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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Craft is not the Goal (Rainbow Cracker printable)

I tell my graduate students that the craft is not the goal.  The goals are worked on during the process of making the craft.  You'll see what I mean below.

My kids made Rainbow Crackers.  Only three ingredients are needed---Fruity Pebbles, icing, and graham crackers.   It was very yummy looking!

Click here to download the book. 
 
(Communication boards, or even PECS are easy to make--Keep it simple! Let me know if you need on and I'll post it.)

Here are a couple of screenshots from the book.




Here is what my kid made.  Was it a perfect rainbow?  I think in his eyes it was.  Did he use language to request and comment?  Yes!  Was this a motivating activity that would enhance communication? Definitely yes.  Could he talk about it later? Yes! Can his teacher use the same book?  Yes!


Again, I tell my grad students to keep the student's communication goals in mind. The end product is not the goal. This sometimes takes a while for young adults to learn!



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3 comments:

  1. cmf-slpMarch 27, 2012 at 10:02 PM

    Good point Ruth. I see many new grads still creating elaborate lessons plans based more on the theme or activity and less on speech and language objectives. I also like to remind them, and myself, that "It's not about the tool, it's about the technique". In these days of ipads, ipods, computers and IWBs it's so easy to think that the "right" tool or materials will do the teaching for you. There's no replacement for human interaction.

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  2. Carrie-AnneMarch 28, 2012 at 4:44 PM

    I needed this post last Friday. I didn't know how to express to my paraprofessional this point and did not have the right words. Thanks for sharing the book and the lesson to pass along!

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  3. Tai PatriceMarch 28, 2012 at 11:29 PM

    My clinical supervisor said these exact words to me during my graduate school days. Five years later this is something I always keep in the back of my mind when planning lessons and working with students..

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