ED 599

Observation Notes from 2/6/2015

Kate Toussaint
Time: 8:20-9:30, 10:25-30am

Beginning of the VIA program (Vantage Intermediate), most students are in

grades 5 and 6
There are 6 students now in this program
One student has a reward for making honor roll for the MP and attends a
breakfast; another student currently is speaking with the classroom teacher
and head of school because he had an OSS for the past day and a half. Four
remaining students are working on a morning sacred writing assignment

(they were asked to write about setting a goal in one paragraph)

Each desk has a student rocking chair; this benefits the ADHD students (I

actually enjoyed sitting in one myself!)

Morning activities/agenda are on the Smartboard (there are four of them) and

after each, students will have a brain break

For students that finished early, they sit quietly and play with Thinking Putty,
this is similar to Silly Putty, but it comes in various colors and sizes. Currently
five students are in the room and three of them are either using the putty

wither on their desk or it is in their hand

Room is a little chilly, so teacher is explaining to students where the blankets
are in the room. There are both weighted and regular blankets. The weighted
blankets can either rest on the lap, shoulders, or chest. Some students like to
have the blanket sit on their heads. The size of a weighted blanket is smaller
than your normal blanket, since it does not cover the entire body. This would

be something I would like to research more

First brain break: Card Race. Each student gets a folded index card on their
desk. The card is placed on the edge that is closest to them. Card is standing
like a tee-pee. Next they receive a straw to push/blow air through. Teacher
sets the timer to one minute and students have to see how many times they
can put the index card into the parking space on their desk. Everyone
seems willing to try, some of the more nervous students hesitate but still try
the activity. This helps control breathing and the body is forced to relax.
Teacher explains how this is another breathing exercise to use if they are
feeling tired. She explains that if students feel that this will help them they
are allowed to independently do this activity. This activity only took about five
minutes from start to finish.

ED 599
Observation Notes from 2/6/2015

Kate Toussaint
Time: 8:20-9:30, 10:25-30am

Students now have to take a spelling test. Each student has their own
spelling words and they are allowed to have their thinking putty on their

desk. If a student is not work on the test they are reading silently
Description of the room: standard four sides. Front wall (side 1) has
Smartboard, calendar, schedule of classes for the day, and book shelf. Wall 2
has a large window and the teachers desk. 3 rd wall, or the back of the room,
has a world map, bulletin board with images of the students with the therapy
dog. Vantage level systems (G1, B3, B2, B1, D1) and the 4 th wall has a sink,
countertop, and cabinets. This area has water and snacks for the students.

There is also a marker board on this wall.

Students have a snack time at 9:30 am daily. They can bring their own snacks

from home or choose from what the teacher has.

There are signs around the room that talk about different types of breathing.

Belly and square breathing as well as hook-ups.

After spelling test students will do a second brain break called Woo-Wah-Wish
Students in the room, some have behavior/anger management, high anxiety,

on the autism spectrum, are truant cases, selective mutism.

Brain break 2- Woo-Wah-Wish: Teacher has a ball. Students will toss the ball
either saying woo, wah, or wish. Woo is right, wah is left, and wish is can
throw it to anyone. Some students seem to forget which word goes with
which direction. This is building fine motor skills as well as working both sides
of the brain. Students who are messing up seem ok since there is no
competition involved. Students stand in a circle, have to say either of the
three words and then toss the ball. Now teacher is counting to see how many
they can get correctly. None of the words can be repeated. If they are they
have to start over. This activity lasted about 7-10 minutes from start to finish.
A longer brain break, but I think that this was good after they took their

spelling test as it helps let out some energy and anxiety.

For an activity to practice spelling and vocabulary, students play Go-Fish. The
cards they use have the vocabulary word on one set and the definition on the
other. They have to find the matches. Can also play the Memory game with
these cards. During the games, the teacher is meeting individually with each

student to discuss their recent writing prompts.

Having activities planned in between classwork also helps break up the day
for students, especially for this population. This helps relax and relieve
anxiety and breaks down assignments that could seem longer versus a
2

ED 599
Observation Notes from 2/6/2015

Kate Toussaint
Time: 8:20-9:30, 10:25-30am

regular public school where there are no breaks at all and there is so much
classwork that needs to get done. Especially students of this generation,
where many are diagnosed as ADD and have LDs, the more breaks in the
classroom the better. Also the more successful the students will be. Brain
breaks seem to be successful in this classroom. I wonder what the similarities
and differences are between this room and a high school or middle school

room.
Brain break 3: Chair driving. For this brain break, students were asked to grab
their rocking chairs (because they are easier to push) and take them into the
hallway. Once in the hall, they lined up, and the teacher would tell each
student when to silently push their chair up the hallway. To change up the
routine, they could also pull their chair behind them. This exercise is not
meant to be a race, but a relaxing activity. Total, this took about 5 minutes at
the most, and it gets the body moving! The teacher decided to use this
exercise before they went to their 4th period class with another instructor.

Total time in the classroom- 1:20.00