The Boardmaker Project A Resource Package assembled by Darcy Allen Rita Bouchard Priscilla Fortier Bonnie Lamb Rob Watt 2004 05 A joint project of the BCTF, the PGDTA, and School District 57 Funded by The Prince George District Teachers Association
The Boardmaker Project A Resource Package assembled by Darcy Allen, Rita Bouchard, Priscilla Fortier, Bonnie Lamb, and Rob Watt Funded by the Prince George District Teachers Association Boardmaker is a collection of standardized picture symbols used for communication with students who are strong visual learners. This includes those with autism spectrum disorders, Down Syndrome, speech and language disorders, and behavioral disorders. It also works remarkably well with typical students, so is appropriate for whole class use, minimizing both the atypical student s differences and facilitating classroom management. Boardmaker is easy to use and relatively inexpensive ($400 in 2005). At the right is a list of the categories covered by Boardmaker. There are literally thousands of pictures in an easily searchable database: just type in a word and all the pictures related to that word appear. This document is a transition package to help you get started and show you why you NEED Boardmaker when you work with children who benefit from visual supports. You may use any of the materials in this package free of charge, provided you retain the copyright information at the bottom of the boards. You may copy, share, bend, spindle, fold, or mutilate without fear. At the end of the document are two lists of online resources: one for those less familiar with website navigation, and another for the advanced user. The committee would like to thank the Prince George District Teachers Association for their support in funding the time needed to research and assemble this resource, and School District No. 57 for providing facilities, equipment, and encouragement. Special thanks are owed to Saima Fewster for developing the vision and keeping us on track. 2
Introduction For many students, verbal communication is not the most effective means to receive or express information. Visual supports like picture symbols can help these students make sense of the world of verbal information and printed text. The primary purpose of these visual tools is to enhance student understanding, and the value of their use is that they work. They can be essential in assisting students with communication difficulties to become active, successful participants in the learning process. Picture communication symbols can also be used by classroom teachers for creating materials to enhance language and literacy skills instruction for all students. Using the Boardmaker program, picture/word cards can be generated for a wide range of topics or student activities. Picture symbols are useful for making classroom charts, emergent reading materials, interactive storybooks, or big books with matching picture cards. The cards can be used in pocket charts or with individual students for vocabulary development and comprehension in reading and writing activities. The Boardmaker Program Mayer-Johnson s Boardmaker program is a flexible and easy-to-use software program that provides endless possibilities for creating visual classroom materials and student communication tools. With a database of over 3,500 Picture Communication Symbols, you can make materials by using the templates included with Boardmaker or by creating your own customized resources. The pre-made templates include grids, calendar formats, schedule formats, and templates to fit commonly-used speech devices. Some templates and program tutorials are downloadable from the Mayer-Johnson website. To view sample boards and available add-ons, or for more detailed program information, visit http://mayerjohnson.com/ 3
Ready-to-Use Materials The following pages provide samples of Boardmaker materials currently used by classroom teachers and resource teachers in School District #57. Sample Page Routines o Calm down 5 o Toileting 6 o Hand Washing 7 o Line Up 8 o Show Ready 9 o High Five - One 10 o High Five - Two 11 o COWS Think 12 Individual Picture Instructions o Walking Feet, Raise Hand, Listen, Quiet Working, Turn Taking, Sit Down 13 o Quiet, Do As Asked, Hands To Self, Working, Listening, Respect Others Things 14 Community Places and Helpers 15 Visual Instructions o School rules 16 o Daily agenda Individual 17 Classroom 18 Calendar 19 Literacy Activities o Sentence Builder Who, Is doing, What, Where 20 o Story Plot Chart/Reading Strategies 21 Student Communication o Non-Verbal Communication Board for the Office 22, 23 o Emotions Wheel/Feelings Chart 24, 25, 26 o Home/School Communication Planner 27, 28 o Choice Boards 29 o Sequence Scripts 30 4
Calm Down Routine This is a visual cueing routine to help a student regain control when he becomes disregulated. The sequence is taught prior to problems occurring so that the student is more able to follow the steps when he is upset. 5
Toileting Routine The Toileting and Handwashing strips are disseminated and posted in the appropriate settings 6
Hand Washing Routine The Toileting and Handwashing strips are disseminated and posted in the appropriate settings 7
Line Up Routine This routine can be posted as a reminder wherever students line up. 8
Show Ready Routine Show Ready, High Five, and COWS Think (pp. 8 10) are cueing routines. When one of these verbal prompts is given, students refer to the visual cue card. A large copy is posted in the classroom and small portable cards can be made to place on desks or taken to various locations with the student. 9
High Five Routine - One 10
High Five Routine - Two - on student s desk (try Velcro ) and/or a large class hand 11
COWS Think Routine 12
Individual Picture Instruction Samples - One Large cards can be laminated and posted for whole class use, and smaller portable versions carried to other locations with the student. 13
Individual Picture Instruction Samples - Two 14
Community Places and Helpers The sample board shows a few examples from the Community and Occupations categories. The Community Places symbols are useful for mapping activities. The Occupation cards are terrific for role-playing as the picture cue helps non-readers. Both can be used for sentence-writing starters, vocabulary-building, and other activities. 15
School Rules Large cards can be laminated and posted in the classroom and other areas of the school, and smaller portable versions made for individual students and staff. 16
Daily Agenda - Individual This is a sample board. For use, laminate symbols individually and use with Velcro or a pocket chart to accommodate changes. 17
Daily Agenda - Classroom Sample classroom agenda - to be enlarged, separated, laminated, and used as daily classroom tool. 18
Daily Agenda - Calendar Symbols can be removable for the students to place on the calendar. 19
Sentence Builder Activity Picture/Word cards are colour-coded with different colours for the who nouns, the verbs, and the where nouns. Students use the cards to generate oral or written sentences. This can be done in a pocket chart or organized in a file folder for individual and small-group use. The sample page below shows a very few of the pictures that could be used in this activity. 20
Story Plot Chart/Literacy Strategies Boardmaker symbols can be used to create charts or reminder cards specific to individual classrooms. The following are examples of reading-strategy reminders. 21
Non-Verbal Office Communication Board The Office Communication board is for office personnel, playground supervisors, teachers, and teacher assistants to use when dealing with a non-verbal or extremely upset student who needs help. The board is secured to bristol board and laminated. When a student has a problem and the adult finds it difficult to understand the student, the adult can point to the questions while talking to the student and have the student communicate by pointing to the correct pictures. For example: Adult: What happened? Student points to fall Adult: What s wrong? Student points to bump on head Adult: What do you need? Student: points to ice cube. (Non-Verbal Office Communication Board on Page 23) 22
Non-Verbal Office Communication Board 23
Emotions Wheel Both of these examples are tools the student can use to tell others how he is feeling. The Emotion Wheel is portable and can be Velcroed to the back of the student s visual schedule or his communication binder, or left in an easily-accessible, consistent place in the classroom or workspace. To make: cut two identical circles from bristol board. Glue the I feel card to the front of one circle and cut a window in the circle to the right of this card. Place the emotions around the edge of the second circle checking to make sure they will be visible through the window when this circle is placed behind the first circle. Glue permanently to the circle. Laminate both circles. Put circles together poking a hole in the centre of each and fasten with a small bracket. Put a piece of Velcro over the ends of the bracket to prevent it from coming out and for attaching to schedules, etc. (Emotions Wheel Board on Page 25) Feelings Board The Feelings Board can be posted on the student s desk, in his workspace or in a specific place in the classroom. The laminated board is made of 12 squares in a grid and one answer square at the top of the page with a piece of Velcro in each square. The individual emotion cards are laminated with a piece of Velcro attached. All the emotion cards are placed in the squares and when the student is asked how he feels, or wishes to tell someone how he feels, he moves the appropriate emotion to the square at the top of the page next to the question. (Feelings Board on page 26) Large Emotion Wheels or Feelings boards can be used to generate class discussions. 24
Emotions Wheel 25
Feelings Board 26
Home/School Communication Planner The planner page provides opportunities for the school, parent, and child to communicate about their day. At the top of the page is a space called Home Update. This is for the parent to let teachers and teacher assistants know about special events, concerns, appointments, etc. In the My Day section in the middle of the page, are pic-syms used in the student s visual schedule each week. When the student completes an activity he matches his visual schedule pic-sym to the corresponding planner pic-sym, then uses a bingo dabber, crayons, or X to indicate the completed activity. Not all activities will be done each day. At the bottom of the page is the Today I box, which is filled in at the end of the day. The teacher, teacher assistant, or student can write a specific comment about one or two of the activities he particularly enjoyed that day. e.g., Today I: - made a pirate ship with my Reading Buddy. - listened to The Three Bears at Circle Time. In the Comments section, the teacher or teacher s assistant can write a note to the parent about upcoming field trips, newsletters, needs for equipment, meeting dates, or other reminders. (Home/School Communication Planner on Page 28) 27
Home/School Communication Planner 28
Choice Board Example Choice Boards are used to give students a choice in activities, food items, etc. In our example the Choose card is placed at the top of the board and the choices below. You can use Velcro or paper clips to hold the choice cards in place. With Velcro, the choice card is removed and placed in a container, pouch, or envelope until needed again. With paper clips, the choice card is turned over. In both cases, when all choice cards have been used they can be placed back on the board to start the process again, or new choice cards can be put on the board. 29
Show-and-Tell Sequence Script Sequenced scripts are used to remind students of the steps needed to communicate stories, wants and needs, routines, strategies, etc., and to prepare them for what is likely to happen in a situation. Our example is of a Kindergarten or Primary Show-&-Tell Script. The student can have the script on a card in front of him, on three cards on a ring, or three cards in a flip book. He can then read and/or use the pic-syms to guide himself through the verbal requirements of sharing something with the class or another person. First he tells. Then he asks or waits for any questions he needs to answer. Last, he answers the questions that will probably be about who, where, what, and why. 30
Boardmaker Online Resources Compiled by Rob Watt The following is a selection of Boardmaker resources available online, culled from literally thousands. If these don t give you what you want, Google your own, then SHARE. The Boardmaker home page: http://www.mayerjohnson.com/ Mayer-Johnson is the maker and distributor of Boardmaker. Be sure to look around the site for addendums, extra symbol libraries, sharing forums, and downloadable extras. Select a tutorial from this page to get started in Boardmaker: http://www.mayerjohnson.com/tipsandtricks.aspx?dirid=boardmaker Special Education Technology-BC (SET-BC): http://www.setbc.org/res/equip/boardmaker/files.html Scroll nearly to the bottom of this page for a set of 12 useful boards. You can download and print them. This is a very useful site, with loads of free resources. National Autistic Society: http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=297&a=3642 This article presents research on why Picture Symbols work. BCTF Teaching to Diversity web site: http://www.bctf.ca/teachingtodiversity/ A new site with a variety of resources and ideas for special populations. Augmentative/Alternative Communication Intervention: http://www.aacintervention.com/boardmaker.html A wealth of information: everything from downloads to tips, to tutorials, all organized in an easy-to-find format. National Service Dogs: http://www.nsd.on.ca/ Using Service Dogs to assist people with ASD. 4 Paws for Ability: http://www.4pawsforability.org/autismdogs.htm Using Service Dogs to assist people with ASD. 31
University of Edinburgh s Communication Aids for Language Learning (CALL) Centre: http://callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/about_call/publications_caa/quick_guid es_cab/boardmaker_cac/boardmaker_cac.html Useful information, sample boards, and links all in downloadable PDF format. Burnaby Teachers Templates: http://schou.sd41.bc.ca/district/boardmaker.htm A set of 12 templates; all are in Boardmaker format, so you must have the program to use them. Teacher-created resources: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/pep/teachercreate.html#bfiles A selection of downloads in Windows format on the Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) web site. National Institute of Mental Health (US): http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm Detailed background information about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Using Picture Symbols: http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2001/proceedings/0073williams.htm Stephanie Williams conference paper on using communication symbols for language learning. Glossary of terms: http://www.d.umn.edu/~mmizuko/5230/symbols.htm A glossary of terms related to the use of Picture Symbols, from the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Autism Shop: http://www.autismshop.com/ The full spectrum of what s available to buy. Offers a wide variety of Boardmaker, PECs, and other ready-made visual supports. Integrating Boardmaker and Kid Pix into an Emergent Literacy Program: http://www.startechprogram.org/technology/chris.html From the STAR Tech site, a feel-good story about how one teacher used Boardmaker to promote early literacy in a real classroom. Note: the web references above are current in August 2005, but sites change over time. 32