The first two weeks in a special ed classroom are more than academics. Ideas on what to teach, what to practice, and what you should be doing.
Incorporate more STEAM activities into your program with these 5 building and engineering challenges. In the world of science, there are many ways we can introduce fun concepts that are exciting, challenging, scalable, cross categorical, and inexpensive. Your group can also … Read More
Classroom hacks that actually work in a special education classroom setting. Tried and true methods from actual teachers. Read to learn more.
Self-monitoring interventions are well supported within the empirical literature as improving classroom engagement for students with disabilities. However, stud...
Creating a class schedule for a special needs classroom is daunting. Let's be honest... for a lot of us, it's our least favorite thing to do all year long. But I have some tricks of the trade to share with you to make it as painless as possible at the beginning of the school year. Blog post at Mrs. D's Corner.
A blog about autism resources and support from a special ed teacher with first-hand experience.
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.
We have simple classroom rules that each student practices and follows throughout the day. We are 1:1 program and I currently have 5 para’s in my classroom. In order for our students to be s…
The first two weeks in a special ed classroom are more than academics. Ideas on what to teach, what to practice, and what you should be doing.
I have been so excited to bring this to you! About two weeks ago, I got a new job, and have been NONSTOP busy ever since. Creating for my new students, setting up my new classroom and familiarizing myself with my new school has certainly kept me busy- but I am so excited to finally […]
If your caseload is anything like mine, you have students in and out of your room all day. I have students who mainstream for portions of the day, but spend the majority of the day in my classroom. Having my students follow 2 different behavior systems just doesn’t work in my classroom. Sarah from The ... Read More about Portable Behavior System
Be prepared for lock downs, fire drills, field trips, or any other classroom evacuation with an emergency backpack. Download the free emergency backpack checklist to be prepared for anything!
I love it when we have a birthday in my class because it's a great opportunity to practice tons of life skills! Whenever we have a birthday to celebrate, we plan a party. This is usually pretty low-key (because I usually don't think of it until the day of) but awesome just the same and my students love it!
Functional morning work for the special education classroom.
Valentine's Day can be such a fun time to spread kindness throughout your classroom, home, or school! Incorporate these fun and engaging activities into your lessons next month to wow your kiddos! Rainbow Rice Valentine Sensory Bin Sensory bins are my love language in the classroom AND at home. I made this rice using this
You've set up your independent work system and you've got great tasks and organization...so how do you assure that your students build independence?
If you want your students to remember something you'll have better luck if you keep it simple, relate it to something memorable, and/or go over it multiple times (repetition). We love the idea of using acrostics to sum up 'the important stuff' - i.e. expectations, rules, procedures, etc! We think it's something students really respond to and it also provides a great way to implement the above suggestions - everything is simplified, fits together to create a memorable word, and can be easily viewed/gone over together in a short amount of time should your kiddos need a brush up! We can't take credit for coming up with these, but we think they make excellent classroom management tools! For morning routines... For use when leaving the classroom... For activities that require working in pairs/with partners... For activities that require working in groups... And, while these aren't acrostics, we figured we'd throw them in because they are similar (and effective!) tools for managing instruction time/transitions and forming lines... Give Me 5 1. Eyes looking 2. Mouth closed 3. Ears listening 4. Hands on my desk 5. Feet on the floor Are You In A 4S Line? Straight Silent Still Smiling If you haven't already, we suggest incorporating some of these fun acrostics into your management strategy!
Aloha friends! I am so happy I have only 3 days until Spring Break! Hurray!! I actually really only have two teaching days left. On Friday I have a sub. I have to take my van into the dealer and the only day that works is Friday. So I guess I am getting an early start. I know that I should probably get a new car, but I love the old beater that I have. It's filled with beach gear, sand and surfboards. What more could you want on the North Shore of Hawaii? Speaking of the beach, who is ready for warm weather and sunnier days? As we head into the last quarter of school I wanted to share something I do with my kids for the last part of the school year. Every year after Spring Break my kiddos get a little crazy. Summer is just around the corner, they are used to the same old routine and start to test a little more, right? Well I have been using this money system for awhile and it works wonders in my class. This is a money system that I use to help my kiddos stay happy and engaged, and let me tell you it works! Basically my students get paid for the work they do for the last quarter. They get paid for their classroom jobs, homework and classwork. It is a mini-economic system in your classroom. Kids get a weekly salary, get paid by check, cash it at the bank, and go shopping in the school store. There are specific jobs for all of this, and the students run the whole thing. Today I posted the classroom jobs that kids could apply for. I explained each one and told them that they were going keep this job for the rest of the year. Here are some of their applications. Notice the second one. Do you have a problem with kids going to the bathroom ALL the time? This student will get $5 from each child who has to go the bathroom. She is thinking ahead to all the $ she will earn for this job!! Once we all have a job I post up our job board. Each week they will earn $100 for doing their job. On Fridays they get a check. Whoo Hoo Payday!! They also have homework coupons that they earn over the week. My bank tellers cash checks and then students can go to the school store. The bank is a pretty crude affair with the money just sitting out on the desk. We keep the rubber bands on because the wind blows everything away!! My bankers have to be pretty good at counting out money in order to have this job. After the check and coupons have been used, my assistant banker stamps the check to show it has been paid and places it in our money box. Now that they have cash they can head to the school store. My storekeeper can use the cash register to add it all up. They do have to be able to make change, which can make this job challenging. The kids love this cash register. It is perfect for our school store. I purchased this through my Scholastic Bonus points a few years ago, but I know you can get them on Amazon too. My kids love using our Beach Bucks. We even make origami wallets to keep our money in. Many of them bring their own wallets from home. Click on the pink wallet to take you to a tutorial. Kids get paid for their work, but they can also lose money! The money bucket is on my desk. If you break a rule then you have to put $$ in the bucket. Kids that show good behavior earn raffle tickets and can win the bucket of money at the end of the week! At the end of the quarter I have a class auction for the kids to spend their money. I have used this system for the last 10 years and have finally put it all together. I am sure many of you already use a money system in your classroom. Hopefully some of these ideas will help you to add a bit more to it. If you want the whole system you can pick this up in my TpT store. I also have two other themes that are the exact same system. A fun Super Hero theme and a Western theme. Hopefully one of these fun themes will help keep your classroom running smoothly for the rest of the year!
Looking for a simple preschool science activity? This volcano idea involves apples, baking soda, and vinegar!
Schedules are vital to running a lot of things in our lives so it is easy to say that we all become used to them. When you are working with students and furthermore, students with disabilities you will find that it is very true that they need structure, routine, and consistency. The best way to do this is to have a schedule for the students and staff at all times.
My first year in my self-contained classroom was one of the most challenging things I have ever endured. I felt unorganized and the lack of structure was truly debilitating. And then, I discovered: visual schedules. Research shows the benefits of using visual schedules with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. A visual schedule communicates the order of upcoming events or activities using photographs, objects, icons, or words.
A kindergarten teacher's journey to providing an environment in which kiddos develop skills and concepts in preparation for the future.
Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscles in a person's hands, fingers and forearms. These skills include things like picking up a marker off of the floor and holding a pencil to write. Learn more about starting Fine Motor Friday in your classroom. Blog post at Mrs. D's Corner.
I remember when I first started teaching in my classroom, I literally had no clue what I was doing. I remember everyone kept talking about.. STRUCTURESTRUCTURESTRUCTURE I shook off their advice and did things my way for the first few months, thinking my cute little classroom set-up was just the beez-neez with all
Hello again! It feels like I was just publishing my May post yesterday! That's what June does to a teacher! Anyway, it's Nicole from Learning Lab again. I am happy to be here! Who here teaches Read180? A few years ago, I stepped into a long-term subbing position that used the Read180 program to teach reading and writing. The teacher that retired in the middle of the school year had already set up great routines with the class so my transition into becoming the Read180 teacher went pretty well. I fell in love with the program and was able to supplement with a few self-created resources to really make it work for my class and me. My only issue was the amount of loose papers. Kids were always misplacing things. Once I handed back a graded paper, it was often never seen by me again. I am now teaching Read180 again and after playing around with the way I run the program in my class, I came up with some interactive notebook templates to help keep us all organized and to keep all of the independent work in one location. First, I have book boxes for all of my students. In each book box, they have a folder for their writing pieces, an interactive notebook, and their Read180 R-book. When they travel for their rotations, their book boxes go along with them so they always have all of their materials. The interactive notebooks are my biggest triumph! I feel like I finally have tweaked them enough to have them exactly how I want them. Here is a peek into what I created... I allow the kids to decorate the outside of their notebooks with things they enjoy. Some choose to use stickers while others cut and pasted clipping from magazines. I think it is important for them to feel ownership of their notebooks from the beginning. The first page has a book log to keep track of the books read along with the Lexile of the book. Having the Lexiles handy makes it easier to see progress and also points you in the right direction when it is time to pick another book. With each new book comes a new Independent Reading Checklist. This helps students keep track of what needs to be done before they have completed a book. The expectations include finding 10 new vocabulary words from their reading (my own addition to the program), Read180 Quick Writes, the Comprehension Graphic Organizer that goes along with the book, the online book quiz, and a final project. I also have them keep track of the date the started reading, the date they completed reading, and the date that the final project was completed. This help us track progress and time on task. This was an idea that I borrowed from my co-teacher this year. Instead of giving her reading students the vocabulary words from the reading program they use, she has them find 10 words from the book they are reading for Reader's Workshop to use as their vocabulary words for the week. Instead of having weekly vocabulary, I have my group of students find and define 10 words they are unsure of from each book they read. This was a struggle for my students at first, but they are doing wonderfully with it now. Next, I have the Quick Writes that are included in Read180's blackline masters book. I have the students get each answer checked before they can move on to the next section of the book. I also really like the Comprehension Graphic Organizers included for each book with the Read180 program. The book quizzes are on the computer program so they only need to record their score in the interactive notebook. I have them do the final project separate from their notebook because I often display their projects on my bulletin board. So, after the Comprehension Graphic Organizer, I have them start all over for a new book with a new checklist. Using interactive notebooks for Read180 has changed the way my classroom is run. It has certainly made my life much easier! Now, I can take home a few notebooks each night to review instead of trying to keep track of a much of loose papers. I also love being able to show growth to parents at conferences. It is amazing to see the progression over the school year! If you want to try interactive notebooks to make your Read180 block easier, you can download the forms I created here, for FREE, in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I hope it makes your life as easy as it has made mine! I would LOVE to see you on Instagram. You can find me by searching for @Learning_Lab. It's my favorite place to post ideas! See you next month!
How to set up a special education classroom and individualized student schedules
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 […]
If there is one thing I know (besides how to knit hats for chickens), it is name activities for preschoolers! Whether in the classroom as a Kindergarten teacher, or in my home with my own children, I have had plenty of experience teaching little ones their name letters. Why name letters? Well, when children start
For earlier posts in this series, click here.
Visual boundaries are a great way to teach the students in your autism classroom what space is theirs and which spaces are out of bounds!
Okay y’all, I did it. I took the plunge and ordered a class set of plastic book bins in our colors for reading workshop. I’ve been using cardboard ones for six years now. They’ve lived a good life and have the battle scars of masking tape and staples to prove it. Plus, they’re ugly brown....
