Webinar 3 Alternate Pencils: Moving Beyond “Let’s Write”

1. Webinar 3Alternate Pencils:Moving Beyond “Let’s Write” Vicky Poston Roy, PhD, CCC-SLP Interactive Communication, LLC Baton Rouge, LA vposton22@gmail.com vickyroy@connectingforcommunication.com and the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds/

2. What are you currently doing to… • Are you… • Attribute meaning? • Providing Daily Opportunities to Scribble? • Picking a topic? • Modeling the process? • Reading it back? • Helping Your student SHARE their writing with others? • Incorporating supplemental communication? (Turn the page, finished) • Engaging in group instruction • Encouraging Peer-peer interactions • Collecting Data

3. What are the next steps?? • Unprompted Writing included on the IEP • Data Collection of UNPROMPTED writing samples – qualitative and quantitative coding • More Opportunities to Scribble – everyday • Move beyond Sign In • Do something with the writing • Using writing modality in other ways (eye gaze/partner assisted scanning for choice making, single message device for gaining attn) • When to add supplemental communication signs

4. Ensuring Daily Opportunities • Know your expectation • Include UNPROMPTED Writing goals on IEP • Adult-Student Emergent Writing Interaction Inventory – Available on CLDS website (http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds/resources/deaf-blind-model-classroom-resources ) • Provide DAILY – UNPROMPTED Oppportunities • Do something with the writing

5. What is the expectation? • “Scribble” will look different when using an alternative pencil. It is not so much about how the actual letter is formed but more so how the student is interacting with the pencil-facilitator-activity and their attention to the task; as well as subtle changes in these two over time.

6. Define “Unprompted” • No cueing to write a specific letter • No cueing of attention beyond natural comments to engage

7. Let’s write some IEP goals together • Set the stage (Given daily opportunities to write about self-selected, personally meaningful topics using an appropriate alternative pencil, Given consistent daily opportunities to scribble using an appropriate alternative pencil…) • Identify the change (activate a single message device to indicate “that’s it”, demonstrate increased complexity in writing evidences by changes in letter combinations and spaces, make a choice (FO2) using eye gaze to pick a personally meaningful topic, demonstrate increased visual attention to print) • Indicate level of support • Indicate time frame (2 out of 5 days)

8. For students who aren’t yet attending to print and/or are randomly choosing letters • Given daily opportunities to sign in, the student… • Will visually attend to the facilitators model (provided after student’s attempt) • Will visually attend to letter choices • Will demonstrate increased awareness of task evidenced by extended periods of visual attention, physically and/or visually shifting gaze to look for “pencil” • Will visually attend when facilitator reads the student’s writing

9. What kind of assessment is possible when writing is not yet recognizable? • Interest/attention to others modeling writing • Ease with student selecting writing topic • Desire to write • Length of time on task • Visually/physically attending to print/braille • Desire to “read” writing • Uses letters from name • Experiments with spaces • Makes letter patterns • Makes word like groupings • Shows preferences of letters • Early, early, sound spelling Must have CLEAN DATA for ASSESSMENT

10. Informal Writing Assessment Repeats Letters In Order The student repeats the letters in the order that they are presented or appear next to each other. The student doesn’t have to include every single letter, but includes most of them. Example: jjjjjllllllnnnnnnxxxxxxxkkkkkkkkaaaaaakkkllllmmmmm Repeats Letters Out of Order The student continues to repeat letters, but not always in the order that they are presented. The student begins to be more selective about what letter they want to write. They may include single letters. At this point, it would be useful to offer “add a space” on the student’s pencil. Example: jjjjiorttghhhhhemae Letter Patterns The student selectively experiments with a pair or small group of letters. They use the particular letters to make repeated patterns. Example: hrhrhrhwwwlwlwlwlllqwllrttytytyty Random Spaces The student begins to experiment with using spaces. They may repeat them multiple times. Example: rr l l l w www qw eeeeeeee fhfhfhfhhf w w Word Like Groupings The student begins to use spaces more deliberatively. Writing contains word-like groupings. The words are not recognizable, but if you squint it looks like it could be a sentence. Example: kjl;jk ryry ruui jdjdjdjdj ajlkj fj fjfjfjjfjfj

11. Qualitative Assessment of “Scribble”From the Emergent Writing Facilitator-Student Inventory (CLDS, 2008) • Assessment of the adult-student interaction • Positions “pencil” and print appropriately • Sets up a personally meaningful purpose for writing • Pauses • Observes for student attempts and attributes meaning • Calls attention to concepts about print/braille • Offers opportunities to reread • Models use of student’s pencil • Celebrates/uses writing for indentified purpose • Calls attention to inner voice or signing in head

12. Consider the Interaction Itself

13. Why is the Interaction SO Important? • Emergent Literacy learning is grounded in the rich interactions that students have with others during meaningful literacy activities. • Students’ success and engagement is highly dependent on the quality of these interactions.

15. Data Collection • Only keep “unprompted” writing samples • Be sure you are facilitating the interaction in the most effective manner (Facilitator Observation Form) • Keep Subjective Rating Information • Might develop a scoring system similar to the BRIDGE – score 2-3 samples per week, add observation notes • Want to keep up with the frequency in which you are offering opportunity…not the product you are getting from the student.

16. Informal Writing Assessment Repeats Letters In Order The student repeats the letters in the order that they are presented or appear next to each other. The student doesn’t have to include every single letter, but includes most of them. Example: jjjjjllllllnnnnnnxxxxxxxkkkkkkkkaaaaaakkkllllmmmmm Repeats Letters Out of Order The student continues to repeat letters, but not always in the order that they are presented. The student begins to be more selective about what letter they want to write. They may include single letters. At this point, it would be useful to offer “add a space” on the student’s pencil. Example: jjjjiorttghhhhhemae Letter Patterns The student selectively experiments with a pair or small group of letters. They use the particular letters to make repeated patterns. Example: hrhrhrhwwwlwlwlwlllqwllrttytytyty Random Spaces The student begins to experiment with using spaces. They may repeat them multiple times. Example: rr l l l w www qw eeeeeeee fhfhfhfhhf w w Word Like Groupings The student begins to use spaces more deliberatively. Writing contains word-like groupings. The words are not recognizable, but if you squint it looks like it could be a sentence. Example: kjl;jk ryry ruui jdjdjdjdj ajlkj fj fjfjfjjfjfj

19. What Else? Moving Beyond Sign In – More Scribbling Opportunities

20. Organizing the Environment • Engineer the environment for quick set-up (2 min) • Physical Access • All professionals know how to use all pencils or different people are assigned to different pencils or to different students • Saving templates on desktop

21. Multiple Meaningful Opportunities to Write Independently Everyday…Think ACCESS, OPPORTUNITY, MODEL

22. For the very emergent writer(Not yet attending to task) • Access to ALL 26 letters of the alphabet • Specific time during the day to write with alternate pencil (“Let’s write”) • Other random times to “scribble” • Communication partner attributes meaning • Be patient and wait for some type of response • Make observation notes that include information about the behaviors you are seeing

23. Writing Opportunities for the Emergent Writer • Opportunity is about giving the student more opportunity to “practice” using their pencil. Expectation is scribbling. Progress measured by change in attention and purposeful use of “pencil” • Scribble Opportunities • “Let’s Write” • Sign Name (Sign artwork, lunch choice sign up, book checked out, morning attendance, sign up sheets for centers, sing in for therapy sessions, log home to parents, cards and invitations) • Make Choices (in the modality of the pencil when possible) • Make list

24. Structuring an interaction with the very emergent – not yet attending writer? • “Let’s write” • Spend specific amount of time or only go through alphabet once. • Attribute meaning – tell student • Always return to letter selected • Model (Before-During-or-After) • Talk about writing • Read often • Share and/or revisit often throughout the day

25. For The Writer Who Is Attending To Task

26. Supplemental Communication Strategies

27. Structured Modeling: Strategy for Emergent Writers • Partner asks, “What do you want to write about today?” • Student uses personal method of selecting topic (minimum of two choices provided) • Student writes FREELY. • Facilitator Moves from LEFT to Write (starting with “Turn the Page” and ending with “Finished” before turning to next page. • After writing, partner reads and talks about student’s scribble • Partner says, “You have written a lot of letters! I can use some of them to weite a word about (topic)” • ”I see k,u,t” (point to letters) • “I can use these letters to write the word “turkey” • Partner models writing this word using the student’s pencil

28. Do something with the writing! • “You’ve written a lot of letters. Let’s see if we can count them” • “Let’s see if we can find this letter in someone’s name?” • “You have a lot of “c’s” in your writing. Let’s find all of them” • “Let’s see if we can write some more words with your letters” • Read, reread, display, share with others, etc

29. Read it Back • “Read that back to me” communication option • Program writing message into Big Mack or Step by Step and allow student to “read” it to several people across the day. • For students with VI – It is critical that we are providing a “product” • Inexpensive Braille Labeler with self adhessive tape

30. Group Instructions • Encouraging Peer-Peer Interactions • Modeling • Read it to another student

31. Modeling • BEFORE • DURING • AFTER