Amazing report from Ian's Special Education teacher from March

Delayed in sharing this but wanted to document this... so remarkable how the right person can get so much from Ian... and his progress is just amazing!

The strengths that will be listed in his reports are below. We are still crafting the goals for the areas of need. We all know he needs to continue improving his math fact fluency, but we're trying to zoom in on an goal that is not too easy or not too hard for the next year. Same goes for his composition goal. In social, behavioral, and pre-voc. we are trying to pick the most important areas to focus on. We're open to input from any and all. Classroom Behavior

Ian enjoys being a part of his first grade class, showing an affinity for all his peers and all the adults with whom he works.  He loves all video-based and song-based learning and is very attentive during these activities. during math activities: computation practice with manipulatives, online Moby Max math lessons, Marcy Cooke tiles learning boards, and online the Xtramath digital flashcards program he is sometimes engaged but needs frequent redirects and does well with a visual schedule.  He is generally quiet and willing to sit in his spot during whole group learning time at the carpet. This wanes as the day goes on. He makes quick work of any reading or spelling activities and enjoys group games that use these skills, often smiling or beaming with pride after his turn to participate. He likes to work with his friends but like many kids, often turns partner work into a chance to socialize!  He does so with touches, high fives, initiating preferred games/jokes, conversing and using his Pro Lo Quo communication app. He participates in all activities only being granted permission to opt out if an environment creates a sensory overload (e.g. too loud, a known trigger word is said).

Social/Emotional/Behavioral Functioning

Strengths:

Ian is continuing to develop in the social-emotional area.  His problem solving skills are growing as he is more willing to linguistically advocate for his side, negotiate, and agree to a compromise.  If he initially vocalizes negativity in the form of a whine or tears, he usually can be quickly redirected to use his words or Pro Lo Quo to describe his wants or needs.  He also has become adept at self-regulation with breathing and counting down. He initiates the breathing on his own at times. If a task list is reasonable, Ian reads through it and sticks to completing it in almost all instances.  He is friendly to all children on campus and willing to meet anyone. He is good at remembering nearly everyone’s names and initiating subsequent greetings. He has a good sense of humor with both ongoing inside jokes with is inner circle and demonstrates understanding of novel humor by laughing, playing along, acknowledging verbally the organic humor of unique situations.  These could occur in social situations, while reading, watching shows, etc. He has never written or said a negative thing about another person. He is learning the subtleties of gentle touch, but still needs reminders, although fewer in number for any given day. He corrects his hands when greeting a peer when prompted with "too hard".

Language Arts:

Strengths:

Ian has continued to be strong in reading and spelling, qualifying for enrichment activities in both.  With the use of 4 option multiple choice he passed level H in reading which shows grade level ability in comprehending what he is reading.  During Readers Workshop he routinely answers who, where, and what questions verbally when staff stops to ask him. Anecdotally, he shows his understanding of written material by often interrupting a story if he can tie-in one of his favorite jokes.  For example, if the character falls down Ian will launch into his “dizzy” comments while laughing and smiling. In the area of composition, Ian needs support. Independently he often is on topic, but only with a word or two, not a phrase or sentence.  If prompted, discussed, modeled, conversed about with his core vocabulary, or provided a stem, Ian produces on-topic sentences.

Math

Strengths

He continues the counting sequence starting at any number up to 100.  Ian counts backwards from 30 by 1s. He counts by 5s to 100. He counts by 2s to 18 with a hundreds chart.  He counts 10 rods to 100. He identifies which are the 10s and which are the 1s when rods and cubes are placed before him.  He identifies a 100s flat. He recognizes numbers to 199. He states one more and one less of a given number. If given a series of numbers with one number missing he states what should go in the blank.  He does this for a series with a missing number this is counting forward by 1s, 5s, and 10s and backwards by 1s and 10s. He counts a group of objects that are in a row or rows up to 10 consistently with no errors.  He counts up to 20 but sometimes is off by 1 or 2 when asked the total. When counting one-to-one, up to 20 while touching his arm, he is more accurate. When given a group of 3 objects he names the tallest, shortest, which is medium in size, longest, and smallest.  He distinguishes between the symbols + and -. He has mastered the +1 family of addition, answering with automaticity up to 9+1.

PRE-VOCATIONAL SKILLS

Strengths:

Ian’s school-based life skills are continuing to grow with each year he is at WISH.  He follows the one step directives given to the whole class without additional prompting.  He performs routine and novel 2-step directions given directly to him. He approaches trusted adults and asks for help.  He has shown the ability to complete long tasks when motivated by a future break. He delays gratification, waits his turn, and shares with cueing as needed.   He follows the routines of the school day and individual subject matter blocks. He is getting better at raising his hand with the support of prompts. It is well known by those that are familiar with Ian, and quickly learned by people new to him, that he loves using electronic technology.  He is totally independent with touchscreen devices and typing. He has developed an independent mouse click, and is learning to move the mouse cursor with physical support. Ian does well with a multiple task, written checklist and almost always finishes his assignments with the aid of this tool - although sometimes begrudgingly.  His transition times from task-to-task and location-to-location have improved.