Journal Entry #5- Visual Supports for All Students

In my own classroom I would use visual supports in a number of places including: the schedule, job chart, class and school rules and expectations, the classroom library, and any other area that needs to be organized or is meant for certain tasks (bins, shelves, folders). I could also have visuals for the morning and afternoon routines as a reminder of what is expected.

Last week I learned a lot about how beneficial the visual supports are for many students and that there are a variety of different ways that these can be incorporated throughout the day. Another area that was new learning for me was the concept of Social Thinking. I had briefly heard about some of the ideas before the presentation, but I felt it was beneficial to look at the concepts more in depth. I think moving from a view that the child who is acting in unexpected ways is a bad child to seeing the behaviors as bad or undesirable and separate from the child is a very positive step. By showing students it is the behaviors that are undesirable, not them we will be able to positively enforce desired behaviors and students will have more self-confidence. Students who are constantly being redirected have historically been viewed as a ‘bad child’. This kind of label sticks with someone and if they hear it enough they might believe it and it may become a self fulfilling prophecy, “If everyone says I’m bad, I must be bad, so why try to be good?” By separating the behaviors from the child we can eliminate this kind of reinforcement and give students more opportunities to thrive.

In my current placement there are visuals used all over the classroom. There are visuals used in the schedule, there are visuals on the job chat, and as reminders of classroom rules. There are a number of different visuals in the classroom library including: labels on the various bins used to organize the types of books, and posters on the wall helping students find a book that fits their needs as a reading. There are also other posters that help prompt students with having discussions and for writing procedures. I feel that everything used does work effectively, there is little confusion and students can use the visuals as references.

Journal Entry #4- Classroom Rules

The rules in my current classroom are:

· Treat others the way you want to be treated

· Be responsible

· Respect others property

· Be a team player and a good sport

· Be safe

These were arrived at through a number of whole group collaborations. As a class they met and discussed what they feel is important. Unfortunately I was not there for most of the creation of the rules and cannot accurately say they were decided on. I can speculate that there was a brainstorming session or two that generated the ideas used to create the rules. After these ideas were generated they would need to be refined and stated in the positive. It is important for rules to be stated in the positive because it is more beneficial in creating a positive community environment in the classroom.

The rules are posted on the wall near the door; they are not a focal point of the classroom but are easily referenced. Everyone is aware of the rules because they were all part of their creation. They are taught through discussion and examples. Students are also aware of what happens when they do not follow the rules. There is a three step system within the classroom students are given verbal piece that correlate with colored cards on the wall. First there is a reminder that correlates with the green card, a warning with yellow and then when the behaviors do not change the card goes to red and the students needs to complete a success plan. Success plans are used as a school wide intervention used to understand where behaviors come from and what can be done to help change them.