Start your year of right with these activity ideas for the first week of school for secondary special education classrooms.

This product contains all the forms I use to get to know my students and parents during the back to school season ALL IN ONE PLACE! I use these forms during Back To School Night/ Meet the Teacher or I send them home for parents to return. This helps me get to know all about my students, how they are...

Are you gearing up for back to school? Don't worry! I'm going to walk you through 4 must dos for the first day of school.

BACK.TO.SCHOOL! Back to school season can be an roller coaster of emotions. The excitement of what lies ahead, mixed with the reality check that summer is coming to a halt. Whatever your feelings might be at this moment, we all know one thing… we have to start planning. Planning for the first week of school ... Read More about Back to School: SPED Edition

I can't believe back-to-school time is coming up so quickly! I've been thinking about my classroom decor and decided to go a little different route this year. I want to try and use as many actual photos as possible to make things super clear for my students and help with explicitly teaching classroom procedures. I've made some new visual posters and wanted to share them with all of you. My first change was with my class rules posters. I have used a modified version of the Whole Brain Teaching rules for the last several years. I also wanted explicit Voice Level posters for my students. If you haven't checked out A Day in First Grade's blog post about her morning meeting, it's a must read {here}. I loved how she gave her students three choices for sitting on the carpet. Last year, I had a lot of students who didn't want to sit criss-cross applesauce. I think my students will be much happier with these options. If you're interested in any of these visuals, you can download them all below for free by clicking on the pictures! I hope these are helpful in your classrooms!

4 Must Do's on the First Day of Pre-K. Worried you missed something while lesson planning for the first day of school?

Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.

October is Disability Awareness month, but it's so much more than awareness... it's about acceptance and seeing people, our students, for who they are. FREE Disability Awareness bulletin board display. Only at Mrs. D's Corner.

I never would have thought I would be tracking data digitally, I am really not that savvy when it comes to tech, however, when someone pointed out how easy it was, I had to try it. You guys, its sooo much easier than my typical paper and pencil tracking system. I had data sheets EVERYWHERE!! […]

Visual schedules are a great way to help students manage their school day and see what is coming next. Free flip schedule template only at Mrs. D's Corner.

If you are anything like me, the first 10 days are a struggle. You have so many new ideas for the new year, so many things you want to implement, and you feel pressure to start on the very first day. Here’s my number one tip: DON’T. Just don’t. In special education, and more specifically […]

It's back-to-school season! Your students and families are eager to know you. Use the SSE Meet the Teacher Packet to introduce yourself!

Having a student business has SO MANY benefits. Depending on what your product or service is, you have the opportunity to practice independence, money math, cooking, responsibility, and so much more! In this series, various guest bloggers (teachers & special educators) will share their tried and true experience of starting and running a student business […]

Supporting kids with special needs works best when both regular education and special education staff work together. That's why it is helpful for all teachers to understand how they can modify and accommodate for students in their classrooms. For newer teachers, learning that you need to modify work

Let’s talk about creating and using tactile schedules in the classroom. If you have a Teacher of the Visually Impaired that works with you, they may provide you with a kit or schedule pieces from the library of the blind. Here is a link to my local library. Check with your state and see if you […]

I have 10 tips for your Autism classroom set up this school year! Special education classrooms can be hard, but click to learn more.

In you special needs class, do you have any behavior issues? Any kids that are over-responsive or just the opposite, under-responsive? YOU.NEED.HEAVY.WORK. I cannot stress enough how much of a DRASTIC change we saw in some of our special thinkers when we began implementing this work system into their daily routine. Here's some info on

Setting up an IEP work bin system can feel overwhelming! Here are some easy ways to do it so that your students can quickly work on goals!

Structure is a crucial component to your SPED classroom setup. This is something I learned quickly in my first year of teaching and something that worked well once structure was increased. Below I’ve listed five easy ways to increase structure in your classroom. Individual Schedules Whether it’s visual schedules, checklists, object schedules, or agendas, they

What is a paraprofessional? What is a paraeducator? How special education paraprofessionals and special education instructional assistants support students.

Let's Take a Sensory Break Digital Download Classroom Header Print, Cut and Laminate this cute classroom header to put above a sensory area in the classroom!

Progress monitoring data collection while running a special education classroom can be tough! But it doesn't have to be so hard. There are easy ways to take data and keep track of progress of your students, while even analyzing the data on a regular basis.

Special education tips, IEP Planning, IEPs, Accommodations, Life Skills, Adapted Materials

What do you do when paras are not doing their jobs? These tricks and tips can help get them back on track in the classroom.

Being a new special education teacher can be overwhelming and stressful. Check out The FIRST thing to do as a new special ed teacher.

Start your year of right with these activity ideas for the first week of school for secondary special education classrooms.

Job ideas for students in special education to do in the classroom and around school

Visual schedules promote independence by allowing students to know the sequence of the day’s events. Here are 5 types of visual schedules commonly found in a special education classroom.

Read on as I guide you, the new special education teacher, through steps to take this summer to feel confident and ready before the first day of school.

My students use morning binders during our morning meeting and throughout our academic portion of the morning. I love using binders because I can personalize and individualize each binder according to my students needs.

A color coded classroom isn’t just for the looks, it helps make a classroom extremely functional! Not only does it help staff locate things quickly, but it also allows students take ownership of their own supplies! Color coding is a win-win for all. Below, I’ve compiled a list of ideas of our favorite ways to

I’m back to talk more about independent work stations. I don’t know if you’ve realized, but I’m basically obsessed with them. I think I’ve written about independent work stations at least a half dozen times on this blog if not more! I love them because not only do they provide an opportunity to teach students ... Read More about 5 Mistakes you are Making in your Independent Work Stations

Practice vocational skills with these classroom jobs and on campus job ideas for students of various skill levels!

Starting a task box center and system in your special education classroom is a way to increase student independence and free up staff.

Learn which strategies to use with students who are engaging in escape or task avoidance behaviors in special education classes.

Special Education teachers are the masters of data collection! At times, collecting data can be overwhelming, especially when you sometimes have to outsource the collecting to other teachers, specialists, or teaching assistants. Tracking accommodations is necessary to make sure an IEP is being followed and can be helpful in determining which accommodations should be added to or removed from the IEP. Believe it or not, collecting data on accommodations and modifications does not have to consume your life! Share Information Be sure to share vital information with all teachers and assistants that work with your students. I have an accommodations organizer that I organize all of the information of my class. The information is in one place which is helpful for sharing information with assistants, special area teachers, and substitutes. When I first began teaching, I did not bother sharing such information with special area teachers until it was brought to my attention that a student of mine did not complete a test in physical education class. That student had trouble reading and was supposed to have his tests read. The PE teacher was unaware of his accommodations and therefore did not deliver them. I use a special form that reminds me of who needs to be informed of accommodations and modifications at the beginning of the school year and after an IEP annual review. Train Your Team If you have paraprofessionals in your classroom working with students, it is important to train them in how to deliver and how to track accommodations and modifications. Some interventions are more detailed than others. Observe your team while they are working with students and provide feedback as needed. The time you put in to properly train your team to record data the same way you would is so well spent! Use Checklists When I first started teaching, I used to write notes on a post-it that included which accommodations and modifications were used on assignments along with their effectiveness. It was very time consuming and often times, I forgot to add some things. Finally, I came up with a few checklists and forms to help the process. Level of Support One of the forms I use tracks the level of support a student needs from an adult. I use this one to determine the need for a 1:1 teaching assistant. It is useful before adding a TA and to collect data to see if continuing the intervention is a necessity. The adult that works with the student at that time fills it out while working with the student. Accommodations and Modifications Tracker I use this form two ways, depending on what I am collecting data for. As an IEP meeting approaches, I like to review the need for the interventions on the IEP. I can track the types of interventions are needed for different types of assignments and activities. More importantly, I can track the effectiveness of such interventions. I can also cut this tracker apart to staple it onto work samples. The work samples can be to show the Committee on Special Education the student's growth or regression. I also like to send work home with students with the form filled out from time to time so parents can see what kind of help the student needs in order to complete assignments at school. Frequency Tracker Another way I like to track the use of accommodations and modifications needed in school is with a frequency tracker I created. This gives me a quick visual of which interventions are being used and which are not. I focus on this during the weeks before a meeting so I can determine which accommodations and modifications need to remain, be added, or be removed from an IEP. Data collection is so important but it doesn't have to take over your entire life. Once you create a few checklists that fit your classroom or purchase one of the many checklists and charts from my TpT store, you will save yourself a ton of time and will have more data than you've ever had before!

Tips for managing support staff in your classroom. It is important that we communicate often, but that's just the start. Learn more here.

IEP Tubs, special education, IEP goals, IEP data, IEP activities, IEP objectives