Tag Archives: teaching tools

Pick of the Week: Clue Cards – 5 games in one to teach socioemotional skills

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Clue Cards teaches students how to interpret social situations, read facial expressions, and understand metaphorical forms of speech. This week, you can save 15%* on Clue Cards – just enter promo code CLUECARDS when you check out online! Play 5 different games to teach inferencing, faces and feelings, body language, exploring Wh- questions, and a variety of common idioms!

Therapists, teachers and parents can uses the cards and games included in this set to help students perceive and understand the details of social presentation. Because the cards are flexible and adaptable, they can be used with both younger and older children, with mild or sever socioemotional difficulties. There are instructions for 5 different games along with 100 reward chips, targeted for players ages 6–16.

  1. Get a Clue: Players find “clues” in social situations and make inferences based on those clues (15 Social Situation Cards).
  2. Faces and Feelings: Link expressions with associated emotions (20 Feeling Cards, 20 Faces Cards).
  3. Body Language: Matching photos and captions, children explore body language for clues about thoughts and feelings (24 Photo Cards, 24 Caption Cards).
  4. The 5 W’s: Analyze 10 social scenes by asking “who-what-where-when-why” questions (10 Social Scene Cards, 1 Spinner).
  5. In Other Words: Learn the idioms and proverbs that often pop up in social conversation (30 Idiom Cards, 30 Idiom Definition Cards, 26 Proverb Cards, 26 Proverb Definition Cards).

*Offer lasts through March 1, 2016 at 11:59 PM EST. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code CLUECARDS at check-out! Not valid on past purchases.

Pick of the Week: ABA Curriculum for the Common Core Books for Kindergarten & 1st Grade

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Use the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in this groundbreaking curriculum to teach the Common Core state standards in special education classrooms. Available in Kindergarten and First Grade, the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core drills down into each standard and breaks it into teachable steps. This week, SAVE 15% on the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core books for Kindergarten and First Grade. Use promo code KINDERFIRST when you check-out online or over the phone: (800) 853-1057.

Programs are presented in a format that supports data collection and ease of use. Clear teaching instructions detail the Teaching Procedure, Discriminative Stimulus, and the Materials needed for each lesson or activity. Each standard also list several targets that demonstrate the steps and goalposts needed for mastery.

What professionals have said…

“This highly organized and comprehensive curriculum is a must for all special education teachers working to implement the Common Core standards in the classroom. Every teacher and student need is anticipated and planned for. With this curriculum as a resource, the Common Core standards are no longer an obstacle, but instead an accessible program of study for all students.” — Linda McSorley, Special Education Teacher

“ABA Curriculum for the Common Core is bound to be the type of reference book every special educator will be reaching for. With its comprehensive, accessible, and task-analyzed programs, ABA strategies, and data collection sheets, Sam Blanco has created a compilation dream for all educators working with children who have special needs.” — Val Demiri, PhD, BCBA-D, Adjunct Professor, Endicott College

“Different Roads to Learning and Sam Blanco have developed the first of its kind: a user-friendly manual and kit of appropriate curriculum with materials for special needs students that aligns with the Common Core. The manual includes prepared data sheets and easy-to-read curriculum sheets. …  In addition, the focus of the skills targeted are prerequisites for lifelong skills the student will need throughout their education and beyond. Utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis, teachers will be able to use motivation and reinforcement techniques to enhance student learning.” — Cheryl Davis, Educational and Behavioral Consultant, MSEd, BCBA

Don’t forget to use our promo code KINDERFIRST to redeem your savings this week only on the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core books!

*Offer expires at 11:59pm EST on February 23, 2016. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code KINDERFIRST at checkout! Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Request a Product Demo with Different Roads to Learning!

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One of our favorite customers asked us to visit a group of special educators and speech and language pathologists at a school district in New Jersey. Natasha and I took the opportunity of a road trip to show some of our favorite products. We were both excited to do a “show-and-tell” demonstration to such a wonderful staff.

We have products that are invaluable BUT you have to see and touch it to understand how it could work to improve your students or the classroom.

Product Demo Collage

We showed our Function Wheels Behavior Kit and our ABA Curriculum for the Common Core books for Kindergarten and 1st Grade, as well as one of our bestsellers the MotivAider, the ALL PICS, and the new POWER-Solving curriculum. We passed our materials around to the teachers, and this engaged them with not only us but one another. The presentation facilitated and opened discussion amongst them as peers. It was a terrific morning.

We’re willing to travel by road two hours outside of the New York metropolitan area. Please let us know if you would like us to do a product demo for a group of your SLPs or autism specialists.

Looking forward,

Julie Azuma
Founder & CEO

Pick of the Week: Wh- Question ConversaCards

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Encourage discussion and critical thinking in students with these decks of Wh- Question ConversaCards. This week, you can also save 15%* on your order of any or all of these sets. Just use promo code WHCARDS when you check out online or over the phone!

Covering 6 different topics – Where Does It Go, What Happened, What Comes Next, What Do You Do With It, What Do You Need, and What Do You Like – each set comes with 54 cards and a Resource Guide containing helpful strategies and suggestions for prompts. Learning to respond to “what” and “where” questions is the foundation of conversation and expressive language. These flashcards can be used to teach sequencing, storytelling and logical thinking for a wide range of ability levels!

Don’t forget to use our promo code WHCARDS to take 15% off* when you order your set(s) of Wh- Question ConversaCards this week!

*Offer is valid through February 16, 2016. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code WHCARDS at check-out! Call our customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Rainbow Sorting Crayons

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These charming giant crayons contain 48 different manipulatives sorted by color that can be used to teach patterns, counting, colors, and more. This week, we’re also letting you save 15% on  your set of the Rainbow Sorting Crayons – just apply our promo code CRAYONS when you check out online!

There are 8 cardboard crayon-shaped tubes with plastic lids. Use the manipulatives for teaching patterning, counting, color identification, 2-D to 3-D matching, and language development to young learners. The best part is that the crayons serve as built-in storage so cleanup is a cinch!

Don’t forget to use our promo code CRAYONS at check-out this week to save 15% on your set of the Rainbow Sorting Crayons.

*Offer is valid for one-time use through February 9, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code CRAYONS at check-out. Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Save 15% on ALL of our Emotions Flashcards!

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Emotions language cards are great tools for teaching language and facial expressions in a variety of contexts to young learners. Promote discussion about a range of emotions, why people may feel a certain way, and possible responses to these feelings with our collection of emotions flash cards.

This week, you can also save 15% on any of these Emotions flashcards sets. Just enter our promo code EMOTIONS when you check out online.

>>> View our entire sale here. <<<

*Offer is valid for one-time use through February 2, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code EMOTIONS at check-out. Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Save 30% on “A Work in Progress” Companion Booklets & DVDs!

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Building on the popular guide and curriculum A Work In Progress, this companion series of booklets and DVDs synthesizes information on various teaching strategies with demonstrations of actual sessions with students on video. The Work in Progress Companion Series aims to blend a natural, child-friendly approach to teaching while remaining determinedly systematic. This series offers viewers the unique opportunity to see these approaches implemented in actual teaching environments.

This week, we’re offering the entire Set of 6 Work in Progress Companion Booklets & DVDs for only $99.00 (a $150 value)! Or get one (1) Companion Set for $24.95 only $17.50!  Just use our promo code AWIPSET at check-out to redeem these great savings. View our entire sale here.

AWIP_Companion_Booklets_and_DVDs

Parents and teachers will find this series to be a helpful companion and extension to A Work in Progress. All author proceeds from the Work in Progress Companion Series will go directly to the Autism Partnership Family Foundation which was developed to provide services to families with limited resources, fund research that will investigate new strategies and programs that truly make a difference in the lives of children and families, and disseminate information about evidence-based treatment and provide resources for training parents and professionals.

Volume 1: “Cool” versus “Not Cool” teaches students foundational as well as advanced social skills in the difference between behaviors that are socially appropriate (i.e. cool) and those that are inappropriate (i.e. not cool). In later stages, they go on to actually practice the appropriate form of the behavior and receive feedback on their efforts. Research confirms the clinical experience that “Cool” versus “Not Cool” is effective in teaching social skills and enabling students to monitor their own behavior.

Volume 2: Learning How to Learn teaches and demonstrates programs that researchers have found helpful in teaching students how to learn.

Volume 3: Teaching Interactions offers a conversation-style of teaching which adds the all important element of leading students to understand rationales for why they might want to change their behavior and learn new skills. This booklet and DVD teaches students how to develop understanding and insight that help form their internal motivation.

Volume 4: Token Economy provides step-by-step instructions on how to ensure there is a strong connection between the target behavior and the reward that follows. Token economies have a number of advantages and can be very flexible in adapting to the age of the student, the types of rewards used, and the skills and behavioral targets you are seeking to improve.

Volume 5: Developing Reinforcers shows parents and teachers how to be creative in developing new sources of reinforcement, which is especially useful for students who have limited interests.

Volume 6: Bullying & ASD – The Perfect Storm focuses on the tools needed to help children with autism combat bullying. Students with ASD are particularly at risk because of their behavior issues and their vulnerability. This volume provides practical suggestions that help prevent the devastation of bullying.

Buy one (1) volume for only $17.50* this week using promo code AWIPSET at check-out! View our entire sale here!

*Offer is valid for one-time use only through January 26, 2015. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code AWIPSET at check-out!

 

Pick of the Week: NEW! Super Sorting Pie

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Teach early number skills, colors, shapes, and sorting skills with this fruity Super Sorting Pie! The pie also comes with sorting cards that can be placed in the bottom of the pan to provide visual cues for students. This week, save 15% on your order of the Super Sorting Pie and start sorting! Use our promo code PIE15 at check-out to redeem these savings.

The top crust also becomes a nifty bowl to conveniently hold the fruit counters. Students can also practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination with the included tweezers.

The set comes with 60 counters (7 fruits in 5 different colors), 1 plastic pie plate with a cover & removable divider, 3 double-sided sorting cards, 2 jumbo tweezers, and an Activity Guide for suggested lessons. The Super Sorting Pie measures 8¾ inches in diameter.

Take 15%* off your order of the Super Sorting Pie this week with discount code PIE15 at check-out!

*Offer is valid for one-time use only through January 19, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code PIE15 at check-out! Contact our friendly staff at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Self Management Planner, created by Daniel Sundberg, PhD

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Created by Daniel Sundberg, PhD, the Self Management Planner offers a better way to organize your life and check things off your to-do lists, utilizing the concepts and principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to help you to get more done!

The Self Management Planner is designed specifically for users who have busy and frequently changing schedules and want something that will do more than schedule time in the day. Not only is this planner perfect for effective time management and organizing your activities, but it also allows to set and track your goals (it even includes graph paper so you can watch your progress!).

This week, save 15% on the full-page Self Management Planner and the compact Self Management Planner and get a head start on keeping your New Year’s resolutions on track! Enter our promo code PLAN2016 at check-out to redeem your savings.

This is a perfect tool for those data collectors out there who are looking for an excellent organizational and record-keeping tool. The Self Management Planner includes:

  • Appointment book with full 18.5 hour days and 7 day weeks, to accommodate those who work on variable schedules
  • A tutorial on using the planner, appointment book, and measuring your success
  • A guide to setting long term goals, and figure out ways to accomplish those goals
  • A system for that allows you to select and track your daily activities. People have used this section to track a huge variety of important things like spending, hours billed, driving mileage, activity goals, and more.
  • Graphs to help you see and track progress on your goals
  • Lined note paper
  • Blank date periods that allow you to start the planner on your own schedule to prevent page waste
  • Weekly and daily to-do lists
  • Space to make note of all day events

Don’t forget to use our promo code PLAN2016 this week to take 15% off your order of the Self Management Planner, now available in two different sizes!

Simplifying the Science: Choiceworks App – Increase Self-Monitoring and Autonomy in Students with ASD

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Finding the appropriate educational setting for individuals with autism can be quite challenging. And in working to provide the least restrictive environment, sometimes students are placed in classrooms where they can do the work but requires additional supports. This makes teaching self-monitoring all the more important as we strive to help our students attain independence in all areas.

A recent study by Miller, Doughty, & Krockover (2015) used an iPad app as part of an intervention to increase self-monitoring for three students with moderate intellectual disabilities in their science class. The goal was to increase autonomy in problem-solving activities linked the science lesson for that day. The app they used was called Choiceworks, which the authors described as: “a daily routine board maker [that] contains prompting tools to assist users through daily tasks. Checklists, schedule boards, activity timers, and a communication board can be developed using this system” (p. 358).

Over the course of a two-week period, each student was provided with three training sessions for how to use the iPad based on a task analysis the authors had devised. Skills taught included swiping, changing the volume, and operating the Choiceworks app. Next, the authors introduced five steps of problem-solving and provided mini-lessons on each of the steps. The authors used stories that required problem-solving, then taught the students how to use the app to navigate through the five steps of problem solving. Finally, the intervention was introduced in the science classroom.

All three students in this study significantly increased their independence in problem-solving. Furthermore, the results were generalized to solving problems related to daily living and were maintained over time.

The results of this study are important for several reasons. First, it demonstrates one method for increasing independence in individuals with developmental disabilities. Second, this increase in independence provides opportunities for more natural peer interaction since the individual with the disability will not have an adult always standing next to them. Finally, using a tool such as an iPad mini (as these researchers did) or iPhone is beneficial because many people are walking around with such devices, allowing individuals with disabilities to use a device to promote independence without increasing the threat of social stigma. The authors clearly show that, when provided with proper instruction, students with developmental disabilities can use the iPad mini to become more independent with both academic and daily living skills.

REFERENCES

Miller, B., Doughty, T., & Krockover, G. (2015). Using science inquiry methods to promote self-determination and problem-solving skills for students with moderate intellectual disability. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 50(3), 356-368.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.