[nobe-l] Anchor charts, graphic organizers and next steps

Tue Mar 13 23:11:15 UTC 2018

Valerie,

I'm glad you are hanging in there and got this far, unlike me.
I got frustrated with professors for the same reasons.
Oh, how can you teach? Its fairly visual. You cannot see the teaching tools 
like graphic organizers. Oh, yes,
I remember those sentaments.

You said,

"My professor asked me just yesterday if there’s even a blind teacher who’s 
taught in Gen Ed elementary classes. When I told him that there was, he 
began clarifying his question as if I didn’t understand it correctly.

Even if I gave them these suggestions, to them it’s like I don’t have the 
clout to throw around to make the answers valid because … well I’m a student 
and what do I know.  That’s why I think (and I know my department would be 
interested) in talking to someone who’s actually in the field."

This situation is very familiar. I hope you can talk to
some real live teachers who are doing this work.

My best suggestions are to use alternative teaching methods without graphic 
organizers. They are not accessible to you.
Other techniques to show and teach are effective and surely you studied 
them. I know we had many teaching techniques presented in my literacy 
methods class.

Story boards, puzzles, songs, games, interactive reading including choral 
reading are just some ideas that come to mind to teach second graders.
Its beyond me why they insist on one way and treat you like you have not a 
clue how to teach or what may work for you.

Here is more specifics on creating things.
My suggestion is to create them ahead of time.
To creat charts, use the computer.
Basic charts can be made in Microsoft Word. Did you know you can even create 
tables and make the lines disappear? This is good so they have more room to 
write in.
Those pyramid type charts can be created in Powerpoint.
For math and science, graphs such as bar graphs and pie charts can be made 
in excel.

However, not sure how you can create the more complex graphic organizers.
If I were a teacher, I would use a sighted reader to help me create them.
In class, I'd ask the students to fill in the chart and read it to me.

I don't know how to create those graphic organizers such as story maps or 
mind maps. Perhaps, someone else knows how you can create them in an 
accessible way so you don't have to have a reader.

Another suggestion is to use puzzles.
You can create them online. You can make crosswords and word searches. They 
are fun and educational!

If you want the websites or more details, let me know.

I am also happy to send you or even the whole list examples of Word and 
powerpoint charts.
Just let me know. My email is bookwormahb at earthlink.net if you want to ask 
personal or specific questions off list.

What assistive technology do you have and what versions of Microsoft?
I use Jaws 17 on Windows 7.

Ashley
-----Original Message----- 
From: Valerie Gibson via NOBE-L
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 6:31 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Cc: Valerie Gibson
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Anchor charts, graphic organizers and next steps

Hi,

Thank you for your feedback. This is indeed frustrating, especially since 
what ideas I mention that I’m being given here are met with scheptisism.
My professor asked me just yesterday if there’s even a blind teacher who’s 
taught in Gen Ed elementary classes. When I told him that there was, he 
began clarifying his question as if I didn’t understand it correctly.

Even if I gave them these suggestions, to them it’s like I don’t have the 
clout to throw around to make the answers valid because … well I’m a student 
and what do I know.  That’s why I think (and I know my department would be 
interested) in talking to someone who’s actually in the field.

But for now, I need answer to complete my assignments as a student
> On Mar 13, 2018, at 4:15 PM, Ashley Bramlett via NOBE-L 
> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Valerie,
>
> While not an official educator, I do help kids academicaly either reading 
> with or to them or tutoring them in summers.
> I've also wondered these things. You can creat some worksheets in 
> Microsoft Word with columns. I've created a KWL chart this way; that's a 
> chart to see what they know and have learned; kwl means what I know, want 
> to know, and what is learned.
>
> You can also create some graphics in powerpoint. But, to create such 
> charts together with the kids sounds kind of hard.
> Graphics I've created are for them to learn info but I have made them in 
> advance and print them.
> If you are required to create them together with the class, I'm not sure.
>
> If I were a teacher, I'd probably use some other method to teach and still 
> be visual.
> For instance, I might have students write on the chalk board or whiteboard 
> in columns.
> I might be creative and cut out words or sentences in advance and have 
> small groups put them together by gluing them on paper based on what I'm 
> teaching. For instance, put nouns, verbs, and adverbs in categories to 
> complete a grammar exercise.
> I might also use felt boards to teach story, alphabet or number concepts.
> Felt boards were used in my regular ed classrooms to teach story and 
> literacy concepts.
>
> I really, really think its too bad when professors of future teachers say 
> you have to use one way to teach. I tried some ed classes and got this 
> attitude from a few professors.
> I changed majors for that and other reasons.
>
> It must be discouraging Valerie to be under this pressure and feel you 
> need to teach a certain way just to please those around you.
> In your own classroom, as long as the kids learn and you meet curriculum 
> goals I see no reason why you cannot teach how you want to and that is 
> meaningful to you as a blind teacher. I feel that professors and staff 
> supervisors want it their way only as you student teach. What I am saying 
> Ii s you have less control, less flexibility to use inclusive teaching 
> methods, and you have to fit into an existing setup in the class. You are 
> given someone's class and told to teach. That is far different than 
> walking into a new class at the beginning of the year where you are the 
> teacher and you have control of the schedule and teaching methods where 
> you can use alternative techniques to teach.
>
> If I think of ideas, I'll post them.
>
> Ashley
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Valerie Gibson via NOBE-L
> Sent: Monday, March 12, 2018 10:32 PM
> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
> Cc: Valerie Gibson
> Subject: [nobe-l] Anchor charts, graphic organizers and next steps
>
> Hi,
>
> I have another quick question that I wonder, and my professors wonder the 
> same.
> Anchor charts and graphic organizers are quite popular nowadays in general 
> ed classrooms it seems.  How do you design and fill those out with 
> students while teaching a mini lesson?  I assume they must be made ahed of 
> time, but from what I’ve seen of graphic organizers in tactile graphics, 
> they’re pretty spacial. How do you know where to put information in them? 
> The same question applies to charts?
> My elementary school teacher that I’m working with says that often times, 
> she makes them ahead of time. She doesn’t think it crucial that the basic 
> framework be made with the kids, but my field supervisor insists that when 
> you’re working with kids, they should be made with the class.
> On a more positive note, I do have a couple professors who are willing to 
> expect reasonable accommodations to be made in my field courses, but they’re 
> unclear as to what would be considered a reasonable accommodation.  For 
> example, do the same accommodations that they would make for me as a 
> student apply for me to expect from the districts?
> They insist I try to get in touch with someone who’s worked with sighted 
> kids, preferably ones in elementary school to see if I can’t get 
> information for how best they can help me.  I’m sure they’d also like to 
> talk to any blind educator who’s working with sighted kids, eventually, 
> but they want me to reach out first.  For some of my professors, I don’t 
> think the issue is that they’re unwilling to make accommodations fo rme. 
> They just want  to know what is a reasonable accommodation to some of the 
> things they’re asking me to do, and more importantly, will that carry over 
> into the job aspect.
> I start student teaching next semester. Right now, I’m doing a sort of 
> intern semester.  So if anyone’s free to contact me so I can pick your 
> brains, please contact me off list.
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