Expanding Expression Tool (EET)

As the school year is winding down and you are thinking about all of the new things to include in your daily routine next year keep reading!!! The Expanding Expression Tool is an AMAZING resource that has helped my students become not only better writers but better communicators too.

The Expanding Expression Tool or EET is used as a multi-sensory approach to improve oral and written language. Okay...so what does it look like and how does it work? Let's check it out.....

What it looks like?: 

 

How does it work?:

Each part of the EET serves a purpose. Check out the chart below to see what each color stands for.

How can you use this to improve oral and/or written language?

1st- Select an item

2nd- have a student describe it

3rd- introduce EET

4th- have the student describe the item again and be amazed!!

Example: You show the student penguin. They may say it's an animal that lives in the cold. After introducing EET the student will be able to share a lot more about the penguin. They will be able to tell you.....

       green/group: Animal

       blue/do: swim, walk/waddle, eat, lay eggs

       what does it look like?: black and white

       what is it made of?: comes from an egg

       pink/parts: flippers, bill, feathers, neck, eyes, webbed feet, claws

       white/where: Antarctica, zoo

       what else do you know?: males sit on eggs, mates for life, waddle and swim

As the students get used to this their overall oral and written language will improve tremendously. You can use this tool in a variety of ways including, direct instruction, para led station, writing center, homework and more!!

After my students were comfortable with EET, I set up an EET station in my classroom in lieu of my traditional writing center.

You can even differentiate within EET. You may have some students who are just working on stating 1 word answers, but you can also have students practice responding in full sentences. 

Student 1 Example: Green/Group: animal

Student 2 Example: Green/Group: The penguin belongs to the animal group.

Overall, EET has been an amazing tool for my students and a wonderful additional to my classroom. We use this resource but you can also check out Teachers Pay Teachers for more. Or you can check out the original kit here!

I hope you are able to implement EET into your day next year!!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Gearing Up for Summer Geocaching

I am so excited to get started with the summer program a co-worker and I run.  Our program is offered to students grades K-5 who currently have an IEP (individualized education plan) or are considered at-risk.  Last year, we struggled with trying to figure out what kinds of activities we would prepare for our students, due to the varying ages and abilities.

When we were approached about running the program again, we knew we had to have a different plan of action. So after speaking with our special education director (who is just as fabulous as they come) he told us to team up with the tech department (who are just as fabulous) and TADA! we were introduced to Geocaching.

Geocaching is literally a real life treasure hunt. Here is the exact definition from the geocaching site:
        "Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.            
          Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache               (container) hidden at that location."
Now, I don't know about you but that sounds a heck of a lot cooler than coming into a boring summer classroom with blank walls and no air conditioning.

After we found out about Geocaching we had to figure out how to make it work for our program...how do we incorporate an academic component into this treasure hunting? We decided that students will still seek the treasure, but instead of finding random objects they would find work. Some examples of the work would include: 
          Reading: Fluency passages, Reader's Theater, Leveled Books, Comprehension packets
          Math: Math worksheets, games, clocks to tell time, counting money
          Writing: Finding random objects in the geocache and write a funny story about them, find letters                           and build words, find doctor supplies and have to fix up an incorrect         
                        sentence/paragraph 
Honestly, there are endless possibilities and like I mentioned before, I cannot wait to get started. Some of our caches may include a read aloud, snack or ... water-balloon fight! I better find my hiking boots, safari hat and canteen for our adventures. 

Does this sound like something you would incorporate into your room? How would you use Geocaching? Have you already used it before?



Follow my blog with Bloglovin