It will soon be a new year, 2024. Even for most of us learning a new year is always a challenge after January 1. Our brain and finger muscles have had 365 days to practice writing 2023. Now, all of a sudden, we need to remember to write 2024. That may take us a while… Now imagine if you have a significant learning disability. It may have taken you 300 of those 365 days to finally be able to “write” or “say” 2023 on your own. Now, for no reason you can comprehend, you must forget that, and learn a new number to designate the new year 2024. Very frustrating.
Admittedly, for many of the students I taught, knowing it was a new year was probably not high on the list of important facts to learn or be able to recite. After all, many of my kids did not write or even speak. But, there were always 1 or 2 that were at the high end of that curve who would go out for some time in the regular education setting and would be expected to write the CORRECT date on their papers including the new year 2023. Finally, the value often comes in the process, not in the final outcome. So, how do we go about teaching our students with disabilities that 2020 is over and now it is the new year 2024? Here are (what I think) some important things to consider
1. Use ERRORLESS teaching
If they already know what year it is, we KNOW they will answer “2023” when asked, “What year is it?” So, you need to provide full prompting right away. Stop letting them practice saying or writing the wrong year. If you are asking your student verbally, then immediately follow your question with the correct answer and then allow your student to repeat you. For some students, you may need to give the full verbal prompt several times before fading. For example:
Step 1= Teacher: “What year is it?”
Step 2= Teacher: “2024”
Step 3= Teacher: “What year is it?”
Step 4= Student: “2024”
If your student is still saying 2023 after step 3, then repeat steps 1-2 several times before fading the full verbal prompt. **Remember, there is a lot of research that shows that fading to a partial verbal prompt is NOT effective. Just go from full verbal prompt to no verbal prompt. If this is still not working and your student can read numbers, try using a cue card with the new year 2024 written on it. Pair that card with the new year with your full verbal prompt at first, then as you fade the verbal prompt keep the card. Eventually, fade the card.
If your students are writing the new year 2024 on their papers, have them trace the correct year on their work for a while. This will take some extra prepping on your part. Beforehand, write the correct date in pencil and have them trace it. Also, put the correct date on the board or an index card on their desk. That way, you can fade the tracing to a visual prompt. The index card with the new year 2024 is nice because it can go with them to various classroom settings if needed.
2. Practice, Practice Practice
Set up lots of time and ways to practice writing or saying the new year 2024. The more frequently it is practiced the quicker the muscle memory will build for either saying or writing the correct year. Take every authentic opportunity to have students tell you or write 2024.
3. Vary the stimuli
Remember, students with disabilities, especially Autism, have difficulty generalizing what they learn. So, they may be able to put the date on their paper in your classroom, but not in Ms. Smith’s inclusion setting. Taking visual prompts to new locations will help, as will practicing the skill in different environments with different people. One way to practice is to try a cut-and-paste activity which you can download for FREE by clicking on the button below. This is a great way for students to visualize the new year and manipulate the numbers. I would try printing it on different colored paper each day for a while (repetition with variation). In addition, don’t forget you can add color coding for your students who need more visual structure.
***If you are looking for a unit to go with this activity, grab this New Year Unit in my store. Includes a story, circle maps, and cut and paste activities AND now digital versions of all the activities.
NEW YEAR UNIT 2024
