Free SECD Game of the Week: E2E School Skills Building Bricks

This is my most popular stand-alone game on Teachers Pay Teachers. It DOES require a large number of Legos in assorted colors, but it can be adapted to work with what you’ve got on hand.

Students of all ages (even the “big kids” in middle and high school) love playing with building bricks. Students of all ages do NOT love talking about all the uncomfortable and seemingly-endless social rules for attending secondary school…until now!
Includes hundreds of pre-written questions about self-advocacy, peer relationships, social media etiquette and MORE to keep your class or group talking.

This 50-minute group activity is engaging on a number of levels. Keeping hands busy building with Legos helps ease anxiety and fidgeting. The way the activity is written helps students practice when to give short yes/no types of answers in class and when to give longer, more expanded verbal responses. The activity could be rewritten to have a number of different variations/versions in order to address different social skills needs (something I plan to do). Finally, the activity helps students practice delayed gratification (having to wait to get another brick) and acceptance of limits (only being able to use the bricks you are given). Your class will be able to play 2-3 times without repeating questions, based on how the game beta tested with my class.

PLEASE NOTE! YOU WILL NEED ACCESS TO A LARGE QUANTITY OF BUILDING BRICKS (LEGOS) IN ASSORTED COLORS FOR THIS ACTIVITY. (I provide a link to a reasonably-priced set of 1,000 bricks I purchased for this activity in the directions.)

Free E2E Adapted Literature Selection of the Week: E2E The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

This retelling of James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty reads at an automated readability index of grade 4/5. This text aligns to the version in Holt’s Elements of Literature: Fifth Course.
Classic literature doesn’t have to be scary, boring, or too hard.

Summary sites online and those little yellow and black notebooks are no longer your only choices for students who are struggling. Universally designed texts preserve the storytelling…while taking away the confusing word choices and hard-to-navigate formatting.

Universally Designed texts take classic literature common to secondary ELA classrooms and rewrite them with words and style that are easier for ALL students to read. Fewer frustrated kids. Fewer heads down on the desk. Less refusal. Less acting out. More engagement. More confidence. Better understanding.

Your purchase includes three variations on this easier-to-read text that you may print for students or share digitally on the non-public platform of your choice. Variations include:

• A text-only copy
• A text copy with a blank, lined column on each page for teacher-customized or open-ended note-taking
• A text copy with a lined column and inference-based questions on each page for guided note-taking

All copies are formatted with the needs of neurodiverse learners in mind and include:

• Text in columns on the page to reduce the need for lengthy eye-return at the end of a line
• Sans-serif fonts that are dyslexia friendly
• Adequate spacing between lines to prevent line-jumbling and to allow for use of tracking accommodation devices
• Extra space between each paragraph to aid in identifying transitions in the text…and finding your place again after stopping!
• Consistent formatting that aligns to other Universally Designed texts. Students won’t have to learn a new format every time they read a new text
• Engaging cover art that engages visual learners to want to read and provides conceptual clues about the text

PLEASE NOTE! These are secondary level texts. Although the Lexile difficulty has been reduced, adult themes and adult language (in some texts) have been preserved. Texts may not be appropriate for younger learners.