Tech Tuesday: Build a Story with LEGO, Part 2
In last month’s Tech Tuesday post, we discussed the potential of LEGO® products in interventions for social cognition and language development. The post focused on the uses of real, hands-on LEGOs for building stories, specifically, using baseplates to collaboratively build a Setting with minifigure characters, with blocks setting the stage for discussion of Actions, Kick-Offs, and Reactions. At the same time, multifunction LEGO blocks provide students with opportunities to apply the Social Thinking® concepts of “sharing imagination” and “adding thoughts” as they build together. In this post, let’s look at some (mostly) tech-based opportunities to capitalize on students’ interest in LEGO....
Using Data Collection and Collaboration to Enhance Instruction
The icons and maps of the Story Grammar Marker®, Braidy®, and ThemeMaker® make abstract concepts of text structure visible and concrete for students. The use of the developmental stages of narrative development (shown below) enables you to differentiate instruction within your classroom. In schools I have worked, one such way we implemented SGM® methodology to support instruction was to establish grade level group writing conferencing sessions three formal times a year...
Write a Response!
Writing a question or statement on a whiteboard and having students respond during the school day is becoming increasingly popular. It can be used as way to check in with students about a current topic and initiate discussion. Shown is one way to bring in the SGM® icons. Put this board in view after lunch on the first day of school. You may also post the SGM® Feelings Poster. Ask the students to write one word to describe how they were feeling before coming to school and one to describe how they currently are feeling...
Back to School Idea: Summer Memories
Getting students back in the swing of a new school year can be a challenge. Here is an idea to help make this transition easier. Ask the students what their favorite summer memory is… Have them think about where they were (Setting) and what they did there. To help facilitate the sharing of these ideas students may use the SGM® resources as shown below. Invite students to orally share these memories with the group. I used a removable adhesive tape so that I could display student work on the poster board as they orally shared memories. This lends itself especially well to teachers/interventionists/therapists who travel from class to class and who work with multiple grade levels...
Summer School Explorations with Google Earth
Setting is a key area of instruction for students on the autism spectrum not only because they tend not to observe the “expected behaviors” or script for a given setting, but also because they often leave out details about Setting when 
telling stories to others, thus resulting in loss of a point of reference and confusion on the part of their listener. Students in social thinking/skills groups or individual treatment would therefore benefit from building descriptive skills through the use of the Setting Map contained in It’s All About the Story and other SGM resources. Once again, as visual and kinesethetic learners, working with resources they can see and manipulate assists in building these skills...
Tech Tuesday: Using the Pic Collage App with Complete Episode Narratives
