Many of my students had writing goals listed in their IEPs; however, writing involves more than just paper and pencil. Several of my students required additional support when using writing utensils, so I looked at more functional and independent modes for written expression, which included typing. Students began to explore keyboards, and since this was a new skill being introduced, it was helpful to do so on a familiar device such as an iPad. Having iPads with attached keyboards that were strictly for writing instruction provided students with a more appropriate outlet to express their thoughts when fine motor delays impacted their handwriting ability.
Bringing Phonological Awareness & Phonics to Life
This grant supplies all Y5-2nd grade teachers with magnetic letters and boards to support
phonics and phonemic awareness instruction. Word building is one of the most powerful
activities that teachers can do in small group instruction to support student learning along with
spelling. In order to do that, students need access to magnetic letters and sound magnets so
they can be actively involved in the learning. This grant would allow Y5-2nd grade teachers to
have magnetic letters (and a magnetic base to hold the letters) to use with up to 6 students at a
time in small group instruction. In addition, it will give 1st and 2nd grade teachers the resources
to have sound magnets to use as well. Sound magnets are important in 1st and 2nd to show
that sometimes one sound is made up from multiple letters. (Ex. digraphs, silent e, dipthongs,
vowel teams, etc.
Y5-2nd grade teachers are currently working on including more phonics and phonological
awareness into their instruction. This has been the focus of our PD all year and is tied to our
building goals in early elementary. In order to differentiate and give students more practice, this
grant would support students in having more hands on practice with these skills.
Social Emotional Learning Platform
Previously, there was a very limited amount of therapy materials and lesson plans available to support our students’ social-communication and social-emotional learning needs. Everyday Speech, an online subscription, complemented the district’s existing curriculum (“Social Thinking”) by providing district speech language pathologists with access to evidence-based materials for use in individual lessons, small groups, and classroom presentations. These materials could also be shared with parents for home generalization. Everyday Speech gave PreK-12 educators access to a full curriculum of materials, including social skill modeling videos, handouts, interactive activities, and the capability to assign homework and share materials with families.
In relation to the core curriculum, the project expanded learning opportunities for students in a creative and innovative way. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increased need for supporting our students’ social-emotional health and well-being. Addressing our students’ social-emotional needs led to a reduction in aggressive behaviors and promoted a more positive school environment for everyone. Everyday Speech offered creative and innovative ways to learn social-emotional and social communication skills by providing lessons through various modalities, ensuring that all types of learners could benefit.
How to Raise An Adult
This is a community partnership grant to bring best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims to speak to our community. Dr. Lythcott-Haims, a former dean of freshman students at Stanford University, shared insights from her New York Times best-selling book, “How to Raise an Adult.” Drawing on research, conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean, Julie highlighted the ways in which over-parenting harms children and prevents them from developing self-efficacy: the knowledge that one’s own actions lead to outcomes.
While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to over-helping, Julie offered practical strategies that underlined the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary to become healthy, thriving adults.
These topics were the exact struggles that many of us dealt with every day as parents when trying to raise our families in a world where their mental health seemed to be challenged on a daily basis. Our community and, therefore, our students, benefited from hearing her perspective.
Woodland Meadows Art Gallery
The Woodland Meadows’ Art Gallery featured 3 to 4 portraits/paintings/projects per year that other Art students saw as “mentor” projects that they were able to aspire to. Furthermore, it enhanced Woodland Meadows by giving the art hallway a “gallery” look.
Within the Michigan Standards for Visual Arts, there were standards where students looking at the art needed to explore and discuss art. By having the art in the hallways, and with guided conversation by the teacher, the students were able to do this easily. Moreover, because these pieces were “exemplary” pieces, students had an example of what the art pieces could look like.
Wall of Wonder
A creativity wall was established in the Innovation Lab. The initiative aimed to offer a unique feature distinct from the media center’s LEGO wall. A large magnetic whiteboard was installed, enabling students to map out their projects and utilize a variety of magnetic building toys. This new addition provided a collaborative space where multiple students could work together simultaneously.
The creativity wall served as a tool for students to engage in the Design Process, which includes the stages of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve, and Communicate, particularly during building challenges. It offered a substantial area for groups to visualize and organize their construction plans. Moreover, the magnetic aspect of the wall allowed students to experiment with building vertically using five different types of magnetic building materials available in the iLab, introducing unique challenges compared to building on a flat surface.
Conscious Discipline/Self-Regulation
The Feelings Buddy basic tool kit, along with corresponding items, was introduced to the ECSE program through a grant from the school foundation. This initiative was aimed at assisting students in understanding emotions and developing self-regulation skills, which are considered critical for future success. The program emphasized the importance of distinguishing between feeling an emotion and embodying it, as the latter can lead to uncontrolled reactions.
The Michigan State Board of Education’s Early Childhood Standards of Quality highlighted the necessity for children to develop the ability to experience, express, and control their emotions and social interactions. The Feelings Buddy tool kit was designed to support this development by fostering emotional security and social connection among children, which in turn would encourage them to explore and learn confidently.
The tool kit employed a mix of drawing, dictating, and writing activities to help children narrate events, sequence them appropriately, and express their reactions. This approach was intended to facilitate children’s emotional and social learning within a nurturing and positive educational environment.
YAP Adaptive Tricycle Riding
The Young Adult Program (YAP) extends beyond the core curriculum and academic goals: YAP students explored learning opportunities such as life skills and job skills. Lifelong fitness was an important goal, and an adaptive tricycle provided a fun way to work on that goal. With the adaptive trike, students were not limited by issues that prevented them from riding a traditional bicycle or tricycle, such as balance and coordination issues, low muscle tone, or physical impairments. The YAP Adaptive Tricycle (Rifton Model #R140) featured a large base of support, trunk and waist safety belts, Velcro straps, and a pulley system for the pedals. A firm brake locked the wheels to provide safe mounting and dismounting. A detachable rear steering bar allowed staff to steer and push students, offering opportunities for even the most inexperienced riders. The adjustable seat and handlebars accommodated riders of diverse sizes.
Goals included fitness, coordination, balance, and endurance. Developmental aspects were also addressed: learning to ride a recumbent bicycle could lead to learning to ride an upright trike. Therapeutic benefits of tricycling included lower extremity strengthening, reciprocal leg motion patterning, balancing skills, using visual skills and spatial patterning skills, and social interaction with peers and neighbors.
Social aspects included being part of a cycling class, as well as rides on school grounds and into the community. Dan Hunt also hoped to build a trike “cycling club” whose members could meet with volunteers and other local cyclists. The program explored collaboration with PEAC, an Ypsilanti-based advocacy and cycling training program for people with disabilities (referenced at http://www.bikeprogram.org/).
Jump Rope Readers Decodable Books
The Saline Area Schools Foundation has awarded a grant for the acquisition of the Jump Rope Readers series to enhance early literacy development. Recognizing the limitations of the current leveled books, which do not adequately target specific phonological awareness and phonics skills, this grant will enable the purchase of targeted, culturally relevant, and engaging reading materials for young learners.
The Jump Rope Readers series is meticulously designed to introduce beginning readers to new letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words in a gradual and systematic manner. These books not only support foundational word recognition skills but also offer memorable characters and exciting adventures that align with core curriculum standards in literary fiction.
This investment in foundational reading resources underscores the commitment to ensuring that students develop the essential literacy skills needed to fully engage with future educational innovations at Saline Area Schools.
The Inclusion Inventory: Mentor Texts to Teach Inclusion
The grant was awarded to create a collection of literacy resources aimed at educating on inclusion, accessibility, acceptance, and justice for people with disabilities and differences. It followed up on the previous year’s “Celebration Station” grant, which provided a diverse range of books on different holidays, cultures, and celebrations. The grant sought to enhance the existing collection by adding new books that cover a significant aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related to disability awareness, ensuring there was no overlap with books already acquired. The project was designed to extend DEI initiatives, assist teachers with more inclusive instruction, challenge oppressive systems for people with disabilities, and enrich the core curriculum by reflecting diverse experiences and perspectives.
