When Matt Grows Up
♥ Written by Jacinda Patishnock ♥
This book was created for a UMW INDT 531 class.
© 2010 Patishnock. No parts of this book may be reproduced, copied, or saved by any means other than its original intent without expressed written permission of the author.
Contact Information for Patishnock: Jgowild@yahoo.com
This book was created for 4th and 5th grade students getting ready for middle school and getting them started to think about what they want to do when they grow up. The main character, Matt, has a learning disability and requires assistive technology. He feels he won't be able to get a job when he grows up. There are three coaches that will help the students throughout the book. Pedro will help to read the text of the book. Hali will ask important questions to think about while reading the book. Monty will help answer some of those questions. Hope you enjoy the book!
Hi! I'm Matt and this is my friend Kate. We are in fifth grade this year. Our 5th grade teacher likes to make us think about what we can do when we grow up. I am not sure how I'm ever going to get a job.
"What do you mean Matt?" asked Kate.
"I have a learning disability and have a hard time reading," replied Matt.
My teacher, Ms. Rock, helps me. She lets me use the computer and headphones. She scans in my work. There is special software that reads the text to me.
I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do when you grow up!
Remember when we went to the career fair? We took an interest survey and I remember something about some type of survey...
Kate, I think you are talking about the SCANS competencies. SCANS stands for Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. It identifies five skills that employers are looking for in an employee.
Ms. Rock, I remember you talking to us at our field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. I love that place! I don't remember all the jobs you said were involved. What were they?
You could work with the visitor services, the exhibits, taking care of the marine animals or even create educational programs like the one we attended. If you became a scuba diver, you could even dive into the tanks to clean them and feed the fish.
That was my favorite part of that field trip! Do you think we can have someone come into our class to talk more about diving and the fish?
Kate's father is a search and rescue scuba diver for the fire department. Maybe he can come in at the end of the year when we have our guest speakers come into the class.
I'm still scared about moving up to the middle school next year.
Matt, you can do the same things you do now in Middle School. Do you still love to play soccer? You can continue to play when you go to middle school. You don't change, the school you attend changes.
Will I still be able to use the text to speech program in middle school?
Absolutely Matt! Your sixth grade teachers are already trained on how to use the program. They also go to professional development classes to learn about the latest software available. You can even use the software for some jobs!
Matt has an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Ms. Rock is a part of Matt's IEP team. She has met with the middle school teachers also to ensure his plan will follow him to middle school. Matt has been asked to sit on the last meeting of his fifth grade year.
I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do when I grow up, but I do feel better about going to sixth grade. What do you want to do Kate?
I've always wanted to be a princess ballerina!
Sources for this book:
Johnston, L., Beard, L., Carpenter, L. (2007). Assistive Technology Access for All Students. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Pictures created on www.ToonDoo.com.
