Unpacking Unique Learning Systems

1. Unpacking Unique Learning Systems Mrs. Daphie J. Sellers Special Education Coordinator

2. Mission and Vision Mission: Dorchester School District Two leading the way, every student, every day, through relationships, rigor, and relevance. Vision: Dorchester School District Two desires to be recognized as a “World Class” school district, expecting each student to achieve at his/her optimum level in all areas, and providing all members of our district family with an environment that permits them to do their personal best.

3. unpacking Unique Learning Systems Presentation Information Agenda Introduction of participants Overview of Unique Learning Systems and News2You Working with Level 1 Students Active Participation Guidelines including Strategies for Meaningfully Involving Level 1 students in ULS Lessons Active Participation Scripts Building Language Skills with ULS and News2You Making Curriculum Books More Interactive Other ways to trigger language development Data Collection Discussion and presentation of possible data sheet

4. Contact Information Mrs. Daphie Sellers Special Education Coordinator dasellers@dorchester2.k12.sc.us 843-875-4161 ext. 1304

5. Session EvaluationParticipants are asked to complete a session evaluation for each session attended. Credit (attendance, renewal, and/or technology) will be added following evaluation completion. For each question, use 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree. Your responses will assist us in planning future professional development in Dorchester School District Two. • The instructor was well prepared for the workshop. • The materials for the workshop were appropriate. • The concepts presented were appropriate to my job. • I will benefit from attending this session. • I would recommend this training to others.

6. ULS Overview • Unique Learning System is the only online, dynamic, standards-based curriculum specifically designed for students with special needs. Subscribers download monthly instructional thematic units of study. Each unit contains 30 special education lesson plans and downloadable materials that teachers can readily implement into classroom learning activities. All materials are created using SymbolStix graphics. The unit lesson plans define three levels of differentiated tasks to accommodate the diversity of learners with significant disabilities.

7. NEWS-2-You Overview • News‐2‐You's weekly format of simple symbol‐supported text, charts, maps and graphs is tailored specifically for beginning and struggling readers. It subscribes to the thought that a regular dose of current events can achieve a multitude of positive teaching goals. A recent article in Education World (4) expands on the concept. Educators can "use the news" to achieve the following: • Cover a wide range of subjects and connect to all areas of the curriculum • Build language, vocabulary, reading comprehension, critical thinking, problem solving, oral expression, and turn‐taking and listening skills • Open up communications between students and parents. Students are often eager to emulate their parents' and siblings' reading behavior, and talking about the news is one way for parents to engage students in adult conversation • Offer ideal opportunities for cooperative group instruction, classroom debates and directed follow‐up discussions

8. WhY USE NEWSPAPERS IN ClaSS? • Dean Edward F. DeRoche of the School of Education at the University of San Diego addresses the point in a 1991 book (5). "For children to become competent lifelong learners, they must learn to use nonfiction materials to expand their knowledge base, solve problems and make decisions." A large body of research, he says, supports the use of newspapers and current events as teaching tools. He establishes the following facts: • Newspapers help teach students to be effective readers • Newspapers can help develop and improve student vocabulary, word recognition skills and comprehension • Newspapers are effective tools for teaching many math concepts, particularly fractions, decimals, currency and averages • Surveyed students overwhelmingly support the introduction of newspapers into the classroom and have a positive attitude towards reading newspapers • Though not intrinsically interested in current events, evidence suggests that the inclusion of the topic can – and does – awaken that interest

9. unPacking Unique Learning Systems • As teachers have been working through the process of using the Unique Learning Curriculum as well as the News-2= You newspapers there have been several common questions asked: • 1. How do I involve my most involved students? • 2. How do I make the curriculum books more interactive and interesting? • 3.. How can it be used to help increase language skills for the speech therapist or teacher to use the various parts of the monthly curriculum? • What are some easy data collection methods?

10. Level 1 students • Due to Federal and State guidelines all students must be given the opportunity to participate and to show improvement. • Unique Learning Systems and News-2-You may be used with students at three levels. • Reaching those most significantly involved (Level 1) students is often a challenge. • Must remember the focus of educating these students.

11. Levels for ULS • Unique curriculum provides a way for special education lessons to include ALL students in the same activity, with different levels of expectation. • Level 1: Students require maximum supports. Increasing participation is the main objective. • Level 2: Students may require picture support and other direct support in learning and the demonstration of comprehension. • Level 3: Students can read text, produce simple writing, perform basic math processes, and can independently demonstrate comprehension of modified learning information.

12. Goals for Level 1 students • Increase participation in activities of daily living. • Increase ability to exercise control over the individual’s own life. • Increase opportunities for others to interact with the individual. • Develop skills that have potential for further learning.

13. Instructional Tools • Active Participation Guidelines Handout • Active Participation Scripts Handout

14. Making Curriculum Books • One thing I'm suggesting doing is working on modifying our curriculum books.As much as I love Unique Learning System, the readers that come with the units are generally super dry, simple to the extreme, boring...the highest level works really well for the purpose of simple comprehension/recall/sequencing that our kids need. I suggest making the stories interactive, for a different purpose. See Handout.

15. Increasing Language Skills • Watch webinar on Language Skill Development • .http://snapboard.com/n2ytraining/Webinars#

16. Documenting Progress and DATA Collection • Track students' progress. • Unique GPS is a data collection center designed to identify individual student goals, preferences, and skills within educational learning tasks. All areas of assessment within the GPS have been created to accommodate students with complex learning needs. Assessment results are stored on the n2y secure website to allow for growth measures to be monitored over the years.

17. The Profile serves as an indicator of a student's current abilities in the Preschool, K-12 Learning or Transition areas. Each profile provides suggested levels and strategies for differentiating instruction. • Checkpoints provide pre- and post- assessment measures of monthly unit content and skill learning. • Benchmarking assessments enable teachers to gather baseline data and monitor progress in selected areas of reading, writing, and math. • Core Rubrics address transition readiness skills in the areas of employability, communication, self-advocacy, daily living, and social strategies. • Transition Planning is designed as a future planning tool for High School and Transition aged students.  

18. Data Collection IDEAS • Look at two possible data collection sheets (handouts). • Answer questions regarding data collection.