If your child is frustrated or not making progress in Jumper Gym, here are some intervention ideas to try.
Slow students down with “Say it, Touch it, Click it”
Resources: Post It Notes and a Y-jack splitter attached to the student’s headset and a second headset so you can listen in as the student works.
Activity: “Say it, Touch it, Click it” slows down a struggling student who may be clicking erratically and helps him/her to focus before selecting a response. Ask the student to name the up and down tones. For example, call the UP sound “wheep” and the DOWN sound “whoop.” (Some coaches have also used other names – me/jo, bird/frog for the two tones. Use whatever works best for your students.)
After naming the sounds, write down the names on two sticky notes and place them next to the corresponding arrows on the screen. Have the student click the yellow planet to listen to a pair of tones. After carefully listening to the tones, ask the student to repeat the sounds out loud. If the order was an UP tone followed by a DOWN tone, the student would SAY “wheep/whoop” or the names of the tones the student came up with. Then have the student SAY “wheep/whoop” while TOUCHING the stickers labeled “wheep” and “whoop.” Finally, have the student SAY “wheep/whoop” while clicking the arrows with the mouse.
Challenge students to “Three in a row”
Explain that accuracy is the key to moving through the content in this exercise. Students make progress based on the 3-Forward/1-Back Rule: they move forward when they get 3 answers in a row correct, but they move backward when they get 1 answer incorrect.
Because streaks record the number of correct answers in a row, charting this can help the student self-monitor by providing visual feedback of their number of correct answers in a row. Students can use the Three_in_a_Row_Worksheet.
Challenge students to “Beat the Teacher/Parent”
Challenge the student to “Beat the Teacher.” The goal of this activity is to achieve accuracy and get streaks of correct answers. Students make progress based on the 3-Forward/1-Back Rule: they move forward when they get 3 answers in a row correct, but they move backward when they get 1 answer incorrect.
- On a sheet of paper, make two columns. Put your name on the top of one column and the student’s name on the top of the other column. (You can also use the Beat_the_Teacher_Worksheet.)
- Listen along with the student during the exercise.
- When the student gets three in a row correct, record one point for the student. When the student makes an error, record a point for yourself.
- At the end of the intervention, total the points for each column. Calculate the number of student points earned minus the number of teacher points earned. This number represents the total number of steps forward the student has progressed.
- Have the student set a points goal to help them strive for even greater consistency and faster progress.
