OSMOSIS JONES - He's one cell of a guy!

Osmosis Jones is a popular Hollywood movie shown in many science and health classes. And with the wonderful technology we have, the internet can help our students. Here is a wonderful site called, The Internet Movie Database. This can be used in all content areas. The site has a search engine. You can search by movie tittles, companies, characters, and more! You can find photos, trailers, plot summaries, and even cast overviews.

I think the trailers are wonderful. It provides some background knowledge in pictures to what they've been learning in class. For students who struggle remembering the movie, the trailers can be used as a review.

The photos can be printed by right clicking on the picture and saving it on your computer. Depending on the level of your student, the pictures can be used for sequencing or triggering memories to write a sentence about an isolated event in the movie. They can even be used by mildly impaired students to get them started in the writing process of a summary or report.

Please remember that your school has to purchase copyright permissions to use movies in your classrooms.

Communication Tip - Time

Many special education students, especially those who are challenged with autism and cognitive impairments, can learn to tell time literally. However, their language impairments make this skill a huge challenge in the community and in general education classrooms.

The test will start at quarter after one.
For a student with a language impairment, a quarter represents a coin. Rather saying "quarter after one", try saying "one-fifteen".

You have 15 more minutes until you go to lunch.
For a student with a language impairment, elapsed time is an advanced skill. Rather than saying "you have 15 more minutes", try saying the exact time. "At 12:30 you will go to lunch."

Question Words

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?

Many students with disabilities have trouble answering questions because they don't know what kind of answer they are looking for. Although this is commonly worked on in special education classrooms, having a clue sheet will decrease anxiety and increase comprehension. This clue sheet can be placed in a classroom folder, binder or an agenda. It can even be made into a poster on the wall.

Who? (person, animal, cartoon character, etc.)
When? (time: calendar time, clock time, a year, an era, etc.)
Where? ( place: inside or outside - Examples are in the kitchen, at school, in Florida)
Why? ( because.....)

What is a tricky one. You have to look for other clue words.

What happened to... (event)
What time are we going to... (time)
What will he do to help.... (do... an action/verb)

How is another tricky one. You have to look for other clue words.

How do you.... (list the steps you have to do... actions/verbs)
How many.... (a number)