2. Increase Student Interaction and Support Vision. Make a student version of the song board, so that it is within the op- timal distance for target students. Focus should also be on features previously suggested, such as size, color, font and background to reduce clutter. 3. Present the Song / Chant in Digital Format. The song or chant with visuals can also be made into a video, showing the movement of pointing to letters or removing them, supporting those students who struggle with visual nov- elty and may need multiple repetitions before they are able to comfortably attend visually to an activity. These students may also benefit from adaptations that allow them to control the pace of repetitions (such as offering a way to start and stop). Songboards can also be modi- fied in PowerPoint using the animation feature. This Bingo Name Chant was created in PowerPoint. At the beginning of each verse, an animation is used to make the next let- ter fly off the screen after which it is replaced by a blank. The student used a switch to click through the animation steps at his own pace. Verse: ‘There was a boy named Gabriel and he liked to joke a lot’. See Image 9 below.
books. Learners need the time to process letters, especially individuals with visual latency issues. Using a switch gives learners independence and the control of the timing as they page through a book. Many books can also be read online using switches, including those on Tar Heel Reader. • Use PowerPoint to Write/Customize Your Own Alphabet Books. PowerPoint books can be highly adapted to meet learners’ specific vision needs in regards to color, movement and sound. Page by page audio recordings can be added for times when ‘listen only’ is preferred (Hanser, Mussel- white, & Wagner, 2020). Embedded Alphabet Tasks A wide range of instructional tasks can be embedded throughout the day to build alphabet knowledge (Musselwhite, Wagner, & Hanser, 2020). Following are samples of interactive instructional tasks that can be fit into small amounts of time. • ‘ Bingo’ Songs or Chants . These activities are based on the children’s song, ‘There was a farmer had a dog, and Bingo was his name-O. B – I – N – G – O, etc.’ With each successive singing, a letter is removed and replaced with a clap. Mus- selwhite, Wagner, & Hanser suggest numerous variations on this, using songs or chants for student names and to in- troduce vocabulary for content learning (2020, pp. 30 - 36). Two strategies that they suggest to support students with CVI are: 1. Present Bingo Chants in Light Tech Format. Bingo chants can be as simple as having the name on a strip, with let- ters on Post-its. However, some adaptations will need to be made for students with CVI. In the Bingo Name Chant shown below, individual letter cards are presented on a black velcro sensitive board (from Augmentative Commu- nication Resources). The letters are made with a simple font using the Microsoft Glow text effect. As each verse is sung, a velcro letter is removed from the board. See Image 8 below.
Image 9: Bingo Digital Chant for Gabriel
4. Alphabet Action Man . This activity takes advantage of the fun and movement of actions, connecting them to alphabet letters. Musselwhite, Wagner, & Hanser sug- gest strategies for modifying this activity for students with motor impairments (e.g., having them ‘be the di- rector’), and for students with CVI, such as creating an Action Man book with moving Gifs (2020, pp. 33-36). See Image 10 below.
Image 10: K is for kick gif. M is for mail gif
5. Letter Scavenger Hunts. Letter scavenger hunts are a very interactive way to have friends, family, and others in the en- vironment help find pictures or objects to represent a letter. Ideally, have multiple ‘teams’ each searching for items with
Image 8: Bingo Board for Amelia
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