Development of ECC Resources
February 20, 2020
www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
My caseload has included:
- students who are blind and autistic
- students with low vision who need instruction in low vision devices
- students with CVI
- students in advanced placement classes but needed support with fragmented concepts, independent living skills, and self determination
- print readers learning braille and touch typing
- students with severe and profound disabilities
The wide diversity of needs on a typical itinerant caseload can make planning for instruction particularly complex. Additionally, working with so many different teams can present challenges, but can also make the job rewarding as I have ongoing opportunities to learn from experts in other areas (e.g. classroom teachers, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, deaf and hard of hearing teachers, etc.). It is for these reasons that I say these resources were developed specifically for itinerant teachers who are on the go and teach students with a wide variety of needs. With that said, these are the activities that I used in a classroom setting as well and are entirely appropriate for classroom instruction.
My goal in creating these resources was to organize these activities I had used over the years for easy reference, both for my own use and to share them with fellow TVI's. It is for that reason that I created the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC along with companion workbooks to support activities outlined in the activities. I compiled and adapted many activities from VI resource books as well as books and resources from whole language and phonics & phonemic instruction courses. Additionally I adapted activities that I've picked up from general education resource books, preschool education resource, and activities used by therapists I have worked with.
TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level.
The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:
- Object Characteristic Activities
- Quantity & Number Concepts
- Time Concept Activities
- Environment & Job Awareness Activities
- Listening Skills Activities
- Reading Foundation Activities
- Reading Fluency Activities
- Braille Basics Activities
- Writing Activities
- Tactual Efficiency Activities
- Developing Skillful Hands Activities
- Visual Efficiency Activities
- Optical Device Instruction Activities
- Recipe Activities
In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.
Unique Concepts within the Units include:
- Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
- Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
- Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
- O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
- Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
- Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
- Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
- Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)
Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.
Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number.
Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.
Product details
Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)
Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Author: Carmen Willings
Language: English
*Please contact me if you need to purchase using a purchase order. I am happy to help guide you in the process of adding Teaching Students with Visual Impairments as an approved vendor for your school or program or you can visit the product support page for information on using a PO.
