Dear Laurie and Magi, Thank you for giving me a better background and understanding of the situation in which Magi works and what her needs are. My questions were not intended to be insulting or sarcastic. I was genuinely interested in getting enough information to be able to be helpful. Thank you, Laurie, for giving me the benefit of the doubt on this. Now I understand that this is not a regular, academic classroom where students have a standard curriculum, with standard tests to show their having mastered the subjects to a certain level required for graduation. These students with extreme disabilities cannot be expected to perform like their mainstream counterparts, and thus require very specialized tutoring to develop even the most fundamental behaviors and social skills. I take my hat off to Magi for all the thought and energy she gives to this endeavor. I work well with blind and deaf individuals where there is no cognitive impairment, using the puzzles I have designed. My only acquaintance with retarded students was many years ago, when I assisted a dance teacher with doing dance moves for a class of handicapped students, both mentally retarded and even some with cerebral palsy. They loved the music and rhythm and got great joy out of participating in routines like the Hokey Pokey and other simple dances. But I wouldn't know where to begin to teach math and language concepts to individuals in the 50-62 IQ range. I'd like to clear up a misunderstanding. I am not on this forum to sell my own products, unless they happen to be the answer to a need. I am a great fan of the Looneys and their work, and sell some of their products on my own website. I have a great interest in how education works to build the minds of tomorrow, and will support all good efforts in that direction. Part of such effort is the work of Dr. Win Wenger, whose website, Project Renaissance, I manage. Please see http://www.winwenger.com . Dr. Wenger has many unusual techniques to enhance learning, even for the lower range of IQ. His website is full of free materials that you are welcome to adapt for your situation. That your students themselves designed a new behavior plan is impressive and very hopeful. It's the kind of result Win's techniques also encourage. If you email to him with a specific inquiry for what would be best to try with your mentally retarded students, he will most generously respond. His techniques will feel like games, very easy to learn and fun. Write to him here: wwenger101@xxxxxxx In the meantime, I will continue to think about what else might be a practical help for you. The booklet that is on its way to you may contain a few useful things (some could be played with UNO cards), but overall I now suspect it is too complicated for students who still have trouble adding numbers. Maybe they could learn to use a calculator? Because of the special hardships you are working with, may I assume that the school allows you to improvise your own techniques and to experiment with methods that otherwise might seem unorthodox? If you could get results that exceed all expectations, that would be a good thing, yes? You have my best wishes, Magi, both for getting well from your virus bout and for the incredibly difficult path you have chosen for your teaching career. -- Kate -----Original Message----- From: edu-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:edu-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Magi D. Shepley Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 7:16 AM To: Looney Labs Education Discussion List Subject: Re: [Edu] Games in the Classroom You took it exactly the same way I took it, Laurie. That's why I ... for once... kept my mouth shut. My response, given that I have some kind of virus from one of my kids (okay, its only the 2nd time this year, and at least its over Spring Break!), would have been significantly less polite. However, I'm somewhat more focused now... Laurie Menke wrote: >--- Kate Jones <kate@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > >>Let me see if I understand this, Magi: >> >>1. Your students would rather play games than do >>real schoolwork. >> >> > >Playing games can be "real schoolwork." Actually, if >the games are appropriate, they can teach students >much better than seatwork because they are highly >motivating, multi-modal (equally involve the students >who learn better by seeing, hearing, and doing), and >tend to repeat important concepts frequently. > > > I teach students with mental retardation and other disabilities. 4 of my students have IQs between 50-62. 1 of my students is considered emotionally disturbed (he has mild hallucinations, ADHD, and some real issues with reality testing) and other health impaired (the child has a bone disorder that he is watching his mother deal with, and is also dyslexic and may have a central auditory processing disorder). The 4 students with mental retardation, 3 of them also are 'speech-language impaired', which means they may or may not understand verbal language, and have difficulties giving verbal responses. I have 1 student that is Spanish dominant, and no access to a translator. That student has a severe seizure disorder that required a VNS Implant earlier this year because he was having 5 or 6 petit mal seizures daily, and hundreds of absence seizures. Its not that they would prefer to play games, it is that games give me the best opportunity to integrate their IEP goals, State Standards, and social skills necessary for the workplace. My ultimate goal is to have my students be happy, productive and participatory citizens when they leave high school. All of my students are 16 or older now, so that finish line isn't very far. Because of their disability, they need to learn not just academics and social skills, but they also need to be taught recreation and leisure skills. They don't pick up recreation skills just by observing others do it. We go into the community once or twice a week, sometimes more often, and do things that seem incredibly strange: last week we went to the grocery store, and the week before that we went to IHOP. >>2. Your students like Monopoly, Scrabble, Fluxx, >>Uno, Dominoes (maybe >>others) that you have in the classroom. >> >> They do. Uno is the current favorite, although Fluxx was not too long ago. >>3. You want to use the games they like rather than >>introduce them to new >>ones they might also like. >> >> > > > Wrong. My students, particularly my student who is Spanish dominant, one of my lower functioning kids with mental retardation, and my kid with emotional disturbance react very badly to change. If we change their schedule without advance warning (we hang all special events in picture symbols on a calendar at the front of the room), I'm going to have some real problems on my hands. Frankly, I also don't have money to purchase new bits & pieces for games. All of the games we have now were donated by a science fiction fan who knows a friend of mine. That friend is involved with ICON, and let me know when this other woman was giving away a ton of games. She was nice enough to drop that at my house on her way down from New York. Otherwise, we wouldn't have anything but Fluxx, a 3-in-1 checker board (chess, backgammon), and some really old Uno cards. Family Fluxx was a gift from a friend. >You seem to be implying that Magi is trying to stifle >her kids. She *wants* to teach them new games they >would also like. That's why she sent her original >request. She just doesn't have the funds to buy more >and wants to use the parts she already has. >Additionally, students with learning disabilities have >difficulty getting used to new things, so using parts >they are familiar with gives them a better chance of >being able to learn the game. > > > It is very hard for me to teach new rules to games to my students without modeling and visual cues. This is really true for my student who is Spanish dominant because my Spanish isn't good enough to really help him. It took us 6 weeks to teach him how to play Uno, and while he now plays independently, he still doesn't say Uno when he is down to one card. Several of the other students also need this prompt, and need prompts to remember they can lay a same card that is a different color down as well. Monopoly didn't take quite as long, but with 2 of the students, I'm not expecting them to count the money on their own. We play Monopoly and other money games using the 'Next DOllar' technique, which has the student count up to the next number. For monopoly, we count up to the next "biggest" number, and ask the bank for change in that denomination. Two of my students will shut down (My Spanish speaker will throw things at times) if they get too confused by work. >>4. You want them to use the games they know and >>like, but not actually let >>them play them, only to use them to do math problems >>and learn math skills. >> >> > >It is appropriate for Magi to try to use the games to >teach as much as she can. Students are in school to >learn. "Because it's fun" is an excellent reason for >doing something educational, but a poor reason for >doing something that is not teaching students skills >they need to know. I am guessing that Magi would also >like some faster alternatives. She gave the example >of Monopoly. How long does it take you to play a game >of Monopoly? I would say a minimum of 3 hours playing >the regular rules. Of course she needs something a >little less time consuming! > > > Monopoly... not finishing a game... takes us an entire day or a short game can take an entire morning. I don't have that kind of time always to allow them to play. If I can use their love of Monopoly to teach them some additional math and reading skills, I'm damn sure going to do it! We're already using it for a new behavior plan in the classroom that THEY designed. You see, Monopoly is age appropriate. My kids may have mental retardation, but they are very conscious of looking different from their classmates in other rooms. >>5. You want the students to fall for this and >>produce learning results. >> >> > >You intimate that she is tricking her students or >somehow being untrustworthy. I doubt she is going to >try to represent her games as anything other than what >they are...ways of learning math and other subjects >that are more fun than drill and rote memorization. >She's not saying she's got the best game ever, just >that it's a fun learning alternative. > > > She's doing more than intimating it. She is saying it right out in the open. And, frankly, since this woman has NEVER been in my classroom, doesn't KNOW me or my students, she can take it and ... >>6. You're looking for ideas for how to accomplish >>this. >>7. You'd like to do this, if possible, at no cost. >> >> > >Of course free materials are every teacher's dream. >Do you have any idea how difficult it is to purchase >needed supplies with the budget teacher's are >provided? > > Forget the budget. I am in a wealthy district. I had NO materials in my classroom when we started the year. Fortunately, this is not a new situation for me to be in, and I am not only good at making my own stuff, I have purchased tons of stuff over the years. I used to work for an inner city district that didn't even give me a whiteboard/blackboard. I had to buy it myself along with toilet paper, and soap! When I left there, I had a $4000 credit card bill that was 95% school supplies. I also taught myself how to beg for materials then, and write grants. This year was slightly abnormal for this school because the classroom existed before this year (new classrooms get a bit of start-up funding),but the previous teacher didn't do functional academics or cooking the way I do, and the way the administration wants. So, I had to recreate from scratch. I spend a huge amount of my own money on my classroom yearly, far more than the piddling $250 that the federal government lets me take off my taxes... And that's just on stuff that is easily classified... Its not on the stuff that would make an IRS agent's head spin around ala the exorcist when he looked at my recepts! How many other people can take a turkey dinner, strawberry shortcake and jello off their taxes??? Magi _______________________________________________ Edu mailing list Edu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.looneylabs.com/mailman/listinfo/edu