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        • Research & Resources
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        • Bridging The Gap
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - January '21 DISTANCE LEARNING

12/29/2020

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Hopscotch grids can be made with almost anything, including socks or napkins! While Hopscotch is a fantastic way to add movement while learning, it also improves balance skills, gross motor skills, motor coordination, motor planning and it’s a lead-up skill to skipping!
Progression of Hopscotch:
  1. Hop with both feet on each spot.
  2. Hop with only the right foot on each spot.
  3. Hop with only the left foot on each spot.
  4. Alternate hopping with 1 foot then jumping with 2 feet.
 
Resources:
  • CORE Guide p. 42-43
  • Curriculum Guide p. 61
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - January '21 IN-PERSON LEARNING

12/29/2020

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If your students are anything like the students we work with, the first couple of weeks back after winter break they are full of energy! And if you’re like us, you are looking for ways to help them get that energy out in a productive way. When you keep a rebounder out or in the back of the room, it will allow students to jump while they’re listening to your lesson.
Not only do jumping and hopping help with focus, but these movements also help to improve:
  • Circulation
  • Strength
  • Balance and coordination
  • Bone density and strengthens the skeleton
  • Lymphatic system circulation or helps the body get rid of toxins
 
Resources:
  • CORE Guide p. 44
  • Curriculum Guide p. 59-60
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - January '21 HYBRID LEARNING

12/29/2020

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Once your students have mastered varied Hopscotch patterns, Stick Scotch will provide a fun challenge! We love that Stick Scotch helps develop coordination, motor planning and the understanding of where the body is in space, but it also helps develop problem solving!
 
Download:
  • Stick Scotch (PDF)
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - December '20 HYBRID LEARNING

11/25/2020

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Jessica, from Minneapolis, is incorporating Vision Activities into her small groups. She shared that while she is getting groups started at centers, the group at her center is doing Loop de Loos or Over and Unders. Jessica printed off the Winter Themed Loop De Loos and Overs and Unders (downloads available below). She placed them in sheet protectors so they can be used multiple times with dry erase markers and so her students can be independent while they wait for her.
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Other teachers have informed us that they are doing Tactile Trackers or Wagon Wheels before small groups so that they can monitor their students. Check out the Vision Activities in your CORE and MORE Guides or Curriculum Guide for a variety of options to add into your small groups. 
​

Vision Activities:
Pre-K CORE Guide pgs. 61-83
Pre-K MORE Guide pgs. 53-68
Curriculum Guide pgs. 141-179

Downloads:

Loop de Loo Winter (PDF)
Overs and Unders Winter (PDF)
Scanning Game Winter (PDF)
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - December '20 IN-PERSON LEARNING

11/25/2020

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Steph, from Kasson-Mantorville, uses her Nutty Noodle to dismiss students at the end of the day.
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The Nutty Noodle family from NRHEG school district.
She does this so she can watch their Visual Tracking and to prevent a traffic jam at the cubbies. Steph slowly moves her Nutty Noodle in a small circle, from side to side, up and down and diagonally. As she moves Nutty, she’s watching each student’s eyes to see if they are smoothly tracking the movement or if they are jumping. If she notices that a student’s eyes are jumping, she knows she can add in more Eye Movement Activities to her small groups to help her students develop the smooth eye movements necessary for reading.

Eye Movement Activities:
Pre-K CORE Guide pgs. 63-80
Curriculum Guide pgs. 148-158​
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - December '20 DISTANCE LEARNING

11/25/2020

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​As some transition to Distance Learning, it may feel like  S.M.A.R.T. Vision Activities are going to fall by the wayside. EyeCanLearn.com is a website that provides eye exercises to promote visual health and school success. The website shares information on the importance of tracking, perception, teaming, and focusing. Eye Can Learn has examples of what a person with eye teaming difficulties might be seeing when they are trying to read. They have online exercises related to saccades, pursuits, visual discrimination, visual memory, visual closure, and visual forms.
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​At the beginning of your Google Meet or Zoom session, have the students track the bug across the screen. Or have them find which box the word will fit in while working with sight words.
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - November '20 DISTANCE LEARNING

10/27/2020

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The proprioceptive system helps us understand the organization of our body parts. That’s because this vital system processes all the automated signals our muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons and bones send us about the stress they are experiencing. Without this information, we wouldn’t know how to orient ourselves or move in the space we occupy. We wouldn’t know how much force to use or or how to time movements. Proper development of the proprioceptive system in the brain stem is critical to children’s ability to navigate their bodies through the world.

​How do we ensure our students are building a strong proprioceptive system? Creeping! This activity, which involves purposeful movement of all body parts, stimulates the Brain Stem and supports creation of vital neural pathways that carry the needed information to help children move.

S.M.A.R.T. teachers know how important this is, and are always looking for ways to have children creep at home, but sending home a Creep/Slap Track for every student isn’t practical! However, playing “Doggy, Doggy, Where’s Your Bone?” makes it easy to add creeping into daily routines. Send home printed bones with the academics you are working on or email a PDF to parents. Have students hide “bones” around their learning area and then creep around the room to find the answers to your questions.
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Download the editable Bone files so you can make “bones” to address the academics your class is working on or to address individualized learning.
 
References:
S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K CORE Guide pages 55-56
S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum Guide pages 72-73
 
Download:
Bone (editable in Word)
Bone (PDF)
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - NOvember '20 IN-PERSON LEARNING

10/27/2020

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In addition to strengthening the proprioceptive system, use of the Creep Track or Slap Track also helps with students’ visual development. Creep Tracks develop eye movements needed to move from one line of text to another, visual perception needed to recognize objects in different positions or levels, depth perception needed to know how close an object is, and integrates the visual and motor systems.
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Educators who are doing In-Person Learning can use their Creep Track or Slap Track to support visual development. Using Domino Dot Cards on the tracks adds an academic twist by helping students recognize numbers. So what happens when we combine Domino Dot Cards, Creep Tracks, and fall? We get Acorn Domino Dot Creep Track cards! We’ve made them in easy to print and download PDFs for a variety of ages.
 
References:
S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K CORE Guide pages 50-51
S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum Guide pages 69-71

Download:
Acorn Domino Dot Creep Track cards 1-2 (PDF)

Acorn Domino Dot Creep Track cards 3-4 (PDF)
Acorn Domino Dot Creep Track cards 5-6 (PDF)
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S.M.A.R.T. NEWSLETTER - November '20 HYBRID LEARNING

10/27/2020

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When the proprioceptive sense does not receive or interpret input correctly within the muscles, joints, and tendons, children may be uncoordinated or clumsy. Some common signs include:
  • Poor motor planning: figuring out what part of the body needs to move in order to complete a task
  • Poor motor control: the brain knows what to do, but it can’t figure out how to make the body do it
  • Postural instability: poor core stability and/or strength to maintain posture
  • Difficulty grading movement: knowing how much pressure is needed to complete a task
Adding creeping to our day helps students improve coordination by training their bodies to respond appropriately to the physical circumstances around them.  
 
Teachers who are engaged in Hybrid Learning may be switching from one mode of instruction to another within a short period of time. Having children creep around the room as a transition will incorporate intentional, purposeful movement. You can also add academics into the activity when you have them searching for “bones” with sight words (materials available for download below).
 
References:
S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K CORE Guide pages 55-56
S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum Guide pages 72-73

Download:
Bones with K sight words (PDF)
Bones with 1st grade sight words (PDF)
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S.M.A.R.T. Newsletter - October '20 Hybrid Learning

10/1/2020

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As schools have moved into Hybrid Learning, educators are looking for ways to add in movement that doesn’t take away from the short amount of time they have with the students. Last month we talked about using transitions to incorporate movement into the day if you don’t have time to set aside for a course. But sometimes, that’s not enough movement! Making a die with movement activities for the students to roll will give the students an opportunity to be involved and give them a much needed movement break! Check out our S.M.A.R.T. Activities Die to help you get started, or read our March ’20 One S.M.A.R.T. Teacher, and see Nicole’s transitions card.
 
Download S.M.A.R.T. Activities Die (PDF)
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    AuthorS

    Cheryl Smythe
    Director of Education Services at ACTG
    csmythe@actg.org

    Katie Hansen
    S.M.A.R.T. Mentor / SLP

    katie.hansen@actg.org


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