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Our Special Feature of the month...
The ALL-LEARNERS SITE is BACK with a new feature for the month of August! Jane Foster of Kimberley School in District 145 shared this project with us:
Colin is a kindergartner at Kimberly Heights School in District #145. He started the school year with limited verbal speech. He is now able to communicate verbally many of his wants and needs to his family, teachers, and most importantly, his peers with the help of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) developed by Lori A. Frost, M.S. CCC-SLP and Andrew S. Bondy, Ph.D.
One important aspect of the PECS is that children are the initiators~they are the ones to start an
interaction. They do not need to wait or depend upon adults to communicate.
An emphasis in our inclusionary kindergarten is socially acceptable peer interaction. The first step is for all the children to be able to identify their friends by names and faces. We are delighted by how successful the following activity helped us accomplish this classroom goal.
To connect names with faces, we stapled each child’s school picture on a blank language master card. A parent volunteer then helped each child record his name on his card. Colin took the stack of cards, with pictures and voices (including his own), home for the weekend. By the time he returned on Monday, he could name each child’s picture.
We then made two sets of "tickets" which said "Give this to _______." One set had names and pictures; one set had only names. As a circle time activity, one child at a time was given a "ticket" to read and give to the named classmate. For every "ticket" with just a name, Colin was given a "ticket" with a name and picture to read and give to the pictured/named classmate.
Kimberley School, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago is very proud of your achievements!
