The Boardmaker Project - BC Teachers' Federation · The Boardmaker Project ... emergent reading...

The Boardmaker Project

A Resource Package assembled by

Darcy AllenRita Bouchard

Priscilla FortierBonnie Lamb

Rob Watt

2004–05

A joint project of the BCTF, the PGDTA, and School District 57

Funded byThe Prince George District Teachers’ Association

http://www.bctf.ca/TeachingToDiversity/BC-projects/boardmaker.pdf

The Picture Communication Symbols TM © 1981-2005 by Mayer Johnson LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission.2

The Boardmaker ProjectA Resource Package assembled by Darcy Allen, Rita Bouchard, Priscilla Fortier, Bonnie Lamb, and Rob Watt

Funded by the Prince George District Teachers’ Association

Boardmaker is a collection of standardized picture symbols used for communication withstudents who are strong visual learners. This includes those with autism spectrumdisorders, Down Syndrome, speech and language disorders, and behavioral disorders. Italso works remarkably well with typical students, so is appropriate for whole class use,minimizing both the atypical student’s differences and facilitating classroom management.

Boardmaker is easy to use and relativelyinexpensive ($400 in 2005). At the rightis a list of the categories covered byBoardmaker. There are literallythousands of pictures in an easilysearchable database: just type in a wordand all the pictures related to that wordappear.

This document is a transition package tohelp you get started and show you whyyou NEED Boardmaker when you workwith children who benefit from visualsupports.

You may use any of the materials in thispackage free of charge, provided youretain the copyright information at thebottom of the boards. You may copy,share, bend, spindle, fold, or mutilatewithout fear.

At the end of the document are two listsof online resources: one for those lessfamiliar with website navigation, andanother for the advanced user.

The committee would like to thank the Prince George District Teachers’ Association fortheir support in funding the time needed to research and assemble this resource, andSchool District No. 57 for providing facilities, equipment, and encouragement.

Special thanks are owed to Saima Fewster for developing the vision and keeping us ontrack.


The Picture Communication Symbols TM © 1981-2005 by Mayer Johnson LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission. 3

Introduction

For many students, verbal communication is not the most effective means toreceive or express information. Visual supports like picture symbols can help thesestudents make sense of the world of verbal information and printed text. Theprimary purpose of these visual tools is to enhance student understanding, and thevalue of their use is that they work. They can be essential in assisting studentswith communication difficulties to become active, successful participants in thelearning process.

Picture communication symbols can also be used by classroom teachers for creatingmaterials to enhance language and literacy skills instruction for all students. Usingthe Boardmaker program, picture/word cards can be generated for a wide range oftopics or student activities. Picture symbols are useful for making classroomcharts, emergent reading materials, interactive storybooks, or big books withmatching picture cards. The cards can be used in pocket charts or with individualstudents for vocabulary development and comprehension in reading and writingactivities.

The Boardmaker Program

Mayer-Johnson’s Boardmaker program is a flexible and easy-to-use softwareprogram that provides endless possibilities for creating visual classroom materialsand student communication tools. With a database of over 3,500 PictureCommunication Symbols, you can make materials by using the templates includedwith Boardmaker or by creating your own customized resources. The pre-madetemplates include grids, calendar formats, schedule formats, and templates to fitcommonly-used speech devices. Some templates and program tutorials aredownloadable from the Mayer-Johnson website. To view sample boards andavailable “add-ons,” or for more detailed program information, visit http://mayerjohnson.com/


http://mayerjohnson.com/


Ready-to-Use Materials

The following pages provide samples of Boardmaker materials currently used byclassroom teachers and resource teachers in School District #57.

Sample Page Routines

o Calm down 5o Toileting 6o Hand Washing 7o Line Up 8o Show Ready 9o High Five - One 10o High Five - Two 11o COWS Think 12

Individual Picture Instructionso Walking Feet, Raise Hand, Listen, Quiet Working,

Turn Taking, Sit Down 13o Quiet, Do As Asked, Hands To Self, Working,

Listening, Respect Others’ Things 14 Community Places and Helpers 15 Visual Instructions

o School rules 16o Daily agenda

Individual 17 Classroom 18 Calendar 19

Literacy Activitieso Sentence Builder – Who, Is doing, What, Where 20o Story Plot Chart/Reading Strategies 21

Student Communicationo Non-Verbal Communication Board for the Office 22, 23o Emotions Wheel/Feelings Chart 24, 25, 26o Home/School Communication Planner 27, 28o Choice Boards 29o Sequence Scripts 30



Calm Down Routine

This is a visual cueingroutine to help a studentregain control when hebecomes disregulated. Thesequence is taught prior toproblems occurring so thatthe student is more able tofollow the steps when he isupset.



Toileting Routine

The Toileting andHandwashing stripsare disseminated andposted in theappropriate settings



Hand Washing Routine

The Toileting andHandwashing stripsare disseminated andposted in theappropriate settings



Line Up Routine

This routine can be posted as areminder wherever students line up.



Show Ready Routine

Show Ready, High Five,and COWS Think (pp. 8 –10) are cueing routines.When one of these verbalprompts is given, studentsrefer to the visual cuecard. A large copy is postedin the classroom and smallportable cards can be madeto place on desks or takento various locations withthe student.



High Five Routine - One



High Five Routine - Two

- on student’s desk (try Velcro™) and/or a large class hand



COWS Think Routine



Individual Picture Instruction Samples - One

Large cards can be laminated and posted for whole class use, and smallerportable versions carried to other locations with the student.



Individual Picture Instruction Samples - Two



Community Places and Helpers

The sample board shows a few examples from the Community and Occupationscategories. The Community Places symbols are useful for mapping activities. TheOccupation cards are terrific for role-playing as the picture cue helps non-readers. Bothcan be used for sentence-writing starters, vocabulary-building, and other activities.



School Rules

Large cards can be laminated and posted in the classroom and otherareas of the school, and smaller portable versions made forindividual students and staff.



Daily Agenda - Individual

This is a sample board. For use, laminate symbols individually and use withVelcro™ or a pocket chart to accommodate changes.



Daily Agenda - Classroom

Sample classroom agenda - to be enlarged, separated, laminated, and used asdaily classroom tool.



Daily Agenda - Calendar

Symbols can be removable for the students to place on the calendar.



Sentence Builder Activity

Picture/Word cards are colour-coded with different colours for the “who”nouns, the verbs, and the “where” nouns. Students use the cards to generateoral or written sentences. This can be done in a pocket chart or organized in afile folder for individual and small-group use. The sample page below shows avery few of the pictures that could be used in this activity.



Story Plot Chart/Literacy Strategies

Boardmaker symbols can be used to create charts or reminder cardsspecific to individual classrooms. The following are examples ofreading-strategy reminders.



Non-Verbal Office Communication Board

The Office Communication board is for office personnel, playground supervisors,teachers, and teacher assistants to use when dealing with a non-verbal orextremely upset student who needs help. The board is secured to bristol board andlaminated. When a student has a problem and the adult finds it difficult tounderstand the student, the adult can point to the questions while talking to thestudent and have the student communicate by pointing to the correct pictures. Forexample:

Adult: “What happened?”Student points to ‘fall’Adult: “What’s wrong?”Student points to ‘bump on head’Adult: “What do you need?”Student: points to ‘ice cube’.

(Non-Verbal Office Communication Board on Page 23)



Non-Verbal Office Communication Board



Emotions Wheel

Both of these examples are tools the student can use to tell others how he isfeeling.

The Emotion Wheel is portable and can be Velcroed™ to the back of the student’svisual schedule or his communication binder, or left in an easily-accessible,consistent place in the classroom or workspace. To make: cut two identical circlesfrom bristol board. Glue the “I feel” card to the front of one circle and cut awindow in the circle to the right of this card. Place the emotions around the edgeof the second circle checking to make sure they will be visible through the windowwhen this circle is placed behind the first circle. Glue permanently to the circle.Laminate both circles. Put circles together poking a hole in the centre of each andfasten with a small bracket. Put a piece of Velcro™ over the ends of thebracket to prevent it from coming out and for attaching to schedules, etc.

(Emotions Wheel Board on Page 25)

Feelings Board

The Feelings Board can be posted on the student’s desk, in his workspace or in aspecific place in the classroom. The laminated board is made of 12 squares in a gridand one answer square at the top of the page with a piece of Velcro™ in eachsquare. The individual emotion cards are laminated with a piece of Velcro™attached. All the emotion cards are placed in the squares and when the student isasked how he feels, or wishes to tell someone how he feels, he moves theappropriate emotion to the square at the top of the page next to the question.

(Feelings Board on page 26)

Large Emotion Wheels or Feelings boards can be used to generate classdiscussions.



Emotions Wheel



Feelings Board



Home/School Communication Planner

The planner page provides opportunities for the school, parent, and child tocommunicate about their day. At the top of the page is a space called HomeUpdate. This is for the parent to let teachers and teacher assistants know aboutspecial events, concerns, appointments, etc. In the My Day section in the middle ofthe page, are pic-syms used in the student’s visual schedule each week. When thestudent completes an activity he matches his visual schedule pic-sym to thecorresponding planner pic-sym, then uses a bingo dabber, crayons, or X to indicatethe completed activity. Not all activities will be done each day. At the bottom ofthe page is the Today I box, which is filled in at the end of the day. The teacher,teacher assistant, or student can write a specific comment about one or two of theactivities he particularly enjoyed that day. e.g., Today I:

In the Comments section, the teacher or teacher’s assistant can write a note tothe parent about upcoming field trips, newsletters, needs for equipment, meetingdates, or other reminders.

(Home/School Communication Planner on Page 28)

- made a pirate ship with my Reading Buddy.- listened to The Three Bears at Circle Time.



Home/School Communication Planner



Choice Board Example

Choice Boards are used to give students a choice in activities, food items, etc. Inour example the Choose card is placed at the top of the board and the choicesbelow. You can use Velcro™ or paper clips to hold the choice cards in place. WithVelcro™, the choice card is removed and placed in a container, pouch, or envelopeuntil needed again. With paper clips, the choice card is turned over. In both cases,when all choice cards have been used they can be placed back on the board to startthe process again, or new choice cards can be put on the board.



Show-and-Tell Sequence Script

Sequenced scripts are used to remind students of the steps needed tocommunicate stories, wants and needs, routines, strategies, etc., and to preparethem for what is likely to happen in a situation. Our example is of a Kindergarten orPrimary Show-&-Tell Script. The student can have the script on a card in front ofhim, on three cards on a ring, or three cards in a flip book. He can then readand/or use the pic-syms to guide himself through the verbal requirements ofsharing something with the class or another person. First he tells. Then he asks orwaits for any questions he needs to answer. Last, he answers the questions that willprobably be about who, where, what, and why.



Boardmaker Online Resources

Compiled by Rob Watt

The following is a selection of Boardmaker resources available online, culled fromliterally thousands. If these don’t give you what you want, Google your own, thenSHARE.

The Boardmaker home page: http://www.mayerjohnson.com/Mayer-Johnson is the maker and distributor of Boardmaker. Be sure to look aroundthe site for addendums, extra symbol libraries, sharing forums, and downloadableextras.

Select a tutorial from this page to get started in Boardmaker:http://www.mayerjohnson.com/TipsAndTricks.aspx?DirID=Boardmaker

Special Education Technology-BC (SET-BC):http://www.setbc.org/res/equip/boardmaker/files.htmlScroll nearly to the bottom of this page for a set of 12 useful boards. You candownload and print them. This is a very useful site, with loads of free resources.

National Autistic Society:http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=297&a=3642This article presents research on why Picture Symbols work.

BCTF Teaching to Diversity web site: http://www.bctf.ca/TeachingToDiversity/A new site with a variety of resources and ideas for special populations.

Augmentative/Alternative Communication Intervention:http://www.aacintervention.com/boardmaker.htmlA wealth of information: everything from downloads to tips, to tutorials, allorganized in an easy-to-find format.

National Service Dogs: http://www.nsd.on.ca/Using Service Dogs to assist people with ASD.

4 Paws for Ability: http://www.4pawsforability.org/autismdogs.htmUsing Service Dogs to assist people with ASD.


http://www.mayerjohnson.com/

http://www.mayerjohnson.com/TipsAndTricks.aspx?DirID=Boardmaker

http://www.setbc.org/res/equip/boardmaker/files.html

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=297&a=3642

http://www.bctf.ca/TeachingToDiversity/

http://www.aacintervention.com/boardmaker.html

http://www.nsd.on.ca/

http://www.4pawsforability.org/autismdogs.htm


University of Edinburgh’s Communication Aids for Language Learning (CALL)Centre:http://callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/About_CALL/Publications_CAA/Quick_Guides_CAB/BoardMaker_CAC/boardmaker_cac.htmlUseful information, sample boards, and links – all in downloadable PDF format.

Burnaby Teachers’ Templates:http://schou.sd41.bc.ca/district/boardmaker.htmA set of 12 templates; all are in Boardmaker format, so you must have the programto use them.

Teacher-created resources:http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/pep/teachercreate.html#bfilesA selection of downloads in Windows format on the Montgomery County PublicSchools (MD) web site.

National Institute of Mental Health (US):http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfmDetailed background information about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Using Picture Symbols:http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2001/proceedings/0073williams.htmStephanie Williams’ conference paper on using communication symbols for languagelearning.

Glossary of terms: http://www.d.umn.edu/~mmizuko/5230/symbols.htmA glossary of terms related to the use of Picture Symbols, from the University ofMinnesota Duluth.

The Autism Shop: http://www.autismshop.com/The full spectrum of what’s available to buy. Offers a wide variety of Boardmaker,PECs, and other ready-made visual supports.

Integrating Boardmaker and Kid Pix into an Emergent Literacy Program:http://www.startechprogram.org/technology/chris.htmlFrom the STAR Tech site, a feel-good story about how one teacher usedBoardmaker to promote early literacy in a real classroom.

Note: the web references above are current in August 2005, but sites change overtime.


http://callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/About_CALL/Publications_CAA/Quick_Guides_CAB/BoardMaker_CAC/boardmaker_cac.html

http://callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/About_CALL/Publications_CAA/Quick_Guides_CAB/BoardMaker_CAC/boardmaker_cac.html

http://schou.sd41.bc.ca/district/boardmaker.htm

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/pep/teachercreate.html#bfiles

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm

http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2001/proceedings/0073williams.htm

http://www.d.umn.edu/~mmizuko/5230/symbols.htm

http://www.autismshop.com/

http://www.startechprogram.org/technology/chris.html

The Boardmaker Project - BC Teachers' Federation · The Boardmaker Project ... emergent reading...

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