: "Apple makes the A sound, a, a, a, a...Ball makes the B sound, bah, bah, bah, bah..." All weekend I've been playing back that song in my head and loving it.

Did you know that Raffi has a youTube video about brushing your teeth? He's performing live and surprises the children by putting on a pair of dark shades and attempting to perform his classic "Brush Your Teeth" song like a rapper. The high schoolers I work with in a class for students with severe disabilities loved the song and we used it to increase their engagement in a integrated therapy activity on dental hygiene last month.


Try looking up modern music for the activities you're working on with students this month--it sure makes the seasonal activities more fun and can increase alertness by the students to the task at hand.