To add interest, the student reading and controlling the story actually opens the shower curtain, goes into the shower, sees and hears each item go to its place, turns on the water, and sees the water flowing, all via animated movies.
The story is written in simple sentences, but students will learn to read words associated with taking a shower that might previously have been familiar only as spoken words.
In 2020, the online book version of Showertime! was extensively updated. Now it has audible text that reads out from a button on each page, and added animation shows the curtain opening and each item moving into position. Online and off-computer sequence activities have also been added, to test recall.
The artwork for this story was created in a CAD program, Bryce 6, so that all the elements of the shower can be manipulated and portrayed at any angle. This made possible some extras for this activity set, in the form of separate clip art images of all the shower elements. Animated movies were created in QuickTime Pro® and PhotoShop CS6®. This activity is available in many formats.
Virtual Reality Versions
The Clicker 5 or 6®, Classroom Suite®, HyperStudio 5®, Online Book, and PowerPoint® versions test the student’s ability to follow directions, by requiring that the button for the correct item be clicked before advancing. Wrong answer feedback is a recorded voice.
The Annie’s Books Online version of Showertime! and the sequencing activity What’s Next? are written in HTML5 and include updated sound and movie formats. They will play in modern browsers including Mac Safari 5.0 or later, iOS Safari 4.3 or later, Firefox Mac or Win 39 or later, Internet Explorer 9 or later, and Google Chrome Mac or Win 12 or later.
Users of Windows XP with IE 8 or earlier will be switched to an alternate version of the Showertime! story using an earlier html, QuickTime movies, and utilizing a sound manager based on Flash®. Visually, these versions are identical.
If you have a slow internet connection but do use a modern browser, you may prefer using the desktop version of Showertime! and What’s Next? You don’t need an active internet connection since all sounds and movies are downloaded as part of the desktop book. However, pre-IE9 browsers can’t run this version .
Follow-Up Activities
As follow-up activities, there is a Cloze Pro® test for the Clicker 5/6 version of the story, and a sequencing activity to follow the Classroom Suite version. In addition, there are custom IntelliKeys® overlays and their Dynavox® pkg equivalents for both the Classroom Suite book and sequencing review. See the Special Needs Access section on the System Reqs page for information on controlling the Classroom Suite version from PRC devices. Note: the download for Classroom Suite includes both the story and review activities in one ZIP file. The sequencing activity What’s Next? that should follow the online version is accessed from the same menu page as the online book.
Interactive Book Version
In My Own Bookshelf®, the same images and movies carry the student through, but all the student is required to do is turn the pages. A test built in Test Me Score Me® reviews the student’s grasp of the vocabulary words introduced in the story.
Printable Versions
A PDF of Showertime! is also available for download. This can be printed or viewed onscreen. This version has the same text and pictures, but lacks the movies. The printable sequencing activity is for off computer use, and the text and picture clues could also be used in matching games.
There is a printable sequencing activity to use off computer. Every page consists of three strips, each with text and a matching picture. The pages would be mounted on stiff backing and the strips cut apart, to be used in reconstructing the steps in the story. You also could cut apart the text and picture on each strip to use in matching activities.
Resources
Clip art including all the items the student is required to find, plus parts of the shower such as the shower curtain, shower head, towel rack, etc. is included in two ZIP files, one with JPEG and GIF images and one with the same art in PNG format. These can be used to build new activities, used off computer to talk about the story, as flash cards, and any other way you think up!
The movies from Showertime!! can also be downloaded in two different formats. The first of these includes the videos used in the updated HTML5 version, and they are in .m4v format. The original movies, which were in AVI format, are still posted as a legacy item. The movies are included as a backup in case of video problems, but could also be used to make new activities.
Bonus Resources
At the end of What’s Next?, there is a victory movie. Students see a very fancy golden trophy-like object with “Memory Master” engraved on it. Behind the object, colorful fireworks explode, while a soundtrack of fireworks, cheering, and applause plays.
I had so much fun creating that movie, that I did a few more. I made a second version of the memory movie with different color fireworks, and then went on to make three more general victory movies that could be used with any challenging activity. These have even fancier golden objects, with Good Job!, You Did It! and Well Done! engraved on them, and each has a slightly different cheering soundtrack.
I’ve made downloads of all the victory movies in one zip file, and all the soundtracks (wav, mp3, and ogg formats for each) in another. They should be compatible with most multimedia applications, and of course with any modern web browser, or you could simply give one of the movies to a student as an award. I hope you find them useful! And if you need one with a custom message, maybe a student’s name, let me know. Now that I have the PhotoShop® animations for these, I can very easily change the words on one of those gold what’s-its!
Extra Special Extra!
Alison Wade has created some super off-computer activities using the Showertime! clip art. She has posted the Boardmaker® versions on a list serv, and also has them in PDF format. Click here to find out all about the Showertime! Extension Activities. Be sure to get these to use with Showertime!
Applications needed: Versions for Classroom Suite, Clicker 5 or 6 and Cloze Pro,HyperStudio 5, My Own Bookshelf and Test Me Score Me, PowerPoint, web browser, and/or Acrobat Reader.
Subject area: Reading, Life Skills.
Level: K-1, 2-3.
Online Links-Activities
Online Books
Showertime! link: CLICK HERE. Menu page leads to the online version of Showertime! and the sequencing activity What’s Next? to read online. HTML5 format and updated movies and sounds run in modern browsers, including on phones and tablets. Audible text in the story, and audible instructions in What’s Next?. Users of pre-IE9 browsers can switch to the old version online, which uses QuickTime, but there is no legacy version of What’s Next?. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.
Desktop version of Showertime! link: showertimeDesktop.zip Showertime! book and What’s Next? sequencing activity to read from the desktop using a web browser. HTML5 format and updated movies and sounds run in modern browsers, including on phones and tablets. Not for pre-IE9 browsers. For details on using Annie’s Desktop Books, click here.
Downloads-Activities
Printable Activities
Showertime.pdf (1.7 MB) Showertime! story to print. No movies. Acrobat Reader.
ShowertimeOff-ComputerSequenceActivity.pdf (11.1 MB) Showertime! sequencing activity to print, mount on stiff backing, and cut apart. Acrobat Reader.
Clicker 5 and 6
ShowertimeClickMac.zip (13.6 MB) Showertime! interactive story in Clicker 5 MAC. Has QuickTime movies.
ShowertimeClickWin.zip (13.9 MB) Showertime! interactive story in Clicker 5 WIN. Has WMV (Windows Media Player) movies.
ShowerCloze.clz.zip (118 KB) Tests comprehension by using the text from Showertime! in a Cloze Pro activity.
Classroom Suite
ShowerTimeSuite.zip (25.2 MB) Showertime! interactive story plus sequencing activity in Classroom Suite v.3 or later. Custom IntelliKeys overlays are attached.
Showertime.dpkg (1.3 MB) Showertime! story overlay saved as a Dynavox file.
ShowertimeReview.dpkg (1.2 MB) Showertime! review overlay saved as a Dynavox file.
HyperStudio 5
Showertime.stack.zip (20 MB) Showertime! interactive book in HyperStudio 5.
PowerPoint
ShowerTime2003.zip (8.8 MB) Showertime! interactive story saved as a .ppt file. Movies in the same folders. PowerPoint 2003 or later.
ShowerTimePackage.zip (13.0 MB) Showertime! interactive story saved as a .pptx file. May need PowerPoint 2007 or later.
SoftTouch
ShowertimeSoft.zip (15.0 MB) folders with Showertime! book and movies to import into My Own Bookshelf.
Showertime!Test.zip (11.7 MB) Test on Showertime! story using clip art for answers. Requires Test Me Score Me..
Downloads-Resources
showerClipArt.zip (3.0 MB) All the clip art used in the Showertime! story, including the shower items (soap, shampoo, etc) and parts of the shower such as the soap dish, towel rack, shower head, etc. in JPEG and GIF formats.To preview the collection, click here.
ShowertimeClipArtPNG.zip (3.2 MB) All the clip art used in the Showertime! story, including the shower items (soap, shampoo, etc) and parts of the shower such as the soap dish, towel rack, shower head, etc. in PNG format. This format may be better for placing on a complex background or into a scene because of the transparent background. This also is a good format to customize. To preview the collection, click here.
ShowertimeMovies.zip (31.8 MB) These high-quality movies will run in modern web browsers and multimedia applications. They include all the animations used in the updated Showertime! online story.
ShowertimeAVIs.zip (9.0 MB) These legacy movies will run in Clicker 5 both platforms, and in the other apps.
Bonus Resources
VictoryMoviesCollection.zip (82.6 MB) Victory movies to use as rewards for completing activities, with the messages Memory Master, You Did It!, Good Job!, and Well Done!. These high-quality movies will run in modern web browsers and multimedia applications.
VictorySounds.zip (6.1 MB) Victory sounds to use in new activities, either for positive feedback or as part of a congratulatory finale. Four slightly different sounds with a combination of fireworks and people cheering and clapping. Each sound is included in mp3, wav, and ogg formats. Compatible with modern web browsers and multimedia applications.
I tried the Classroom Suite version of Showertime with a group of young adults with developmental
September 6, 2008 @ 10:01 amdisabilities this week. They loved it! They enjoyed being able to pick out the correct items, and the
virtual reality and movies. This would be great on a white board. I plan to do some follow up with the sequencing activity and printed story.
Is there a way to print the pages with the button grid visible? Thanks, Alison
Yes, Alison, there is a setting to print with or without the button grid. Go to the Options–>Document settings menu, and click the Toolbars tab. There is an option you can choose to print with custom toolbars visible, and that button grid is a custom toolbar.
Wow! It would really work on a white board, and would look like you’re really going into the shower. These multimedia programs are perfect for virtual reality projects. That type of animation or movie has been used for video games and flight simulators, but why not extend the idea to everyday situations? If you have a digital camera and some way to do a zoom in on the picture, you’re in business! You can do that easily in Classroom Suite, using IntelliMation. For most other programs, you need a simple video editing program, but it’s a very easy effect, and you save as QuickTime or AVI for each zoom.
October 28, 2008 @ 4:25 amI’m trying to open this in power point version 2003 and am unable to open this. Is there a trick or something that I’m missing?
November 23, 2008 @ 7:50 pmThanks,
Lisa
Lisa,
November 29, 2008 @ 7:21 pmI have to apologize–somehow the .pptx (2007-2008) version instead of the older .ppt file for ShowerTime! was included in the ShowerTime! 2003 zip file. I’ve replaced it and uploaded the correct file now. You do have to decompress the zip file, but after that, you should be able to open the ShowertimeBuzz file in the 2003 version of PowerPoint. I’m not sure if the movies will remain attached, though. The three movies are included in the zip file, so you could re-insert them. GoInSOR.mov should be attached to the fourth page, counting the title page. CloseCutainSOR.mov goes on page 9, and handleWaterSOR.mov goes on page 10.
Good news! Today I posted updates to the Showertime! activity set. First, a new version optimized for Clicker 6 Win. It still runs in Clicker 5 also, but its videos are upgraded to .wmv format. Next, a HyperStudio 5 version of Showertime! Third, an online version, or rather two online versions. If you use a modern browser, you can read Showertime! online or download a desktop version for faster page loading. You won’t notice the second online version, but if you use classic Internet Explorer in Windows XP, you’re automatically switched to an alternate version that doesn’t require html5. Showertime! was one of the first activities on Annie’s Resource Attic, and it’s still one of my favorites. I’m glad to finally be able to offer it in all formats. –Annie
October 13, 2015 @ 12:29 am