We're back and busier than ever! After 5 days of being snowed in, we're back to our daily routine. We got to meet our new peer facilitators this week, and we introduced a new unit of study about American History. I've taken a hodge-podge of pictures this week, so I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite special education apps along with a few random photos:
TOUCH CHAT
Touch Chat is a must for kids (and adults) with expressive language deficits that require augmentative or alternative communication. I started using this app with one of my students whose speech has been pretty unintelligible. No one could understand this poor kiddo, and it was causing him to act out in frustration when his message wasn't getting across. Yes, Touch Chat is a pricey app at $149.99, but it is SO worth it! If you are a teacher, you can put in a request for this app, and, if you're really lucky, you may find it on sale from time to time. I use this app with all of my students during our Word Wall activities, creating pages with our sight words for the month to allow our kids to match a spoken word to the written word on in the app. Get it here.
NOTABILITY
I went big (price-wise) with my first recommendation, huh? The next app on my list is more affordable at $2.99! I L-O-V-E Notability; it allows my students to access and complete worksheets on their iPads using their finger or a stylus. The kids are paired with general education peers to complete worksheets assessing their recall of information presented during our Unique Learning lessons. The kids are highly motivated when they are able to "write" on the iPad, and transferring completed worksheets to GoogleDrive, so that I can print them off is easy-peasy. Get it here.
BOOK CREATOR
Book Creator ($4.99) allows you to easily import pictures to create social stories on your iPad. Enough said! Get it here.
iBOOKS
iBooks is FREE!! I use it to store .pdf files of Unique Learning chapters and science lessons. Each "book" is added to the ibooks bookshelf for easy access. I can lock students into iBooks using Guided Access, and we don't have to worry about them popping into their favorite games during instruction. Get it here.
NEWS-2-YOU
Anyone who a) knows me or b) reads my blog is well aware that News-2-You rocks my world is one of my FAVORITE instructional tools. The newly launched N2Y app is free but requires the purchase of a membership (or you can purchase articles individually) to access the weekly newspaper articles and other goodies. Easy to navigate, this app lets my students read age-appropriate, high interest newspaper articles on their iPads. LOVE IT. Get it here.
NEXT DOLLAR UP
If you're a special education teacher, you're probably familiar with the Next Dollar or Dollar Up strategy for teaching kids with disabilities how to make purchases. After years of practicing this concept using fake money and newspaper ads (which is still a totally appropriate and useful tool for teaching this skill), I know have another tool in my bag. This fun app lets kids practice the concept of rounding to the next dollar to make a purchase on their iPads. My kids use it during secret academic practice free time. Get it here.
AMAZING COIN
Amazing Coin is an amazing inexpensive, fun app that helps kids with coin identification and value. As much as my sweet friends enjoy their Temple Run time, they love using this app to practice play coins. It's very user friendly and fun to play. Get it here.
And now for the random photos:
Check out our new peers working so seamlessly with my kids on their SECOND DAY.
Adapted music class is AWESOME. We love Miss C. who teaches this class on her own time. She is INCREDIBLE.
Starting our new vocational assignments this week.
Pencil sharpening and dish washing are going well!
We're back to work on our comprehension questions!
Loving this new American History unit!
HAPPY FRIDAY!
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