Mini-activity: Spin and Dance (3rdgrade – Special Education)
Objective: Student will identify numbers 1-5 by name
Student will show understanding of 1:1 correspondence
Materials: iPad, Image Spinner app (free), Squares (or number blocks)
Methods:
1) Teacher will point out squares on the floor to the student
2) Teacher will provide student with iPad with Image Spinner App open
3) Teacher will demonstrate how to get spinner to move
4) Teacher will ask student to identify numbers
5) Student will activate spinner
6) Student will speak the number that the spinner lands on
7) Student and teacher will move the number of squares that is indicated by spinner
8) Student and teacher will “Crazy dance” when it lands on dance
Possible Modifications:
Teacher can alter number of spinner segments and the content in the segments
Activity can be modified to be a desk activity
Activity can be a team exercise
Activity can be modified to be a game and/or competition
Activity can be modified to meet all ages/skill levels
How is this activity modern?
This activity integrates the use of technology as a fun and interactive component. The iPad was introduced by Apple on January 27, 2010. The app used for this activity was released very recently-- January 4, 2012. Prior to this, this activity could have been done virtually provided there was a program available on line, but certainly it wouldn’t have been possible for a child to have the technology in hand while completing the exercise. I included a "dance" segment on my spinner because I was discussing this assignment in front of my 12 year-old son, and he thought there should be some sort of "treasure" or reward along the path of blocks. Adding something silly or fun will help hold interest and prolong the activity. My daughter is at the cognitive age that she loves silly dancing. I don't know if it's modern, but I think it does demonstrate the change in education that holds that learning that is engaging and stimulating reaches students better than lecture and notetaking.
Standards:
This activity targets several standards listed on thePennsylvania Alternate Mathematics Standards. The AMS “define the skills and strategies employed by students with the most severe cognitive disabilities who have attained proficiency in numeracy skills defined very broadly; all teachers who interact with these students will assist them in learning these skills and strategies through multiple classroom situations in all the subject areas. The Alternate Mathematics Standards also provide parents and community members with information about what students with the most severe cognitive disabilities should know and be able to do as they progress through their educational program and at graduation. With a clearly defined target provided by the standards, parents, students, educators and community members become partners in learning success” (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2012).
The standards being worked on with this activity include
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Count using whole numbers and by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, 10’s, 25’s and 100’s (2.1.3.A)
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Use concrete objects to count, order and group (2.1.3.G)
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Demonstrate an understanding of one-to-one correspondence (2.1.3.H)
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Use whole numbers and fractions to represent quantities (2.1.3.B)
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (2012). PASA Information. Retrieved January 2012, from Pennsylvania Department of Education: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/special_education/7465/pasa_information/619900
I made a very short video of this app for you to see. Being tired and a bit sick (she had 9 tubes of bloodwork drawn last night), my daughter was being a little uncooperative tonight, but I think you can get the idea of how it would work.
http://youtu.be/wv1q2228pSc