The Swim Unit Update will meet the needs of every student who passes through Saline High
School. As a part of our Basic PE Unit (which all students are required to take) our students of
all ability levels will swim during this time period for at least 2 weeks. Our students learn basic
swim techniques that will teach them life long skills to keep them and others safe in the water.
This equipment will also be used for our special education department as a part of their full year
exercise and physical fitness curriculum. This equipment will meet the needs of all students at
Saline High School.
Written Expression & Communication Through Typing
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.
Culinary Arts – Universal Pan Racks
Speed racks were used to place prepped materials such as dough in the refrigerator for storage prior to baking, as well as to house hot pans as they came out of the oven. These were utilized for summer Career Exploration Camps (Saline Elementary and Middle School students) and for Intro to Baking and Intro to Foods (Saline High School 9-12th grade students) and for SWWC Culinary (11th and 12th grade students). With the addition of two (2) speed racks, students were able to prepare a greater quantity of product during a Career Exploration Camp or during class. There were numerous times throughout the year when there were large events and projects that required the compact storage of many items that the speed racks provided.
The project related to the core curriculum and expanded learning opportunities for students in a creative and innovative way. Students in a summer camp or class prepared products from scratch. Therefore, students participated in the cooking/baking process by reading the list of ingredients (reading), learning about the why and how things occur (science), measuring each ingredient within the recipe (mathematics), documenting their progress (writing), and articulating steps and progress to the instructor and with their peers (communication).
Spanish Books
This grant helps to bring new Spanish texts to students of Spanish 1A and 1B. This grant allows students to
read an entire class novel in Spanish 1.
Spanish 1A students will read the novel “La Familia de Federico Rico”.
Spanish 1B students will read the Spanish novel “Cabybara con botas”.
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/).
Inclusive Designs: Share the Love
Inclusive Designs was a radically inclusive opportunity for the SHS Life Skills Program to collaborate and create special edition t-shirts, with additional opportunities for stickers, ornaments, etc., supported by the Cricut Software. Phases were implemented for students to create and share with the SAS district and community.
Inclusive Designs supported the students’ functional academic learning by providing opportunities to apply their functional math skills in selling t-shirts, handling transactions, and making change. It also gave them access to writing strategies and tools to design shirts with words, while utilizing the differentiation of technology supports through Cricut Designs. The use of Cricut tools in the preparation phase of the product supported and enhanced student fine and gross motor skills with bilateral movement, which allowed students from all ranges of motor skills to increase their occupational therapy skill sets. Social Thinking concepts were practiced as students worked collaboratively with peers and connected as a team through the following phases of design: Brainstorm, Design, Prep, Sell, Create, Finance/Final Sell.
3D Printing Expansion
The grant money was used to expand the 3D printing program with the addition of 2 new resin 3D printers. These printers allowed for faster and more detailed prints, aiding in the education of students for many years to come, thereby better preparing them for the workforce and/or college. The project impacted both current and future students, as well as staff who required 3D printing services for their classrooms.
The new technology helped to expand the 3D printing curriculum, enabling students to be more creative with their designs. The printers exposed them to new materials and printing processes, furthering their knowledge through creative thinking and problem-solving.
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.
