SOLUTION #4: USE FAMILIAR ROUTINES Using familiar instructional routines can reduce anxiety for students and professionals. Comprehensive emergent literacy in- struction as recommended by Erickson (2017) consists of activities which can easily become routines when done on a daily basis: • Shared reading - group reading of rich, motivating book where students can comment and ask questions. • Predictable chart writing - 5 step group writing activity which results in a class book. (See Hanser, Wagner & Musselwhite, Clos- ing the Gap 2019 article for more information) • Independent writing – student chooses a topic to write about and then explores writing with an alternative pencil. • Alphabet and sound awareness activities – interactive activities which can be woven into daily morning meeting. • Independent reading – student chooses a book and then explores it independently with appropriate access scaffolds as nec- essary (See Solution #2 above). For information and webinars about implementing these activities, see: Dynamic Learning Maps, https://dynamiclearning- maps.org; Project Core, www.project-core.com; and Angleman’s Communication Series, www.angelman.org/resources-educa- tion/communication-training-series/. SOLUTION #5: LEARN ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS SPECIFIC CVI NEEDS Students with CVI require specific modifications, and these modifications are not a ‘one size fits all.’ The types of modifications should be selected based on an assessment of an individual student’s visual functioning (based on results from the CVI Range, updated at least once per year). Table 2 shares modifications for common emergent literacy activities/ routines with examples for differing levels of CVI severity.
Table 2. Sample CVI Modifications during Class Activities / Routines
Activity Routine
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Look at photo cards and/or printed names of students before morning meeting when distractions are reduced. During group times, list names (auditory only). Practice answers to this question during 1:1 instruction using a robust AAC system. When in a large group, use a home/school journal (Phase II tip). Modify favorite books with visu- ally accessible images or text. Always have “something else” be the last choice.
Attendance
Don’t expect student to visually scan the room or look at photos/ name cards. List/say names of students in the same order every time. Record a message from home before group time. During group, student listens to others and then activates a switch to share his message. List/say the names of books using partner assisted scanning. Continue to offer favorites and add new options. Always have “something else” be the last choice.
Emphasize key words “WHO” and/or “SCHOOL” with modified symbols to look at (bold color, simple shapes, sign and/or a texture). List student names (auditory only). Use a home/school journal. Add familiar images for favorite activi- ties to the journal, one per page. List favorite activities, ending with ‘something different’ Start a list of favorite books. Can show the student the list while scanning, but they don’t need to look at actual words. Instead, model concepts about print (print goes from left to right and top to bottom when you read). They can look at your hand as it moves across the page. Pause frequently to give students chance to think or look. Always have “something else” be the last choice.
Group Sharing (What did you do last night/ weekend?)
Choosing a book for Indepen- dent Reading
SOLUTION #6: CONSIDER THE USE OF SUPPORTS/CUES There are different types of cues and it is important to choose the ones that are most appropriate for students’ CVI needs. Con- sistent cues can lead to clearer expectations. Physical Support/Cues: Some students may have tactile defensiveness and/or their muscles may tense at unexpected touch. They may benefit from touching the arm/hand of a partner and then the partner does the reaching and physical exploration of novel items in the environment. This can be very effective as the student is in physical control of starting and stopping the inter- action.
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