Cynthia’s Fan Routine: A Sensory Learning Kit Video

Cynthia sitting at a table in front of a small fan and other supplies

Author: Millie Smith November 23, 2020

The APH YouTube site provides examples of sensorimotor routines. To help teams better understand what is happening in these videos, lesson plans for each routine are provided. The library currently contains six videos. The article published last spring in the Journal of Visual Impairments and Blindness describing the results of a case study research project on the effects of routine-based instruction contains the lesson plans for the Isaiah and Freddy routines. You will find Aarna’s lesson plan in Closing the Gap’s on-line journal, Solutions, also published last spring. Information about Adam’s case study routine is available in the November issue of Sensorimotor Spotlight newsletter.

The latest routine to join this library is Cynthia’s Fan Routine. In this routine, Cynthia learns new cognitive, social, and visual efficiency skills. This routine contains the elements essential for good sensorimotor stage learning. Cynthia’s teacher, Dana, chooses a highly motivating topic for the routine. Cynthia loves the feel of the airflow provided by the fan and the sounds she can make by inserting objects into the spinning blades of the fan. Dana expands Cynthia’s well established random and independently executed exploration behaviors to develop joint attention, turn-taking, and cooperation.

Cynthia’s Fan Routine

Learner’s Steps	Accommodations/Supports	Goals

1. Look at object symbol in now container.	Use orange liner in black now container to contrast with black fan.	Sustain joint attention with partner.
2. Touch object symbol in now container.	Provide wrist support.
3. Go to work area.	Say, “Stand up.” Move to area standing five feet in front of Cynthia so she can visually follow.	Respond to direction given by partner.
4. Sit at worktable.	Visually model sitting.	Observe action visually modeled by partner.
5. Transfer fan from now container to work table surface	Provide hand-under-hand support
6. Feel airflow on face.	Open fan. Allow short time for exploration. Turn fan on. Use red fabric on switch to increase contrast.
7. Turn on fan.	Turn fan off. Say, “Turn on.”	Respond to direction given by partner.
8. Watch teacher use paper in blades to make sound.		Observe action visually modeled by partner.
9. Make same sound.		Imitate action modeled by partner.
10. Watch teacher use cloth to create visual flutter.		Observe action visually modeled by partner.
11. Take turn with paper after partner.	Make sound. Place paper on table.
12. Put fan in finished container.	Place finished container on table. Say, “Fan finished.”	Respond to direction given by partner.

To learn more about how to use the Sensory Learning Kit to create goal-achieving routines for your sensorimotor learners, watch APH’s Access Academy webinar on Routine-Based Instruction: Collaboration in the School and Home Settings.