copy of e-mail I forwarded to Judie, Nicole & Cari
Class Structure:
(this is intended to be a guide for the teachers. Don’t necessarily share this exact schedule with Lena, but you can let her know how your class will proceed at the beginning of each day. Avoid setting hard limits and be flexible. At the beginning of the school year, require less and increase expectations in following weeks as you and Lena are successful. Have fun and enjoy learning together).
• Approx. 5 minutes - Greetings, rapport building (talk about something enjoyable to both of you), set expectations for the lesson and help Lena prepare herself for success (materials out, etc).
• 15-30 minutes (no longer than this at the start of the school year – and early in year focus more on 15 minutes) – main lecture. This may include review from previous lessons and the new lesson focus for the day.
• **At this point, offer for Lena to take a 5 minute break at this point or she can choose to have it following her independent work (offering some choice will give her the feeling of having more control). There should be a clear expectation of when to return to work (decide with her if you will set a timer on your phone, if you’ll refer to the clock or any other method – again giving choice will ease the transition). **Let Lena know what she’ll be returning to. Below are some choices for her break. Eventually as you get to know Lena you may offer a wider variety.
o Coloring
o Bathroom trip
o Walk to get some water and back
o snack
o She can just have a break to tell you a story or tell you about one of her shows (this might be further into the school year)
o It should be up to her… this is HER BREAK, but providing her with choices may be helpful
• 5-10 minutes - Independent or guided work – preferably work on paper where Lena practices what she just learned in the lecture
• 5-10 minutes - Review her paperwork together – Have Lena correct any of the necessary work
• 5-10 minutes any conclusion or wrap-up to the lesson
• Class should end at least 5 minutes early prior to her next class (teacher will remain with Lena and may be engaged with her depending on her chosen activity). This can be time for Lena to engage in any preferred down time she would like in order to prepare herself for a successful next class! (Break times are a great opportunity for the teacher to build their relationship with Lena – but if she prefers some ‘alone’ time, they should honor that and keep talking and social requirements to a minimum).
o **this final break time should be in stone. This should not be taken away due to limited focus or work during the lesson. We want to ensure that no matter how one class went, Lena can have the opportunity to be successful in her next class.
o *if there is something special that Lena wants to work for during your lesson for focus or completion for example, then she may absolutely do that during this time… but should she not meet the expectations for that reward, she should still be given this time as a break.
Notes for success:
• Start each lesson by helping Lena be successful by having out the necessary materials. At the beginning of the year the teacher may have to list exactly what to take out (i.e. science text book, science notebook, and something to write with). As the year goes on, the teacher may start to allow more time for Lena to pull these materials out with less prompting.
• If something is expected of Lena, say it. Avoid implying that she should do something. (i.e., I want you to write this down in your notebook).
• If there are supports Lena could be using to find out an answer, talk her through accessing that (i.e., Pull out your Japanese dictionary and turn to the page on the kitchen to help you)
• Lena is still learning to ask for help or say when she doesn’t know something. If she ever does these things during class, the teacher should immediately reinforce by providing her with the answer. As Lena gets more comfortable asking for help in class, then the teacher should fade to sometimes only giving her increasingly stronger clues.
• Provide Lena with visual supports. This might just be writing down a main topic word, or showing a math problem on the board or paper in front of Lena.
• Check in for attending and understanding throughout. Do this frequently. It might be as simple as having her repeat a word that you’re defining, completing a fill-in the blank phrase, etc. Try to gently incorporate this into your lesson. This is a great way to break up the wordy lectures that might lose Lena’s focus. Vary the types of questions so Lena doesn’t become bored or frustrated with them.
• If Lena seems frustrated or like she needs a break – you can:
o Provide her with a vote of confidence while offering her help – it might be best to just jump in with a tool she can use rather than asking if she wants help (she is likely to decline this despite needing help)
o Help her ask for a break.
o Let her know how much time until her scheduled break time
o Offer for her to take her to take her break early – but remind her that this will mean that her scheduled break will need to be skipped or shortened.
o If it seems appropriate, or Lena asks for it, you can offer for her to text or call her Mom for support or comfort. (I would highly recommend allowing for this accommodation prior to things becoming more escalated so she can use her mom as a tool rather than just recovery). The goal is that eventually Lena will rely on her mom less and rely on her own strategies of coping more often – but she needs to feel comfortable first.
• If she does get through her scheduled/planned work early… then allow her to be done with the work for the session!! Avoid the urge to move on to the next lesson just because she got done quickly. As you learn her, you’ll be able to plan your lesson times better in the future.. but for now, give her the time… she earned it!
• If you feel it would be helpful to reach out to Lena’s mom (Cari) for support in helping her daughter be successful, do so. Avoid using her mom as a consequence or punishment for non-preferred behavior, but rather use her mom as a resource in reaching a successful session.
We met to discuss Kaitlin's interests to determine appropriate summer reading choices. I will prepare a list for Kaitlin; she can choose one or two books.
