Fall Trees and Apples - Video 1 of 2
Summary
TLDRThe video showcases an engaging and inclusive learning environment where students explore various activities centered around seasonal themes, particularly autumn and apples. The teacher emphasizes the use of music, storytelling, and interactive experiences to cater to the diverse needs of her students, many of whom have special needs. Through activities like reading, cooking, and sensory experiences, the students learn about seasons and participate in hands-on tasks like making 'autumn toast.' The focus is on creating accessible, enjoyable learning moments that encourage communication, motor skills, and sensory engagement.
Takeaways
- π The lesson centers around the theme of autumn and apples, incorporating various activities to engage the children in different ways.
- πΆ Music plays an important role in the classroom, helping children warm up, communicate, and stay engaged with the activities.
- π³ The teacher uses books as a key part of the lesson, specifically reading about seasons and making the learning interactive with 'story boxes' or 'story bags'.
- π One of the highlighted activities is a simulated field trip to an apple orchard, giving the children an experience similar to being in a real one.
- π¦ The teacher carefully tailors lessons to meet the sensory needs of her students, many of whom have impairments or limited life experiences due to time spent in hospitals.
- π₯ A cooking activity, where the children make 'autumn toast' with colored milk, incorporates motor skills and encourages student engagement.
- β Throughout the activities, each child is given a chance to participate, ask for turns, and communicate, ensuring everyone is involved in the process.
- π³ The children learn about the different seasons through tactile experiences, like feeling a bare tree for winter and discussing how trees change.
- π The cooking activity helps develop life skills, with students learning to smash bread, paint with colored milk, and use cookie cutters to make leaf-shaped toast.
- πͺ The teacher emphasizes holding high expectations for students with special needs, believing they are capable of more than what is often assumed, which leads to rewarding outcomes.
Q & A
What is the central theme of the activities mentioned in the script?
-The central theme of the activities revolves around autumn and apples, incorporating various educational elements such as reading, cooking, and motor skill development.
How does the teacher use music in the classroom?
-The teacher uses music as a tool to engage the children, helping them to get warmed up for activities, stretch, and communicate. Music is a key element that seems to resonate with all the kids, aiding in both learning and engagement.
What is the purpose of using 'story boxes' or 'story bags' during reading time?
-The purpose of using 'story boxes' or 'story bags' is to make the reading experience more interactive and engaging for the children. By using objects related to the story, the teacher helps bring the book to life, making it accessible and meaningful for all the students, especially those with sensory or cognitive impairments.
How does the teacher accommodate the special needs of the students during lessons?
-The teacher accommodates the students by planning differentiated lessons that meet their individual needs. She ensures that all students have opportunities to participate, engages them through multiple sensory activities, and uses tools like communication devices to help them express themselves.
What kind of cooking activity did the class do, and how was it connected to the theme?
-The class made 'autumn toast' using colored milk and bread, connected to the fall season. This activity was integrated into the overall lesson on autumn and incorporated cooking, which the teacher enjoys as it engages the students and helps develop various skills.
How does the teacher make sure every student is engaged in classroom activities?
-The teacher makes sure every student is engaged by providing clear opportunities for them to participate, either by requesting turns, giving instructions tailored to their communication needs, or directly involving them in activities such as smashing bread or painting with colored milk.
Why does the teacher place a strong emphasis on high expectations for students with special needs?
-The teacher believes that students with special needs are capable of much more than what is often expected of them. By holding them to high expectations, she sees them achieve skills and learn in ways that others may not have anticipated, demonstrating their full potential.
What sensory experiences are incorporated into the reading lesson about seasons?
-The reading lesson incorporates sensory experiences such as touching a bare tree to understand winter, smelling syrup to learn about sap, and feeling objects like squirrels and birds that are part of the story. These experiences help students, especially those with sensory impairments, connect with the content.
How are communication skills developed during these classroom activities?
-Communication skills are developed by encouraging students to ask for turns, express their preferences, and use assistive devices or gestures to participate in conversations. The teacher prompts them to say 'my turn' or make other simple requests, fostering active participation.
What does the teacher believe is the key to helping her students succeed in learning?
-The teacher believes that the key to helping her students succeed is maintaining high expectations and providing them with opportunities to learn in a way that meets their needs. She also emphasizes the importance of creating meaningful experiences that help students engage with the material in a way they can understand.
Outlines
πΆ The Importance of Music in Learning
The paragraph describes how music plays a crucial role in the classroom, helping engage children in various activities. The teacher discusses how music is used not only for warming up or stretching but also for communication. The kids respond well to music, and the teacher can identify their favorite songs, which encourages participation and engagement in learning activities.
π Bringing Stories to Life with Sensory Experiences
This section emphasizes the value of reading in the classroom and how the teacher uses sensory tools, such as story boxes or bags, to enhance the learning experience. The children are introduced to a book called 'A Tree for All Seasons,' and they actively engage with props like a tree model, touching the branches and discussing the seasons. These activities help make reading an immersive and participatory experience for the kids.
π³ Learning Through Sensory Exploration
The paragraph continues the seasonal theme by diving into the concept of winter. The teacher explains the sensory experiences tied to the season, like touching the bare branches of a tree. The use of a squirrel prop allows students to participate actively, helping them understand how animals interact with trees. The focus is on creating learning moments through interaction, touching objects, and engaging with the sensory aspects of the story.
π Cooking to Connect Learning with Real-Life Experiences
In this part, the focus shifts to a cooking activity tied to the seasonal theme. The children are introduced to the concept of making autumn toast using colored milk. The teacher integrates music into the activity, keeping the kids engaged. Aprons are distributed, and the kids are encouraged to participate by calling out the names of ingredients and taking turns performing tasks. The cooking activity serves as a multi-sensory experience, reinforcing concepts from the story.
π Hands-on Cooking: Autumn Toast Creation
The students start the process of making autumn toast. They use their hands to smash the bread, paint it with colored milk using a paintbrush, and eventually cut the bread with a leaf-shaped cookie cutter. Each step is detailed, and the children are actively involved, making choices and participating in each stage of the recipe. The paragraph highlights the tactile and hands-on approach to learning through cooking.
π Reflecting on Learning and High Expectations for Special Needs Students
In the final paragraph, the teacher reflects on the importance of holding high expectations for students with special needs. She discusses how the students, despite their challenges, can accomplish much when they are provided with the right support and opportunities. The paragraph emphasizes the power of believing in the students' abilities and giving them meaningful experiences to foster growth and learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Seasons
π‘Gross Motor Skills
π‘Fine Motor Skills
π‘Sensory Experiences
π‘Music
π‘Story Boxes
π‘Cooking Activities
π‘Individualized Instruction
π‘Communication
π‘High Expectations
Highlights
Music is used to warm up, stretch, and engage students, catering to their unique preferences and needs.
The classroom integrates music into daily activities to help students communicate, ask for things, and interact with others.
The teacher incorporates a variety of activities like reading, cooking, and sensory experiences to engage students with different learning needs.
A field trip to an 'apple orchard' is set up within the school to give students an experience they might not have access to.
Story boxes and bags with objects related to the book help students with sensory or cognitive challenges better engage with reading material.
Books are made interactive with props and sensory objects, allowing students to physically experience the stories.
Cooking activities, such as making autumn toast, provide opportunities for the students to engage in hands-on learning while incorporating motor skills.
Each student is given a chance to participate in cooking by requesting turns, using communication aids, and learning to follow instructions.
The teacher uses personalized songs and routines to maintain student engagement and prepare them for the activities.
Students are taught to make choices, ask for turns, and follow steps in activities, helping them practice decision-making and communication skills.
The teacher takes time to make sure each child can participate in their own way, adapting the lesson to suit their needs and abilities.
High expectations are set for all students, including those with special needs, as the teacher believes in their capacity to learn and grow.
The cooking activity integrates learning about seasons, sensory exploration, and teamwork in a fun, engaging manner.
Visual aids like a cookie cutter are used to represent autumn leaves, making abstract concepts tangible for students.
The teacher emphasizes that children with special needs can often exceed expectations when provided with the right support and environment.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
you
[Music]
we were doing kind of seasons autumn and
talking about apples and so we kind of
broke that up into a bunch of different
activities that kind of met the needs of
all the kids as well as touched on the
gross motor fine motor academics it kind
of touch on everything so it kind of
started out with some simple reading
books and kind of getting familiar with
the theme and then we move along to some
different things and cooking activities
and I'm kind of culminated with a field
trip to the apple orchard that we kind
of set up in school and made it you know
a time for the kids to go and experience
what it would be like to be in an apple
orchard and all the things that you
might do at an apple orchards you guys
want to do some music to start off so
you can get all ready for our activity
would you like some music you tell us
what you can tell us you tell us you
want some music
hmm what do you want what do you want
some music I know there's all kinds of
fun stuff but look we're gonna do a
little bit of music to start off let's
see just to get you guys warmed up and
stretched out yes would you like some
music music that's right Caleb good
talking like this song you're gonna
dance yeah get warmed up you stretch it
out the rest of your days you wanna
dance
[Music]
there you go get all warmed up you want
to stretch out and get warmed up music
and our classroom is kind of a big deal
music for some reason seems to get
through to so many kids all of my kids I
could probably tell you 2 or 3 favourite
songs for every kid that I have I could
probably tell you a type of music that
they like they just respond so
differently to each you know different
songs and so we use music throughout the
day to do to accomplish different things
sometimes it's a break sometimes it's to
get warmed up and do some stretching
sometimes it's to get the child to
communicate to ask for something you
guys are warm and ready now all right
you guys ready to read our book guess
why it's time to read a book what you
like this tree that's gonna be what our
story's about so it's time to sing our
song to get ready to read it you guys
ready to sing here we go it's time to
read look it's time to read a book it's
time to read it's time to read it's time
to read a book hey all right you ready
to see what yeah you guys ready to see
what our book is about yeah look our
book is called a tree for all seasons
you look at that tree look at that tree
these kids down there you see good job
you want to look William
[Music]
look our book is gonna be about a tree
season that's right you found the trees
good job Caleb look Maurice look what I
got
what is that a tree see it's gonna be a
tree for all seasons you ready to read
it and see what it's about let's check
our book out you ready let's see
year after year trees change from season
to season look at all our seasons we've
got winter where it's nice and cold
reading is one of my favorite things to
teach especially for these kids because
it's so much fun to take a book and make
it really accessible to them and make it
an experience not just a book and so I
love to take books and come up with what
we call story boxes or story bags where
we can you know find a bunch of
different objects or things that would
go along with the story and they get
really involved in it and they can
participate in it and that really kind
of brings the book to life for them and
they're able to get a lot more out of a
literacy experience so we're gonna find
out about all of our seasons and guess
what we're gonna make our tree look like
it goes with all the seasons to here's
our tree we're gonna change it as the
seasons change you ready let's see what
the season is first alright look the
first season we have is winter and
winter the tree is bare can you guys
look at our tree it's bare there's no
leaves you want to touch it so what the
bear tree feels like see there's
branches that's wintertime look Maurice
you touch it
touch those branches that's a winter
tree there's no leaves on it it's bare I
know I'm not crazy
alright let's see what happens in the
winter time what do you need help with
you good all right this street it looks
bad but guess what you like the tree
good job good job
I like how you asked for that the tree
it looks dead but guess what it is alive
and well and many things are happening
let's find out what all is happening
guess what the first thing that's
happening is there are squirrels
squirrels napping in a cozy tree hole
how would you like to see the squirrel
guess what look there's a squirrel
that's squirrel good talking who else
would like to see eye squirrel my turn
[Music]
who else would like a turn with the
squirrel would anybody else like to see
the squirrel you can say my turn
squirrel yep all right my turn William
yes would you like a turn can I help you
let me show you how to find it look you
can say you can say my turn
oh look my my turn yeah see your turn
here's the squirrel you see it did you
see the tail look it's got a bushy tail
that's the score good job Maurice would
you like a turn good job Bri let's see
what else is happening oh look a little
bird sits on a branch and chirps who
could put my bird in the tree look I've
got a little bird you can blink if you
would like a turn would you like a turn
yes you would all right let me bring
this tree over here
clip him right in the tree ready
let's reach let's put him right here in
this branch I wonder look at that that
is really nice what is really important
for people to understand I think about
our students is a lot of times they
don't have the experiences that a lot of
typical kids might have because you know
a lot of these kids have sensory losses
they have visual impairments they have
hearing impairments and just the simple
fact that a lot of them spend a lot of
time in the hospital growing up they you
know just haven't had access to as many
experiences so the books the story boxes
are really about creating those
experiences for our kids so that these
things really come to life for them what
else happens in winter oh look as winter
ends nights are still cold but days are
getting warmer and guess what happens in
the wintertime this is something you
guys will like trees make SAP and we
make syrup from tree sap look we've got
syrup syrup comes from trees see you
want to smell the syrup it smell sweet
smell that we eat syrup on waffles and
pancakes you guys like that don't you so
who would like a turn to taste it
Brianna you can make a sentence and
taste it anybody like to taste the syrup
syrup to taste who wants a turn would
you like to taste the syrup would you
like to taste that all right let's see
what happens next I think winter might
be all done let's see see what comes
next
oh it's time for spring we do cooking
pretty much either every week or every
other week and so for this activity the
one of the cooking activities was making
autumn toast with paint with colored
milk and so we are able to incorporate
so many different things into a cooking
activity and the reason I love cooking
activities is because the kids are
engaged okay guys we're gonna do some
cooking today we've been learned we read
our book about the seasons and we talked
about fall and guess what we're gonna
make a recipe that has to do with it
so first yeah you ready more we're not
going to music right now but you know
what
we are gonna sing our cooking song are
you ready let's get ready to clap here
we go it's cooking time today
it's cooking time today it's cooking
time it's cooking time it's cooking time
today hey alright time to cook you know
we need first when it's time to cook
we need our aprons so let's see when I
call your name let me know you're here
so you can have your apron where is a
boy named William who needs this apron
whose name is William yours put your
apron on what about do I have a Breanna
in the house where's Briana this is this
who needs this apron that says Briana
let's see who else I have I've got one
that says Terrell if your name is
Terrell you could blink and let me know
let's find out what we're cooking who
could tell me the title of our recipe
who could read that for me you can do it
tell us yeah we're gonna make autumn
toast today that's gonna be our recipe
so we're gonna put this right up here
our recipe title is gonna be autumn
toast so let's see there's lots of
things we need to know to make autumn
toast we're gonna need to know our
cooking tools what do we need to cook
who can tell me the first thing we're
gonna need to cook we want Saturn you
think one of them knows let's see if
they want to turn do you want to try to
tell me you do okay tell me the first
thing we need to cook what's one cooking
tool
oh we're gonna need a paintbrush that's
interesting we're not all done we're
just getting started girl William do you
want to tell me what's next oh we need
our toaster let's see we have our
toaster right here I plugged it up let
me unplug it so you can see
not juice we're gonna have a toaster do
you want to see it look toaster yeah and
guess what when you plug it in and it
gets hot you don't want to touch it cuz
it'll be hot hurt your fingers look
toaster
that's a toaster we're gonna use that
yeah look you see that toaster see
toaster good talking toaster there you
go not water toaster look toaster yeah
any time that I do an activity and here
I try to have opportunities for every
student to be able to request a turn
come up and be engaged in what we're
doing because a lot of times with these
kids they unless you come straight to
them and ask them you know tell them
exactly what they need to do to be able
to be involved they might not know you
know I need to press my advice to get
you to pay attention to me that's
something that we work on we've got our
cooking tools we also have some
ingredients we're gonna need who can
tell me the first ingredient we need hmm
Tyrell would you like a turn to tell me
yes get ready here we go
let's push we need milk and guess what
the milk has to stay cold so I need
somebody to get the milk out of the
refrigerator who could do that would you
like to get the milk can you go get the
milk out of the refrigerator all right
let's look at the milk here's what a
milk carton looks like Caleb's getting
our milk out of the refrigerator
look milk
yeah we're gonna need milk for this
food coloring
we're gonna need food coloring for this
cooking activity let's see see food
coloring yeah we're gonna need to make
that milk some different colors see food
coloring oh you got it off look Breanna
we need food coloring good job see
Maddie coloring
oh not yet look I need food coloring for
this see so those are ingredients now
we're ready we're ready to find out the
steps of our recipe and start cooking
would you like to be the first can you
read the first step in our recipe
alright we're gonna need to use our
hands to smash some red so let me give
you a plate and a piece of bread and
we're gonna do our first step so Briana
told us that we need to smash the bread
with our hands so here's our very first
step we're gonna use our hands to smash
the bread okay can you do that you're
gonna use your hands to smash the bread
ready the good reading
use your hands to smash the bread good
job I like how you're reading this
alright that's our first step see if
everybody can do that step can you smash
it you ready to roll let's do yours here
we go and use our hands smash the bread
good job let's see who can read the
second step who wants a turn William
would you like to do it can you push and
see what our next step we already read
that one try again push again
oh we need our paintbrush we're gonna
paint some colored milk on our bread so
let's make some colors who can pour the
milk for me all right we've got our
colored milk who's ready to paint it on
who wants to paint got our very clean
paintbrush here who wants to start off
with painting would you like to paint
yours first no you don't want to be
first would you like to be first yeah
all right would you like to start with
red or green colors your Leafs gonna be
do you think it should be red or do you
think it should be green you like red
all right red for Maddy so everybody
have some color on their bread looks
like it all right let's put our second
step out that's what we did we use our
paintbrush to paint colored milk on our
bread that was our second step we'll put
it on our board with our number two
because it was our second step let's see
who can read our next step what do we
need to do next somebody over here like
a turn Maddy
Tyrell would you like a turn
who wants a turn do it
oh you want a turn oh look Maddy wants
one maybe you can go Moo's okay ready
can you push look you get it now we need
to cut our bread with our cookie cutter
and look at our cookie cutter we have a
cookie cutter Oh would you like a turn
Terrell I see you raising your hand over
here would you like to be the first
person to cut it you can use the leaf
cookie cutter we've got a leaf cookie
two cuts we're gonna make some autumn
leaves you ready let's push it on here
and show everybody how you do it here we
go push use those hands and push push
push push push push
good job and guess what we made you made
a leaf shape look at that
are you reaching up to get it look you
made a leaf out of your bread good job
all right who else is gonna do it you
want to turn tell me my turn turn my
turn don't what oh you don't want to
turn okay oh that's Briana's you have
one what can you use your whole sentence
my turn
do you like a turn who wants to cut
their bread that was a good setup and
then Brianna you'll be next alright our
third step was cutting the bread with
our cookie cutter we'll put it up we did
that step number three all right there's
one more step would you like to tell us
Brianna alright step we need to toast
the bread and then we get to eat it who
wants to toast their bread hmm
who wants to come up here and put their
bread in the toaster you want to alright
bring it on up alright and guess what
our last step we get to eat our bread
let's put it up here and we can eat our
bread who wants to taste their bread
miss MacFarlane is an effective teacher
because she is a competent caring
nurturing teacher she takes the time to
intentionally plan her lessons for her
students to differentiate instruction to
meet their individual needs as you can
see you know investing her classroom
every moment in her classroom is a
learning opportunity for her students
and she keeps them engaged they sing she
talks to them constantly I've never met
the teacher who talks as much as she
does during the day but she's constantly
in communication and talking with them
to keep them engaged in what they're
learning now that we made our toast
let's see if we can remember what our
recipe was do our worksheet all right so
the first thing we need to think about
is what our ingredients were for our
recipe so let's see I need one person
that can tell me the first ingredient we
use who thinks they could tell me you
can make a choice hmm
some whatever here want to do it would
you like to make a choice and tell me
you can tell me you want to turn all
right so the question is what is one of
the ingredients we use our recipe did we
use bread or did we use a banana what
did we use in our recipe we used bread
that's right we use bread so I'm gonna
give you all a daughter give you a
daughter and you need to stamp bread
Brianna told us that we use bread there
it is now you know we used bread all
right who else can tell me another
ingredient we used
who can tell me somebody over here would
you like to make a choice true yeah look
I'm gonna ask you a question I need to
know if we used pudding in our recipe or
if we used food coloring in our recipe
all right so your turn to answer did we
use pudding in our recipe or did we use
food coloring in our recipe we try again
you wake all the way back up for me have
those eyes so you can make a choice yes
would you like to make the choice maybe
Tyrell can you make a another one of our
choices all right we'll let you think
about it okay
Maurice which did we use in our recipe
pudding or food coloring food coloring
you're right so you guys can mark food
coloring the last thing we need to do is
to put our recipe steps in order for
cooking so I need somebody who can tell
me what the first step in our recipe was
who thinks they know hmm who knows what
the first step was Brianna would you be
able to tell me can you answer a
question for me look was the first thing
we did in our recipe did we use our
hands to smash the bread or did we toast
it and eat it first which one was first
Oh Maddie's trying to help you out which
one was first smashing the bread we're
eating it smashing the bread that's
right that was the first thing we did so
we'll pass around our number one and you
can stamp it someone can tell me the
second thing we did Terrell would you
like to tell me the second thing yes all
right was the second thing we did did we
use our paintbrush to paint the colored
milk on the bread or did we toast the
bread and eat it alright your turn to
answer did we use a paintbrush to paint
the color we did you already know you're
answering me before I finish that was
the second thing we did you are so right
guess what that's our whole recipe it's
all done so cooking time is all done you
did it look cooking time is all done you
did it I am very passionate about
students with special needs still being
held to high expectations because I
believe that they are able to do so much
and they're able to do so much more than
a lot of time is what is expected of
them from just just in the community a
lot of people see kids these kids
sometimes and think oh they they're not
going to be able to do that don't make
up you know don't make them do that but
when you hold them to that expectation
and you have high expectations for them
you see them learn things that people
never thought they would be able to do
and they are capable of so much and all
you have to do is have that expectation
and believe that they can do it and a
lot of times they can't
[Music]
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