PROBLEM: I Teach a Class of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students Who Have Many Additional Learning

PROBLEM: I teach a class of deaf/hard of hearing students who have many additional learning and physical challenges. Lessons have to be presented repeatedly and in a variety of ways. It becomes a real challenge to me to teach the students functional skills in a new, fun, and rewarding way. The following solution has proved to be quite successful.

SOLUTION: We started our own card making business within the classroom. We use computers to make greeting cards, notecards, stationery, business cards, invitations, etc. We then sell the items and use the money for behavior rewards, field trips, and community services. The students do their own purchasing of supplies, packaging, marketing, billing, accounting, banking and of course, the most fun part—spending the profits. The cards are sold mainly to school staff members and to family members and acquaintances.

We use “Appleworks” to make most of the cards. I make a template and the students make the cards by inserting graphics and text. We get most graphics from the program, “Art Explosion 250,000+ Images”. It becomes a great math lesson because they need to determine what percentage to increase or decrease the size of the text and graphics to fit the template.

Other jobs involved in the business are: counting money, folding cards, counting cards and envelopes, measuring ribbon to tie around the cards, filling out the billing statements, sorting, quality control, etc.

We go out in the community once a week to do the community based instruction. We have our own checking account—the students do their own deposits, use the ATM machine, write their own checks, and balance the checkbook. When in the community, they purchase all the needed supplies such as paper, envelopes, ink, and ribbon. The students are required to communicate with the clerks at the various businesses to express their needs. They must do this through the use of speech, an electronic organizer or paper and pencil. I seldom allow them to use an interpreter. I feel they need to learn to do this because the majority of the time when they get out of school and are out in the community, there will be no interpreter available.

Profits from the business are used as part of our behavior plan and students can make purchases at Fast Food restaurants when we go out for CBI (Community Based Instruction). We will also be using some of the profits for a class trip to Busch Gardens.

IMPACT: This project has helped the students improve their functional skills in all of the following areas: Language, Reading, Math, Independent Living Skills, Job Skills, Social Skills, and Technology Skills. The students have enjoyed it immensely, are making money, improving behavior, making contributions to the community and, above all, FEELING GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES.

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