review mentee’s goal plan and who they contact for support
prepare questions to help guide mentee in writing their email (e.g., How do you want to begin your email?; What’s a good question to ask, since you want information?, etc.)
Activity
Part 1: Planning a Keynote Presentation
Mentees work with their mentors to plan a Keynote presentation, which they will share with team members, friends and family at an end-of-the-year party.
Self-Determination Program staff create a Keynote template in advance to guide the group as they plan their presentation. There are 5 planning steps within the template.
Mentors introduce the activity. To help students decide what they would like to say for each part of their planning step of the presentation, mentors ask questions and provide partner-assisted scanning options as choices to mentees. For example:
“How would you like to introduce me? Are there any words in your talker that you could use to describe me?” – Mentor gives student time to respond using their speech-generating device.
“What do you want to say about the work you’ve done so far towards your goal?”
Partner-assisted options:
I chose Miss Holly as the person who could help me think of some ideas for working towards my goal.
I worked with my mentor, Tyson to plan things I needed to do to get started on my goal of making plans.
 I brainstormed words related to my goal that I could put in my device.
I’m working hard on my goal of making plans. For example, Job and I are planning graduation and we helped plan this party.
Something else in my device.
Once all of the information the group would like to share is in the presentation, students and mentors work with Self-Determination Program staff to:
Choose and insert images to represent information on each slide
Place a small personal photograph so each individual knows when it is their turn to present
Color code pages to match communication device buttons
Edit and finalize content within the presentation
Program communication devices with the text (insert image of slide/buttons on device)
Rehearse the presentation in front of a live audience
Planning Step 1
Mentees decide:
who will welcome everyone to the party
who will present their information first
how they will introduce their mentor, including words to describe them
Planning Step 2
Mentors:
determine how they will expand on their mentee introduction
decide on a few words to share about their mentee
introduce the activities students completed within the Self-Determination Program
Planning Step 3
Mentees decide:
how they will introduce their personal goal
how they will share what they have done to work towards their goal
how they will share their next steps towards their goal
what they would like to share about things they learned in SDP class
Planning Step 4
Mentors decide:
what information they would like to share about things they learned in Self-Determination Program class
Planning Step 5
Mentees decide:
who will thank everyone and how the presentation will end
Mentees and mentors use game format to identify and plan elements of the party.
Part 2: Plan the Party
Students work with their mentors to plan the end-of-the-year party and review the pieces that they need to plan. Students decide:
Who they will invite to attend the party
What the party invitation will look like and what information it will have on it
Type of decorations
What kind of food/drink they would like to offer
End of the year party invite.
Mentees decide powerpoint slides for their end of the year presentation.
Part 3: End-of-the-Year Self-Determination Party
Mentees and mentors share their Keynote presentation in front of their friends, family, etc.
Once the presentation is over, students open their Time Capsule and share the information with their family and friends to see if anything has changed.
The end-of-the-year party gives the group a chance to share and talk about the Self-Determination Program activities and personal experiences. It also gives the audience an opportunity to pose questions to the individuals.
End of the year party.
End of the year party.
Adaptations:
Students can generate their responses using their speech-generating devices, or they can use partner-assisted strategies with communication boards
Provide student with a talking word processing program and/or word prediction for spelling support
Provide alternate input methods (e.g., speech-generating devices, AccessIt, etc.) – so students can type responses directly into an email
Use partner-assisted strategies with communication boards so students can dictate their responses
Students access the internet with their speech-generating devices and/or using computer interface hardware to input email web page, email login and password
Break down activity into multiple sessions (if necessary)
Offer dictated writing strategy for students who do not have access to independent writing tools, where the student communicates a response to someone, who then writes it down for them
