Saturday, October 3, 2009

Our New At Your Seat Study Files!

I want to show you this file as this is the beginning of many to come! Clouds are the subject matter for this At Your Seat Study. There is so much to learn about clouds! The information in these cards teaches names of clouds and what they look like. As there are so many types, it is really hard for some students to remember! One would think visual learners would be able to remember this information quickly, but the trouble we find is when putting IN the information, we must make the visual connection then. My son, Jesse, is dyslexic, and I have learned that if I just take the time or create the tools to put the information in his head with a visual trigger, it is easily and painlessly recalled.
Let me show you how this product works:

These are the information cards. They contain- well, information! They hold that name of the cloud type in a red color, a couple of adjectives in green, and weather that comes with that cloud in blue. The information is written in complete sentences with these key facts highlighted. These 10 cards are cut apart and saved.
Next we have our letter cards:

These letter cards reference the green color coded adjectives that were in the information cards. Simplifying the adjectives down to letters help the student rememeber them better. Who knew- less IS sometimes more. For example, the large letters DG will say "this reminds me of Dark Grey". It is odd how this works, especially in a boy's mind but it does.
Our next cards are called Visual Key cards:

These cards build on the letter cards. As DG was given for Dark Grey, this card will now contain a block that is filled with a dark grey color. When F&C was given on the letter cards for "feathery" and "curls", we now have a picture of a feather and some curls. The adjectives are on this card so that the child connects the adjectives with the visual.
The next set of cards are called picture cards:

These cards have ONLY the picture clue- no words.
Now that you know what each cards is for, let me explain what to do with them.
The student now has a set of four cards: information, letter, visual key, and picture. There are four cards for EACH of the ten types of clouds. After all these cards are sorted into sets, we can begin learning the information. There is a 4 step learning mat and it looks like this:

On the first day, the student will lay down all four cards to his set. He will say the information out loud. This is crucial, as the eyes may not pick up what the hearing will. For my son, reading certain information out loud is KEY to learning. While it may seem simple, be assured that the eyes and ears are picking up colors and pictures and filing this information so that recall will be easy. Day one will be complete. The next day or session, only three cards are laid down on the mat: the letter card, the visual key card, and the picture card. On the third day there is one less card, and on the fourth day there is only the picture card remaining. If you were to ask your student about a particular cloud, they will now be able to tell you a couple of interesting things about them!
I hope you give this file a try. We have made these very affordable ($1) and will be adding more to the line.
These are more like "Super Flash Cards"!
Click here to shop at the store for these files:

No comments: