wizzlewolf - Hi Jaya, were are looking for the Exceptional Ed NB chat?
Sandy - I am working on entry 1 and planning to tape next week for entry 2.
Sandy - What is everyone else and where?
Susan - What are you planning to tape?
Sandy - Depends on whose permission I receive. I have one child who is adopted and I don;t think they'll give permission. Working on writing for F-CAT test in FEB.
Susan - I am taping all week next week. I do not know what will be there, but I have reserved a camera from the media center.
Susan - What is a fcat test?
Sandy - One of my coworkers is loaning me his camera and tripod indefinitely. I'm sure it will take us a while to get used to it being in the room.
Sandy - -Cat is florida's writing exam for 4th grade. All but EMH students must take.
Susan - I had a personal one I tried to use for the purpose of adjustment to the camera. They were wild the whole time. So, I gave up in Sept., and ready to try again.
Sandy - I have pretty strange behaviors so we'll see! I finally went to an extrinsic motivation system with dollars and a store. They responded well to that.
Susan - We are in a better routine, have meds adjusted, etc. But it will also be a smaller group, since the ones without permission will be elsewhere.
Sandy - Won't that be a pain? I haven't really planned out what to do with them.
Susan - My worst kids are the ones who won't return forms. Ideally, I wanted them all there. Realistic- probably just as well.
Sandy - Susan, where do you teach and what?
Susan - We have labs, etc. in our routine. I will send them with an assist, then keep the ones I am taping in the room.
Susan - EMD-sc,high school, South Carolina
hilda - Hi Susan and Sandy!
Susan - Hi Hilda, Queen of the scanner
Sandy - I have 3rd and 4th grade varying exceptionalities - mostly
Sandy - emh and emotionally handicapped.
Susan - What a neat age group
hilda - My social skills entry happened today, and me without the video running!
Emily - Hilda, what happened?
hilda - My students (Seniors, LD) were discussing manners, and the need for respect. It was awesome!
ki - does anyone have any ideas for the social skills entry?
hilda - You could hear us in the whole bldg. They were into it.
Emily - I think I may do interviewing skills along with a caree skills unit.
Susan - We have to work on manners every day, so that happens all the time. It is not always pretty!
Sandy - I have a student with whom I'm working on manners and eating skills. Think I'll try that one as he's already had to eat in office for 2 weeks.
hilda - This was one of those intense discussions. The kids were so wonderful.
Susan - That is what I want- you can't fake that.
hilda - One of the teachers I know had maintenance help a student with eating problems. They were tired of cleaningup after him.
Sandy - Maybe you could somehow revisit it when the taping is happening - j=hope so@!
Susan - So, I am running tape all next week, just for a lousy few minutes of footage.
Sandy - I think that is good though, as they'll soon ignore it.
hilda - The kids want to go on and on. We are going to firm up our topics and go at it. With tape running!
Susan - My kids do not know about NB, there are none in my school or district, so I have not told them anything.
Sandy - How are you doing on verification stuff? I mean in response to entries 5 and 6? I asked for letters as I thought they were more meaningful, but was surprised at the people who didn't respond. Guess I'll have to go with the forms.
ki - how thorough do you have to be on the verification forms for entries 5 &6?
wizzlewolf - Oh gee, there wasn't any NBs in my school when I did it, but I told the kids so they would understand how important they are!! :-)
ki - i had someone who would not sign my verfication form. i believe she was afraid to sign her name to something. pretty silly, huh!
Sandy - Yes, you definitely wonder what runs through people's heads.
Emily - What types of questions are some of you using for #4?
hilda - I am using a movitation question for 4.
Susan - Is my student still breathing?
Sandy - That's the one that has me wondering too. It seems like an entry you structure without much assistance - open ended.
ki - #4 has me baffled, i haven't really thought about it yet. still struggling with entry #1.
Emily - I may test the effect of a new reading strategy.
Susan - Seriously, I do have a student who does nothing. He is my challenge. He is not a behavior problem, he just sits. Usually art does the trick, but he is a zero on that, too.
bon - Is there anyone here who recently got the verification forms (employment, education, etc..) that come about a week before the box?
hilda - I have the forms, and I think the district lady who does that lost them. I am thrilled with her.
Sandy - Yes, I received the forms and have sent them out and back to NBPTS.
ki - i received box then forms
Emily - I also have a student who is very difficult to motivate.
jaya - in my portfolio i did not find rubricks . do i have to get it with my box?
wizzlewolf - Susan, did you ever ask him why he just sits?
hilda - I was told by Susan that we get the rubrics in Nov. Right susan?
Susan - Yes, and he just rolls his eyes around and sits.
Kathey - susan - does he talk to peers or others?
wizzlewolf - Then, you just let him sit?
ki - what is this about getting rubrics? i did not get rubrics in my box. are they missing?
Susan - His mother and the school psych have observed him. I am certain they were amazed, too. He does not talk at all, although his mother thinks he is shy. I had him last yr, and figured he was intimidated by high school. This year is no better.
Sandy - How long do you have him each day?
ki - i agree, let him sit
Kathey - is selective mustism a possibility?
wizzlewolf - Maybe that is why he sits, he can.
Sandy - Is he an elective mute or does he talk socially?
ki - what type setting is he in,emh, tmh?
Susan - No! I constantly have him doing things. But he has to have it broken down, like "stand up"- walk to the table- pick up the scissors. In between, he will forget what he is doing.
wizzlewolf - Susan, what is his exceptionality??
Susan - I am looking into anything I get a lead on. I have him in a group this yr, that is geared towards Transition, in an apartment one day a week. This guy who runs the program says he has never seen anything like it. He is good at drawing out kids in a cozy setting.
Susan - He is Educable Mentally Disabled- Self Contained
Sandy - Does he receive any communication help? SLP?
ki - can the boy communicate via the computer to express himself?
Susan - No, when he speaks, he is clear, but his response is delayed for a few minutes. I think most people give up waiting. I have had to teach my class NOT to answer for him.
Kathey - does he talk to anyone? peers - family?
jaya - for entries 5&6wwhat what type of communications do we have to choose? do we need to choose
hilda - Susan, did you just get the message I sent you?
Susan - He would sit there with his first thing in the morning journal BLANK in front of him for the entire day, if I did not remind him to put it up. It is like he does not notice anything around him on his own.
wizzlewolf - Susan, you said ART snaps him out of it??
Susan - No, it does not. Some of my best stories are from collaboration with my art dept- they are super with my kids. He does the same in there. He is with me all day- I put him in there in hopes of a response to the man in there who is very sensitive.
Kathey - Susan- I have a similar situation with a female. She functions better if I post a list of everything we are doing and let her check off the items as she completes them. I let her know that a minimum # of items MUST be completed before... and then I set a timeline.
wizzlewolf - Oh I thought you said he seemed to like art....Does he seem to like anything?
Marie - I have a student in my room who was diagnosed as select mutism. He speaks to the other kids and when he is speaking to me he always prefaces it with "Tell the teacher"
wizzlewolf - Kathey, that is great. That is exactly right! Concrete and visual objective/goals with a timeline@ :-) Good!!
wizzlewolf - Marie, HA HA LOL
Susan - No, I had hopes for art, but no luck there. IF I could get a reaction, then my next move would be based on something. I have given him specific daily tasks to do at home. His mom signs off on those and she is sure he does them, but nothing at school.
Pat - Has anyone worked with a child with Prader Willi Syndrome?
hilda - I have. He was a funny little guy. Very cooperative.
Marie - It definitly has taken some getting used to. I have to give the other kids credit, they only speak for him when they are sure I haven't heard him.
Susan - What is it, is it something mine might have?
hilda - But, also very, very round. ;-)
Pat - The little girl I have is not very cooperative at all. She is thin.
Kathey - LOCK UP THE FOOD!!!!
Kathey - Thin Prader Willi??
hilda - I thought an eating disorder, like eating everything in sight, was part of Prader Willi?
Pat - I found that out right away. Did you ever reinforce with food?
Pat - Yes she is 9 and weighs 50lbs, mom and dad are very carefull with her diet.
hilda - I reinforced with just the thought of lunch for him.
hilda - Sounds like they might be too careful.
Pat - Yes she craves food 24-7
Susan - My student is very thin. At the apartment, they cook, he eats so slowly that they are ready to clean up and he has only had a few bites.
bon - Since I've gotten the box, I crave food 24-7 also
Susan - How do you diagnose that?
Pat - Possibly! Her non-compliant behaviors are becoming worse and she tends to forage, she too savors every bite of food.
hilda - That is the truth Bon.
Kathey - average weight gain during NB's - 35 lbs!
hilda - Thanks Kathey! That is some really good news!
Susan - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Pat - It is a medical diagnosis. Usually parents know at birth, but not always.
hilda - Pat, are you thinking of usingher for one of your entries?
Susan - I told my school psych he must have something wrong, but my question in what? Besides emd, of course.
Pat - This is the first time I have been to this chat room, not sure what you mean.
Kathey - susan - I would explore the selective mustism route. From what I have read, that may be what you are looking at - especially if he is verbal in other situations.
dbrown720 - Hi everyone, my name is Deborah. I just received my box this past week and I am wondering how and what entry to start on first. Any suggestions.
Susan - I appreciate any and every suggestion. I have a very hands-on classroom, as well as lots of Transition activities, like a store, labs, voc rehab, the apartment, etc. Most kids like something...
hilda - Susan check your email.
Kathey - pat - are you a National Board Candidate? If so, then what hilda is asking is are you planning to use this child as one of your examples for entry 1-4
jaya - my teacher said we can start on entries 5&66 start collececting information.
dbrown720 - are there any moderate/mild candidates tonight?
Kathey - dbrown - you can start anywhere you want - some of us started with 5&6 and some have started at the beginning with entry 1 and are saving the communication ones til last - I am M/M
Emily - Yes. Middle School mild moderate
Susan - Angela! How's taping going?
Emily - dbrown, what grade levels do you teach?
dbrown720 - Emily, I teach middle school moderate. i have a lot going on in my program but i just don't know how to put it all together.'
Emily - Same here. I've been trying to sort things out and make some choices about which students to use for the entries.
Kathey - question - is it better to try 1-on-1 with the videos, or should we try to include a small group with special emphasis on the selected child
Susan - dbrown- I was like that, I wanted to showcase everything- but you have to break it down. Just answer the questions- stay on track for what it is asking from you.
dbrown720 - I teach 12 - 15. I have 3 autistic, 2 using aac devices for severe speech problems. Altogether I have 8. Very neat class.
Emily - db, are you self-contained? I am.
Emily - I have 14 LD and EMD. I'm expecting to have an ED placed in my class next week. The students I have now are really a great group.
dbrown720 - I have narrowed down who I want to choose. From my understanding, we can only show one child per entry that requires using your students. Am I right or wrong?
Emily - It's my understanding that we have to focus on a different student for each entry.
Susan - You may feature one in a group
Susan - That one may not be featued again
Angela - Susan, I haven't been able to get things situated so that I can progress to that level of my portfolio as of yet. I have played around with things to get the students accustomed to the camera. This has been a learning experience for them. I am starting on Monday. I have three weeks set aside to prepare the necessary footage I will need. I am working on entries 5 and 6. I am rereading the standards to make sure I understand exactly what I am suppose to relate in the writings. How are things going with you?
dbrown720 - Emily what is EMD? I know that different states have different names for excetionalities.
Emily - Educable Mentally Disabled.
Angela - Hilda, In 1997 my students and I sponsored an appreciation luncheon for the teachers, administrators, and board members. I have pictures, a sign in sheet with notes, and thank you letters. What would be the best way to place this into Entry 5?
Emily - db, what state are you from?
hilda - Use the letters, and include a collage of the pictures. That is something I have seen done.
Susan - Wow, Hilda, what a good idea!
dbrown720 - What kinds of community involvement are others using? I am heavily into Special olympics in my county and i don't just coach my students. Also Kroger who is our partner in education for our school helped me to set up a mini Kroger store in my clsddroom. I went to corporate office to get it done at our school to help with self management /shopping and money skills.
Angela - Hilda, since I can only have 15 papges of artifacts how many letters would I use?
hilda - Angela, I really don't know. What looks the best! The portfolio I saw did the collage thing.
dbrown720 - Is that the kinds of things they are asking for. I do so much with my class and school that I don't have time to join civic organizations in the community. I also have 2 children of my own.
Emily - db, sounds like a great set-up. I have received donations from several businesses in our area to support incentives for a banking skills/behavior management program we are using.
Susan - Dbrown- you probably work with lots of agencies
dbrown720 - I am from Georgia.
hilda - And all of those are community involvement.
wizzlewolf - Angela, you should collect all the artifacts for the entry, then decide how to "widdle" it down to the number of pages allowed.
Emily - I am in SC.
dbrown720 - emily you are doing some neat stuff also. I mainly try to get my students ready for the high school community vocational program and just to make them as independent as possible as i'm sure you all are doing.
Susan - Emily, do you do the thing with paying a deposit for being good, writing a ck for being bad?
Emily - No, The students use checbooks. They are paid once a month, based on our classroom "Success Tickets" and academic performance. They have bills to pay,etc. Then they can save or spend money in class store.
dbrown720 - i do work with parks and recreation, the hospital to set up health fairs for special olympic athletes in the county. Does that count. sometimes I feel moderate considering i,ve been teaching moderate for 15 years. I hope that i didn't bite off more than i can chew. i know this process will better my teaching.
Susan - That is better, I would hate to have to equate writing cks with being bad! Sounds like a good program!
Angela - Thanks Hilda, I feel my way through until it seems just right. It's a bad night for typing. Debra, you can visit nursing homes, make cards and deliver them, adopt a mile of highway to clean up and teach functioanl life skills at the same time, volunteer to baby sit at a PTA/PTO. Start a recycling program. I'll send more later.
Emily - Each student has 5 tickets per day. goal is to keep all tickets. Tickets are "pulled" for breaking rules, no homework,etc.
hilda - Angela make extra copies of the pictures now.
dbrown720 - Emily I like that idea. could you send it to me at egroups. do any of you have success with intergrating your students into regular population in your school. I have a super thing going on. I have a Partners club that has regular and special students together. It has now grown to 70 and the rgular students outweigh the special ones.
Susan - Hilda, what a great idea!
Emily - db, you are doing wonderful things. The things you are doing are definitely impacting students.
Angela - Hidla, can I send a black and white collage? or would color be beter?
hilda - The one I saw was a copy, but knowing the teacher they were in color.
dbrown720 - Thanks Angela! Those are great ideas. My eighth graders have to do a volunteer job site in Jan - May and that would be great to go to a nursing home. Send me more and I would appreciate it.
Angela - Hilda, Will do, THANK YOU.
Kathey - At my school when we have finished reading a book, we have a "book exchange" with one of the reg ed English classes where we discuss our book and they discuss theirs
Emily - I like your partners idea. Four of my students are currently mainstreamed for math. I work closely with reg. teacher to help insure success.
dbrown720 - emily we are working on time management in my class and a veteren teacher gave me the idea of aschedule board. I made it with mayer johnson sysbols. e
Emily - db, I didn't understand the last part of your message. I made it with what?
Kathey - night all - it's going to be a busy weekend - see you next Friday!
dbrown720 - the board is divided into schedules throughout the day. I laminated it and put each students picture at the top. They each had to bring a magnet that sticks to the blackboard. At the end of each activity or time period, they have to move their magnet. If they haven't finished their work theycannot move the magnet until it is finished.
Emily - Love that idea!
Susan - That sounds cool- maybe I can try that with my student who won't move to the next activity
hilda - Susan, that is definitely worth a try.
dbrown720 - It was made with bullitin board paer and the scheduled is divided into blocks. for instance first time block is personal info and writing - 9:45 - 10:15. When finished they move to the next time schedule. they have to move their own magnet. I will have to scan a picture and send it to you.
Susan - My only problem is that then I would have to stick to that schedule! I am always changing things
dbrown720 - It works really well, because at lunch, if the work is not finished and the magnet is not move they can't eat lunch with their regular ed peers until the magnet is moved. they might missed that lunch with peers and have to eat in room which they don't like. After lunch the incenative is recreation and leisure at 2:30 before going home. if work is not completed and magnet had not been moved, thye can't have rec leisure until it is finished.
hilda - Susan, maybe you could just see if he would move the magnet. HA HA
Emily - My students are wrapping shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. One of the regular classes has also gotten involved with us. I've also tried to involve parents in our effort. What are some things you've done to involve parents?
Susan - I tried silent lunch with a rowdy girl last year. Turned out she LOVED eating in my room with me- it made her feel special, she asked to do it all the time.
dbrown720 - That's understandable, because with moderate children, things change all the time, but we go by the time periods as well. if we are doing some different than the subject, we still move our magnets but it is according to time periods. When we go on our weekly community trip, we move our magnets to the correct time slot when we get back and start from there.
hilda - Susan, I would love a silent lunch!
Emily - db, where do you go on your weekly community trips?
Susan - so, Emily, are your kids in clubs?
dbrown720 - I would like to try an afternoon dinner session with them since i have a kitchen in my classroom. or breakfast even. I send home weekly reports and call weekly. A once a month kind of get together so that they can chat. I do take my studetns to games and dac=nces after school sometimes to give parents an afternoon off and it involves them with their peers. I like that operation gift idea. that is very good .
Emily - I have five boys that play on our football team. One of them is the "star" player. I have one girl who is on the annual staff.
Emily - db, you really are involved with your parents. That's great!
dbrown720 - Every school that has moderate, severe and profound in our county are given community based days. We have to plan tuesdays from august to december and jan through may. we go to gorcery store , department stores, fast food rest., bowling, skating, etc. in our community. We have to submit goals for every student. We work on the goals in the community. I go with half of my class one week and the para goes with the other half. our special ed director doesn't want us all grouped together as one big special ed group. we also take reg. ed partner club members on our trips.
Emily - Wow! That sounds wonderful!
Susan - Hilda- are you involved with your parents?
hilda - Wow! All those trips! That is quite something!
dbrown720 - That is neat that yiou have them involved in other sports and the annual staff is great. I have always hoped that i would have one to work on that staff
hilda - Why Susan, yes I am. I call, send weekly progress resports, and interactive homework. I am the queen of parent involvement as well as the scanner.
Susan - I have a boy with a limp. Whenever we go anywhere, the other kids do not want to be seen with him, because they think he looks retarded. He is a lot smarter than some of them. Do you have those situations?
Emily - She mostly helps with pictures,etc. She is a very sweet girl and accepted by the reg. students. Her language/reading skills are very low.
dbrown720 - I have a great staff to work with. Do you all have support from your regular ed colleagues.
hilda - I definitely do not. Our buildings are not even legal of handicapped people.
Emily - Regular ed teachers are very supportive of what we try to do.
Susan - My students do distribution of the school newspaper. That makes them part of the staff, even thought they do not have the language skills to write articles.
hilda - Susan, do they distribute it to the classrooms?
Emily - Newspaper distribution. That's a great way to let them be involved.
Susan - They open the bundles from the printer, count out the amounts for bundles, fold them- sometimes add an insert- and put a rubber band on. They take them to the boxes or the classes, depending on when they come in.
dbrown720 - Is it a requirement that your students are involved in regular ed in some way. If they are capable , all of my studetns go to connections class one period a day. connection classes are art, music, pe, socialskills etc.
hilda - You have classes in social skills??
Emily - All of my students go to "related arts" classes twice a day. This allows me a planning period and a period to do one-on-one tutoring.
hilda - Susan, that sounds great! Do your students ever contribute to the paper?
dbrown720 - I like that newspaper idea. our pto does our school newsletter and we have to give imput from each department. but i'm sure they would let our studetns help in some way. that is neat
Susan - WE are in a high school of 2000 kids, so it is a big job for us
dbrown720 - Yes! I think all middle school students benefit from social skills classes. the teacher of that class use to be a special ed teacher and she really invloves my studetns when they have her class.
Emily - I need to sign off. I have a busy day tomorrow. My own children are running in their upperstate crosscountry meet. Wll be driving our of town. Thanks for all the tips and ideas. Keep up the good work.
Susan - Hilda- the only contribution we have had so far is the distribution and a feature article with pictures of us in our new school store
hilda - Go Susan!!!!!
hilda - Sounds like an artifact to me!
Susan - I sure do hope so
hilda - db, I think all high school students could benefit from social skills classes. Wish we had them.
dbrown720 - Explain an artifact to me. Give me an example of one for any entry. I just need to know how to set this up
hilda - db, and artifact is proof, or student work than shows what you are doing, ya da ya da....
hilda - db, do you have your BOX?
hilda - An artifact can help to make your clear and convincing evidence more so....
dbrown720 - Yes, I received my box on last saturday. I have read over it but i am confused when it starts talking about maximum. i hatre to sound so dum, but i got somuch i can sontribute and i am afraid of setting it up wrong and not doing it the right way. I will really have time this weekend to study each entry and my standards.
hilda - db, after you study it, you will understand what you need in the way of artifacts. Like they said to us...save everything you might use!
dbrown720 - On your written commentary, when it says maxmimum 10 pages, what if you don't write 10 pages. You also have to explain the artifacts that you present, am i right.
