S.M.A.R.T. Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training Developed by the Minnesota Learning Resource Center www.themlrc.org

What is S.M.A.R.T.? It is a multi-sensory approach to learning, designed to develop and enhance the physiological and neurological readiness skills students need to succeed in school. With these readiness skills in place, students have the necessary tools to be able to learn to read, write, and receive information in the classroom.

Repetition!!! The whole basis of the S.M.A.R.T. curriculum is repetition. Any new activity should be reviewed within a twenty-four hour period. New activities may only be built upon once it has been established that the student has retained the original activity and transferred it to long-term memory. (Usually working on the same skill set for a 2-week period.)

How Much Repetition is Needed How Much Repetition is Needed? Number of correct repetitions in a row of a new word needed to “automatize” the word (R. Lyon, 1997) Type of Learner Most Able Average Least Able Number of Repetitions 1 or 2 4 - 14 20 – 200 or more

S.M.A.R.T. Centers Balance and Vestibular Activities – Learning balance develops and strengthens students’ core muscles while activities such as spinning and rolling stimulate the brain by circulating fluid through the canals of the inner ear. These activities also promote body awareness which helps children sit still and remain seated in their chairs in the classroom. (Spinning stimulates the same part of the brain that is stimulated by prescribed impulse-control medications.) Gross Motor Activities – Developing eye-hand and eye-foot coordination, movement concepts and skills of bouncing, catching, dribbling, kicking and jumping. This center involves a progression of cross lateral movements (i.e. Creeping and Crawling). The movements stimulate the right and left hemispheres of the brain to work in cooperative balance rather than in competitive conflict. (Crossing the mid-line promotes left to right awareness needed in reading.) Fine Motor Activities – The focus is on developing the muscles in the hand for writing in the classroom. Pencil grip, pressure, cutting and shoe tying are just a few activities used to develop finger strength.

Lee Neill, PhD

S.M.A.R.T. Centers (continued) Auditory Activities – While this center works on letter sounds, rhymes, sound blending and auditory commands, we also add activities designed to introduce students to basic musical elements such as vocal exploration, long / short, steady beat, no beat, same / different, fast /slow and loud / soft just to name a few. Vision Activities – Incorporates activities designed to strengthen the muscles around the eyes through tracking, lateral and vertical coordination, and far & near vision skills that are used for reading and board work. Instructional Activities – Reading activities emphasize listening comprehension and memory recall as well as reviewing site words and high interest words. Math activities focus on numbers, sorting, concepts such as less, more and equal, and basic addition and subtraction skills.

How does S.M.A.R.T. contribute to the Kindergarten curriculum? We will use the Kindergarten Core Map as a guide. Math and Language material presented in S.M.A.R.T. will be a review of what has been taught in the classroom.

“Movement is the means through which we experience and express life.” “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” ~Einstein “Movement is the means through which we experience and express life.” ~Yates

Reflex Activities 1. Rocking Horse 2. Giraffe Stretch 3. Superman 4. Popcorn ~ Warm-Ups

Balance and Vestibular Activities 1. Helicopter Spins 2. Log Rolls 3. Forward Rolls 4. Cartwheels 5. Balance Sequence 6. Tape Lines and Balance Beams 7. Hop Scotch ~ Gym

Gross Motor Activities 1. Alligator Crawl 2. Flip Flops 3. Creep Track 4. Overhead Ladder 5. Kicking, Bouncing, Catching, Dribbling, Jumping Activities ~ Gym

Vision Activities 1. Wagon Wheels 2. Visual Pursuits 3. Scanning Game 4. Thumbkins 5. Pencil Push-Ups ~ Hall - Perryman

Fine Motor Activities (See Handout) ~Art – Beth Ann Moore

Auditory Activities 1. Name that Sound 2. Rhyme Time 3. Sound Blending 4. Auditory Discrimination ~ Music – Lisa Crunk

Instructional Activities 1. Listening Comprehension 2. Sight Words 3. Math Concepts ~ Library – Henderson / Smith