Happy Spring from Virginia!
Spring is finally here in Virginia – for my family that means long walks to the dog park and spending our Saturdays at the local farmer’s market – it’s one of our favorite times of year! But, picking out what to dress our babies in can be tricky during this season. In the morning it’s 39 degrees and chilly, but by afternoon you could be embracing the warm sun of a low 70s kind of day – add in the potential of a windy thunderstorm, and you’ll find the need for a windbreaker or even some rainboots! Whether your students enjoy wearing flip flops year-round or can never seem to give up that comforting winter coat – preparing for seasonal changes sometimes requires some extra coaching for them. The Autism Helper has multiple weather-related activities, but my favorite is the Weather and Season File Folder Activities – it includes season item sorts, temperature to season matching, clothes sorting and more.
Why File Folder Activities?
Each activity comes with directions on how to set up the file folder (pictured to the left!) Use the included labels to label your file folder, and a baggie to hold your matching pieces. Why use a file folder activity? File folder activities provide easy access to an engaging lesson for your students that can be easily scaffolded to meet their needs. By providing repeated practice opportunities, these folders can later be done independently or as maintence activities. With a topic as broad and large as “seasons,” file folder activities can be helpful for establishing visual representations for our students, and can aid us in breaking up the concept into smaller, more manageable parts.
Ways to Differentiate
My two favorite activities from this file folder are the Dress for Winter and Summer and the Match Person to the Season. Depending on your student, you can add more visuals to support their specific needs or to focus on an area of difficulty. For example, if you have a student that likes to wear certain items incorrectly, or confuses wardrobe pieces, you can add visuals for those to provide specific direct instruction. The Match Person to the Season activity can introduce seasonal outfit options – but feel free to get creative and expand it! I have seen teachers use this as an opportunity to play dress up in the classroom, trying on different seasonal accessories with their students. Another way to individualize this activity, is to get pictures of your student dressed for each season and use their own pictures for sorting – a much more interactive way to help your students connect the lesson to their daily routine! Hop over to The Autism Helper store to find file folder activities for your students to use this Spring!
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