circle time strategies€¦ · web viewlearning new contractions will be supported when listening...

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programswww.tsbvi.edu

512-454-8631Superintendent William DaughertyOutreach Director Cyral Miller

Texas Focus: Learning From Near to Far

The Link Between Listening and Literacy Skills

Time: 3:00-4:30 PMDate: June 10, 2010

Presented by

Liz Barclay, TVI, Assessment & Outreach California School for the Blind

Developed for

http://www.tsbvi.edu/

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs

2010 Texas Focus: Learning From Near To Far - Barclay 1

The Link Between Listening & LiteracyLiz Barclay

California School for the Blind

[email protected]

LEARNING TO LISTEN & LISTENING TO LEARN

Parents

Teachers

Specialists

LISTENING SKILLS AND THE EXPANDED CORE CURRICULUM

compensatory or functional academic skills, including communication modes

orientation and mobility

social interaction skills

independent living skills

recreation and leisure skills

career education

use of assistive technology

sensory efficiency skills

self-determination


LISTENING SKILLS AND THE CORE CURRICULUM

English-Language Arts Content Standards

No Child Left Behind

GOOD LISTENING COMPREHENSION IS ESSENTIAL FOR:

Language and concept development

Literacy skills

LISTENING AND LITERACY SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Listening does not take the place of reading; excellent listening skills support the development of literacy skills.

HEARING

As a distance sense hearing, like sight, can provide information about objects that one is not touching. It gives the listener information about the environment. (Wiener & Lawson, 1997).

AUDITORY PERCEPTION

Awareness of sound

Auditory attending

Auditory attention span

Sound localization

Auditory discrimination

Auditory memory

Auditory sequencing

Auditory figure-ground discrimination

Auditory closure


PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN

Learning to listen

Experiential learning

School

Playgroups

Classroom

Community

LISTENING AT SCHOOL

Circle Time

Story Time

“ The foundation for literacy- as for all learning- comes from first-hand, common experiences.” Alan KoenigGlobal Experiences (Koenig & Farrenkopf, 1997)

EXPERIENCES TYPICALLY GAINED THROUGH DAILY ACTIVITIES:

Doing or making things (crafts, physical activity, cleaning up)

Experiences with friends --- pretending (friends, games, competition, playing, party)

Working together, sharing, helping (helping, teams, sharing)

Looking for or finding something (mystery, treasure, finding something or someone)

Experiences in the community (community, cities, occupations, places in the community, parade, circus)

Experiences at home (parts of and things in houses, clothes, cleaning up, sleeping)


Experiences with living creatures (animals, pets, birds, frogs, penguins, bears, buffalo, whales)

Experiencing emotions and a sense of well being (feelings, sick, growing, freedom, imagination, jealous)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Listening to Learn

Literacy skills

Listening comprehension and reading comprehension

Active listening

Listening in the classroom: critical listening

Listening to gain information through technology

Social skills

Recreation

LISTENING AND LITERACY SKILLS

Phonemic awareness

Sound manipulation

Sound blending

Sound segmenting

LISTENING AND LITERACY SKILLS

The correlation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension is great.


ENHANCING LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Provide a “picture walk” describing the salient features of picture, especially as they relate to new concepts or experiences in the story

Whenever possible provide objects that are featured in the story and pictures

Relate the pictures and concepts to a child’s own prior experiences

ENHANCING LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Provide opportunities for repeated listening, questioning and probing for understanding

For students who can use vision to view pictures, provide them with their own copy of the book whenever possible for personal picture viewing

When an extra copy isn’t available provide enough time for personal picture viewing, pointing out salient features of the pictures that may be mis-interpreted due to visual impairment.

ENHANCING LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND CRITICAL LISTENING

Guided listening

Guided listening, like guided reading, is always focused on comprehension. Children learn to predict what might happen or what they might learn. They learn about the story elements of characters, setting, and plot, and they learn how to organize and compare information learned from informational text.


LISTENING AND TECHNOLOGY

Assistive Technology Tools that Utilize Listening to Enhance Literacy Skills

Hardware

Software

Audio books

Digital and electronic books

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

Listening to acquire information

Note-taking and listening

Audio formatted listening

Listening and technology

Listening to a live reader

NOTE TAKING AND LISTENING

Teach students to:

Listen for the main points

Keep notes that consist of key words or phrases

Think about the importance of what is write down

Go back and review

SKILLS MANDATED BY STATE GUIDELINES:

Evaluate a speaker and the information being spoken

Identify main idea and supporting information

Restate and summarize spoken information2010 Texas Focus: Learning From Near To Far - Barclay 8

AUDIO FORMATTED LISTENING

Options:

Personal computers

Braille note-takers

Daisy players

Bookports

pda’s

E-book readers

mp3 players

TECHNIQUES

Work with students on increasing speech rates

Listening rate may need to be adjusted depending on the material

Encourage students to follow along in print or braille as they listen

LISTENING AND TECHNOLOGY

Example of state technology standards:

6th graders type 15 wpm using touch typing

7th graders use a calculator for problem solving, statistics, probability, word problems, percents

8th graders create research papers using an electronic source

9-12th graders use Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint/Multi-Media presentation


LISTENING TO A LIVE READER

How do you find, interview and hire a live reader?

Partner with a sighted friend for studying

Learn to become the director

Research options for employing and paying hired readers, i.e. SSI

LISTENING TO ACQUIRE INFORMATION

Note-taking and listening

Audio formatted listening

Listening and technology

Listening to a live reader

Students typically recall only 50% of what they hear and 20-30% of what is remembered is incorrect.

STUDENTS WITH ADDITIONAL DISABILITIES

Attaching Meaning to Sound and Acquiring Information

Becoming Aware of Sound/Attaching Meaning to Sound

Understanding Auditory Information: Auditory

Discrimination and Auditory Memory

Developing Auditory Comprehension and Spoken Language


Becoming Aware of Sound/Attaching Meaning to Sound

Listening as a means of readying for interaction

Creating an “acoustically friendly” environment

Adults as models of listening behavior

Adults as communication partners in listening experiences

CONTINUED USES OF SOCIAL STORIES

Independent and Recreational Listening

Aural Reading and Creating an Audible Library

Social Stories

Experience Books

“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”

- Jimi Hendrix

- Sally Mangold


Learning to Listen, Listening to Learn, Liz Barclay, Editor (In press: AFB Press)

From Chapter 2: Students with Multiple Disabilities by Sandra Staples

Draft 6/10

AUDITORY COMPREHENSION AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE: USES OF SOCIAL STORIES

Social stories are simple stories written from a student’s perspective, usually intended as a means of reinforcing positive behavior in a social situation. They can be generic stories related to general social situations a student with additional disabilities encounters or targeted for situations that are problematic for a student. For example, a social story can reflect general behavior and activity in the cafeteria. Or, it can target a specific behavior for a student, such as eating food on his lunch tray only, not food of classmates seated near him.

Crozier and Sileo (2003) identify 6 steps necessary for the use of social stories as part of an effective behavioral intervention:

Identifying the target behavior

Conducting a functional analysis to gain a baseline of the targeted behavior and its trigger or cause

Identify what might be changed and what behavior to teach

Write the story

Introduce the social story to the student

Evaluate its effectiveness in reinforcing appropriate behavior

Whether social stories created for students with additional disabilities reflect general participation in activities or serve as part of a behavioral intervention, they need to reflect the comprehension level of the student. Crozier and Sileo (2003) point out that they should be


organized with one concept per page with the text limited to “one directive sentence per page and one to three descriptive or perspective sentences” (p. 28).

Using the earlier example of a student’s behavior in the cafeteria, a page of text might include the following:

A descriptive sentence- “Students eat lunch in the cafeteria.”

A directive sentence- “I eat the food on my tray.”

A perspective sentence- “Other students are happy when I eat only my food.”

The descriptive sentence offers information about the setting or what is happening during an event, while a directive statement reinforces how the student should behave. Perspective sentences offer information about how other people think or feel about the activity or the student’s behavior. Students who have visual impairments and additional disabilities miss social cues and other non-verbal communicative behaviors, limiting their appreciation for the perspectives of others and for the social climate. Social stories can enhance students’ awareness of and consideration for others as well as providing a means of reinforcing and shaping their social behavior.

Social stories can be limited to one line per page with repetition of the directive sentence and include other perspectives or descriptions. The story above could have a single sentence per page, with additional pages with sentences such as “My teacher is happy when I eat only my food” and “The lunchroom assistant is happy when I eat only my food” closing with “After l eat my food, I put my tray on the counter.”

Social stories can also be expanded so they address different contexts for the same behavior. The three sentences earlier can be on a single page, and then repeated with a different setting on subsequent pages. A second page might continue the pattern with “Students eat lunch at McDonald’s. I eat the food on my tray. Other students are happy when I eat only my food,” with one sentence per line. A third page might address eating snack in the classroom, and so on.2010 Texas Focus: Learning From Near To Far - Barclay 13

Illustrations can support emerging literacy and can include a photograph, line drawing, object or part of an object, depending on the student’s picture interpretation skills, need for additional cues to the story, and the extent to which the illustration supports rather than detracts from the key concept.

SOURCES: Based on Encouraging positive behavior with social stories: An intervention for students with autism spectrum disorders by S. Crozier & N. Sileo in TEACHING Exceptional Children, 35(3), pp. 26-31 (Council for Exceptional Children, 2003).


Learning to Listen, Listening to Learn, Liz Barclay, Editor (In press: AFB Press)

From Chapter 4: Learning to Listen: Preschool and Kindergarten

by Kate Byrnes

Draft: 6/10

CIRCLE TIME STRATEGIES

An essential activity for most preschool and kindergarten classes is “circle time”. Skillful listening is very important during this instructional period because it is an opportunity to learn a variety of social-cognitive skills such as listening to peers, turn-taking, and collaborative problem solving. Circle time often provides a predictable routine for learning concepts such as:

Seasons

Holidays

Months of the year

Days of the week

Counting days on a calendar

Oral counting to 100

Weather

Attendance

Early literacy skills such as the alphabet and sounds

For the student with visual impairments it is particularly important for teachers to provide support that will make it possible to listen and respond in order to successfully learn alongside their peers. Make the most out of the listening opportunities during circle time activities by providing that support using the strategies in the sidebar below.2010 Texas Focus: Learning From Near To Far - Barclay 15

STRATEGIES FOR TEACHER OF STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS

Provide ample time for children to inspect any objects presented for exploration. This may be time spent in addition to circle time, either before or after, describing the salient features of the object as the student manually explores it.

Before students participate in circle time, provide orientation to instructional materials that are regularly used, such as calendars, name charts, counting objects, pointers, etc. Children will also benefit from opportunities to practice with the materials so that for example, when it is their turn to put the new number on the calendar, they will have a greater level of comfort and familiarity.

Provide opportunities to practice the movements that accompany the songs that are regularly sung, explaining, when necessary, why they accompany the words in the song. For instance, when singing “I’m a Little Teapot”, one hand is held up like a teapot spout, while the other is hand is placed on the hip, as if forming a handle. A real teapot can be used as a model during description and practice.

Encourage youngsters with visual impairment to listen for the voice of their teacher or the person who is speaking during activities, teaching them to turn their bodies so that they face the speaker while seated. This may take practice and require a few reminders until it becomes natural.

Teach children how to raise their hands in response to and when asking questions during circle time instruction.

STRATEGIES FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Choose a circle time seating arrangement that will place students with visual impairments in close proximity to instructional materials and actions that they may fully experience with support when necessary.


Use the names of children consistently, so that the student with visual impairment will know who is called on or involved in an activity.

Use precise positional terminology during instruction. For example, when directing students to point to or place an object, use specific language such as, “put the counting bear in the one’s cup on the right.”

Encourage children with visual impairment to participate during circle time activities by calling on them regularly, having the expectation that they can fully participate.

When presenting new ideas and concepts, link them to prior experiences that the children, especially the child with visual impairment has had.

Ensure that your student with visual impairment has ample opportunity to manually explore materials that are used for instruction or brought by other students for sharing. If there is not enough time for this during instruction, provide additional time after circle time.


Technology and Listening SkillsLearning to Listen, Listening to Learn, Liz Barclay, Editor

(In press: AFB Press)From Chapter 5: Listening to Learn in the Elementary Grades

by Theresa Postello & Liz Barclay

Draft 6/10

SKILL GRADE LEVEL COMMENTS AND PRECURSOR SKILLS

Listen to audio materials using cassette tapes, CD’s, MP3s, DAISY, Internet, & radio TV sources.

Preschool through high school

Children begin to listen to recorded books in preschool for pleasure. By early (grade one) elementary grades, listening centers can be found in classrooms. In the upper elementary grades (fourth grade), students should have regular listening assignments to help prepare them for later curricular listening. i.e., notetaking exercises.

Listen to curriculum skill development device such as Dr. Sally Mangold’s SAL (Speech Assisted Learning) System. SAL2 System is an interactive braille & audio learning station.

Use of these devices can begin in pre-kindergarten and be used as long as helpful

Listening will play an important role in literacy skill development when using Speech Assisted Learning devices.



Listen to electronic braillewriter such as Mountbatten PRO Brailler

Use of electronic braillewriter can begin from pre-school to first grade

This tool is useful for pre-braille learners so they can “doodle” around, starting to get auditory feedback between dots and shapes and associate them with character sound; helps with learning the braille code.

Listen to electronic notetaker such as BrailleNote, PAC Mate™, and Elba

Use of electronic notetaker can begin as early as second grade, depending on skill level

Children can begin learning to use an electronic braillewriter as soon as they can read and braille the alphabet. Learning new contractions will be supported when listening to their voiced braille output.

Listen to audible PC keyboarding tutor programs

Begin in second grade

Instruction in word processing typically begins when students are beginning readers and writers, having knowledge of alphabet and word reading and writing.

Listen to labels on tactile maps, diagrams, drawings, or courseware

Begin in pre-kindergarten, continuing through elementary school.

Teach tactile exploration skills.

Listen to screen reading while using the computer

Third Grade Students must have basic keyboarding skills.



Listen to audible literature on PDAs

Third Grade Students should have plenty of regular exposure to and understanding of typical print and braille formats. Listening to audible literature and curricular material does not take the place of print and braille literacy skills.

Listen while using scanning programs

May begin in fourth or fifth grade or Middle school

Listening plays an important role in learning to use this valuable skill that will lead to increased independence.

Listen while using GPS

Middle school Use of these devices is covered in Chapter 8, Orientation and Mobility.


Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Outreach Programs

1100 West 45th Street

Austin, Texas 78756

512-454-8631www.tsbvi.edu

Figure 1 TSBVI Outreach Programs logo

Figure 2 OSEP logo

This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.


http://www.tsbvi.edu/

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