There are 6 different types of independent work systems that you can be using in your self-contained classrooms.

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 […]

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

This article will give you helpful tips and tricks on teaching music for special education classes in your elementary school.

So you're now working with an older PMLD student, perhaps a teenager and want to work on developing understanding of cause and effect. There is a lot of discussion around the idea of 'age appropriate' toys and resources. What is meant by that is not using toys developed for babies and toddlers with teenagers and young adults. Personally, I think there's no such thing as a toy that's not 'age appropriate' and if it is motivating and enjoyed then there's no reason not to use the toy. I mean, I am a 35 year old woman and I love playing with Lego and my son's toy trains so who says older people can't use toys developed for children? However, you may well have a student who is no longer motivated by those toys, or maybe you've exhausted the use of those toys and want to try something else to support your students to develop their understanding of cause and effect. So what could you use? Well below I have laid out examples of some things that you should have around the house or in school or college which could be used. You may need to attach a switch to them if the young person you work with needs switch access. Items you might find in the kitchen Electric Whisk - plug this in and model to your students how to press the buttons to turn on the whisk. You can have great fun using it with items to whisk up - if it's a cooking lesson then whisking up cream or eggs to do some baking is great. If not then some dish soap and water will create a nice bowl of bubbles in which to then have some sensory play. Salad spinner - this one doesn't even need to be plugged in. Just press the big plunger down in the middle to watch it spin. If you're doing some food preparation lessons then of course you can put salad into the middle and wash it. However, if you want to try a using it differently, why not try using it with paint and spray onto paper for a fun art activity? Blender - plug it in, put the fruit or other items into the top and press the button! Don't forget to put the lid on though or everyone will be covered in fruit! Although, I suppose if you wanted to make it a funny experience you could just leave the lid off but the clean up may not be so fun. Perhaps better to use this as a cooking experience and make some nice fruit smoothies to taste afterwards. Toaster - pop the bread in, pull the switch down and wait for some delicious toast. While waiting you can talk about the delicious smell coming from the freshly toasted bread. This is a nice one for then tasting afterwards but it does take several minutes to go from the cause (pulling the lever down) to the effect (the toast popping up) so perhaps one for students who have already begun to develop their understanding of cause and effect. Egg timer - if you choose an egg timer which has a ring or bell when finished then this makes a good cause and effect resource. Model how to set the timer for about 10 seconds and then count down and anticipate the ringing sound when it has finished. Pans and wooden spoons - using pans, their lids and a wooden spoon to bang them is always a fun and loud cause and effect activity. It's always fun to make a drum out of a pan! Items you might find in a living room Television - most people have a television and using the remote control to turn it on and off this could be used to demonstrate the idea of cause and effect. Lamps - if you manage to get one of those lamps which come on through being touched then they would be a particularly great cause and effect item. However, even a standard one with a switch would be useful! CD player (or other music player) - some of these will use a remote and some will just have buttons to press to turn the music on and off. Recliner chairs and sofas - Okay so this isn't one you're likely to be using in a classroom but if parents ask for a suggestion for home and they happen to have one then they are great fun. If they are electric or have a remote then of course they are easier to use. If not then the button can be more difficult to pull, but it's still pretty good fun to sit on while it moves or to watch move. Items you might find in a bedroom or bathroom An electric fan - plug in and use the buttons to turn it on to different speeds. If you want to make it more visual you could tie some lightweight ribbons to the fan cage so that when it blows it blows the ribbons out too. This is a particularly nice cause and effect resource if working with someone with a visual impairment as they will be able to feel the breeze if sat in front of the fan. Hand held fans - with these there is usually a button you press to turn the fan on and they tend to be battery operated. These are more portable and if you have a few then you can have several students using them at the same time. Hairdryer - another item that is useful if your student has a visual impairment. Just be a bit careful with this as they can be hot, choose the cooler setting if possible. Electric toothbrush - these are great if used as a sensory experience too. You can hold the toothbrush gently on someone's cheek, or arm and they will be able to feel the effect when it is turned on and off. Taps - bath, sink or even the shower. This is another one that isn't portable but many classrooms do have a sink which could be used. Otherwise, this is another one to suggest when at home. Other items you might find and use Torches - if you have a torch then these are also great cause and effect items as you can turn them on and off with the buttons. Great if you want to do some work on this skill in a dark space such as a sensory room or just if a parent wants to do this on one of the dark evenings we have in the Winter. Doorbells - these are great as you just need to push the button for the chime to go off. If you have one with different tunes to play then that can be good fun for doing some work on making choices too. Water spray bottles - I have one of these at home for spraying on tops and shirts ready to iron them. If you have one then these are great as both a cause and effect toy and also as a sensory resource for retelling stories which have water in them. I find it's best to spray them just above so that the water sprinkles down a bit like rain. I do let students spray them at me though as they find that pretty funny and motivating once they realise that pressing the bottle handle actually sprays the water at me! Garden hose - if this has a spray nozzle on the end then it's particularly useful. Have students work on their grip skills to press the handle of the nozzle to activate the hose and allow the water to flow. Oranaments - such as music boxes or carousels - these are great for students to turn and then listen to the music while the carousel or the little dancer turns. Christmas ornaments / decorations - one great thing about Christmas is all the great ornaments and decorations which can be used. Items such as Christmas tree lights with a switch, or sound activated dancing reindeer or Santa clauses. Every year I go around all the Christmas decoration shops and stalls that pop up and look for anything that could be useful in this way. When choosing which items to use you might want to consider things such as your students fine and gross motor skills, how will they access the item, can they press the switch or do you need to look at using Big Mac switch access somehow? You might also want to consider which senses the item is most useful for, can it be accessed by someone with a visual impairment, a hearing impairment? Will the sound be too loud for a student who is over sensitive to noise. As you get to know your students you will learn more about what they find motivating and any likes and dislikes they have as well as their individual needs. Are there any other items you would add to my list? Post in the comments to let me know what items I am missing and to share your ideas!

Scribble monsters are a favorite in my adapted art class! If you follow me on Instagram you probably know that I am absolutely head over heels in love with teaching adapted art! I love teaching and creating lessons that meet the individual needs of my students in order to provide them with their own authentic, enrichin

The most important thing to keep in mind when planning to meet the needs of students is that they are all unique individuals with unique needs. The diversity in human beings is beautiful. It is worth celebrating. Unfortunately, I don’t think teachers get enough training in teacher prep programs or

You aren't making these teacher mistakes in your special education class, are you? Here's 6 mistakes teachers and paras in SpEd make PLUS 5 easy fixes too!

Texte rédigé par notre blogueuse invitée, Chantal Malette, enseignante agréée de l'Ontario. J’enseigne depuis 10 ans au niveau secondaire et depuis le tout début j’enseigne à des élèves du niveau échelon local (enfance en difficulté). À mes débuts, ça m’a fait peur, je n’avais même pas ma qualification Enfance en difficulté partie I tellement je ne voulais pas travailler avec ces groupes. Si j’avais su dès le début! Cependant, il semblait que mes directions d'école voyaient mon potentiel et ce bien avant moi. J’ai maintenant ma qualification Enfance en difficulté partie I et, après 10 ans, j'adore travailler avec ces élèves. Je trouve que c’est très valorisant de les voir cheminer dans leur apprentissage et de les voir évoluer. Plusieurs personnes me demandent des trucs mais surtout « Où trouves-tu le temps de faire tout ton matériel?» Alors voici, je partage certains de mes trucs avec vous et ce n’est pas si compliqué que ça! 5 trucs pour enseigner aux élèves en difficulté au secondaire 1. Décorer Même au secondaire, il ne faut pas avoir peur de décorer sa salle de classe. Dans mon cas, c’est ma marque de commerce et peu importe l’école où je me retrouve, je décore et j’influence même mes collègues à faire de même. Nos élèves sont visuels, ce n’est pas parce qu’ils sont au secondaire qu’ils n’apprécient pas une classe décorée. Ça peut être aussi simple que mettre une bordure sur un tableau d'affichage (et si on ose, on ajoute un fond de couleur). Pour un cours de français ça peut être des affiches des notions de grammaire ou bien les éléments du schéma narratif. Si on a le temps, on peut même préparer des affiches sur les romans à l’étude. Voici quelques endroits où vous pouvez vous procurer des idées et du matériel pour décorer (n’oubliez pas que maintenant, au Canada, nous pouvons avoir jusqu’à un crédit de 1 000$ sur les impôts pour le matériel scolaire) Site web : Pinterest - www.pinterest.com (il ne faut pas sous estimer cette superbe ressource qu’est Pinterest et plusieurs choses sont gratuites!) Magasins (dans la région d'Ottawa, ON) : Scholar’s Choice - http://www.scholarschoice.ca/ All About Kids - https://www.facebook.com/All-About-Kids-157843474286348/ Michael’s Dollarama / Dollar Tree Staples 2. Avoir une structure et une routine J’écris toujours la date et le menu du jour, cela donne un appui visuel et les élèves savent déjà ce qu’on va faire. Les élèves en difficulté ont besoin d’une structure et d’une routine. Pour eux cela enlève un stress de savoir qu’avec M. X on a toujours une période de lecture, Mme Y. donne du temps pour faire les devoirs, Mme C. a un tableau de devoirs. Oui on peut changer un peu la structure du cours et la routine mais parfois il faut les avertir d’avance, surtout si vous avez des élèves de classe distincte intégrés dans vos cours. P. ex. j’ai 2 élèves d’une classe d’autisme, d'intégré dans mon cours de français échelon local. Pour eux, une routine et une structure, c’est sécurisant. Voici un document que j'aime bien tiré du site www.comportement.net qui parle de stratégies de gestion du comportement en salle de classe. 3. Faire des activités kinesthésiques Nos élèves ne sont pas tous auditifs et/ou visuels. Nous avons des élèves kinesthésiques et encore plus dans les cours EED. En français, ce n’est pas toujours évident de trouver des ressources qui parlent de ce sujet, mais voici une ressource que j’ai découverte il y a quelques années et que les élèves aiment bien : Le cahier interractif (payant mais cela peut vous inspirer) http://profsetsoeurs.com/cest-quoi-ca-un-cahier-interactif/ 4. S’amuser Comme vous le savez sûrement, on peut s’amuser tout en enseignant/apprenant. Cependant, je trouve parfois qu’au secondaire on oublie cela par moment. Voici quelques idées pour le faire : Kahoot (jeux questionnaire que vous créez) www.getkahoot.com La bataille navale des verbes https://fle.mondolinguo.com/la-bataille-navale-des-verbes/ Dé pour raconter une histoire (excellente idée pour faire de la communication orale spontannée) http://www.forfrenchimmersion.com/french-storytelling-dice/ 5. Prendre ça un jour à la fois Il ne faut pas oublier qu’en enfance en difficulté, on n’avance pas toujours au rythme que l’on souhaite. Alors, on prend ça un jour à la fois et au rythme des élèves. Il ne faut surtout pas perdre patience envers eux. Parfois, une activité va prendre la période au complet et parfois ils nous surprennent et ça prend 20 minutes! Ce que j’ai appris en 10 ans, c’est que le plus important avec ces élèves là, c’est le cheminement qu’on fait avec eux. Si on fait seulement 2 unités sur 4, ce n’est pas grave. On a fait 2 unités, mais elles ont été bien maîtrisées et comprises! Aussi, il faut apprendre à choisir nos batailles donc si une période en fin de journée les élèves n’y sont pas, on opte pour faire autre chose. Ça m’est arrivé un vendredi, lorsque j'ai décidé de faire du social avec mes élèves, au lieu de faire ma merveilleuse leçon sur le féminin (qui fait de la grammaire un vendredi à la dernière période?). Ce qu’ils ne réalisent pas, c’est que je pratique leur français oral et spontané! Bref, il faut être flexible. Pour terminer, je vous partage deux dernières adresses de ressources utiles : Affiches de grammaire simple http://www.cleclasse.eu/grammaire-c18360737 Pour toute sorte de ressource (affiches, leçons, tutoriel…) http://laclassedekarine.blogspot.ca/ Chantal Malette est une enseignante au secondaire depuis septembre 2007 pour le CSDCEO, dans l'Est de l'Ontario. Elle enseigne principalement le français et l’enseignement religieux à des élèves en difficulté et au régulier également. Dans son temps libre elle aime le scrapbooking, lire et aller à Walt Disney World.

FREEBIES GET YOUR STARTER PACK FOR INDEPENDENT STATIONS GRAB YOUR 4 FREE TASK BOXES GET THIS FREE ADAPTED BOOK UNIT FREE HANDWASHING mini UNIT 4 FREE Errorless File Folder Games 4 FREE Errorless Task Boxes FREE adapted book unit FREE Adapted Book Unit: A Trip to the Zoo TweetShareSharePin7777 Shares

What vocational targets for students with Autism do you need to hit in your class to make them job ready? Read on… and FREE Materials to help!| NoodleNook

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

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of what ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is. If you are reading this post there is an excellent chance you already know what it is because you are dealing with it in your classroom. I’m also going to go out on a limb and assume that […]

There’s a reason children are encouraged to draw and paint at a young age. One of the most important reasons for this is to develop the critical motor skills.

Who is prepping more work boxes this summer? I just love getting new ideas, especially for our older life skill students! Christina Bailey, a transition life skill teacher, offered to share a bunch of her work boxes on my blog! Thank you Christina! Christina works with transition aged students (19-26 years old) with severe cognitive and/or health impairments. Her school serves students from multiple school districts within the county who learn best in an alternative placement. Are you ready? Here they are!! Putting together (or taking apart) flashlights. Bonus points if students can get the batteries in correctly and get the light to turn on! (Motivation!!) Ice cube tray and colored pebbles with tongs. I love the fine motor aspect added here. Marker packaging. I absolutely love this task and would be a great one to buy during back to school marker sales (especially on those really cheap markers you don't really want to use in your classroom!) Erasers on pencils. This has always been one of my favorite tasks! Silverware sorting. A must for every work task station, am I right? And a super easy and cheap one to put together. Silverware rolling / packaging. I love this task as it is perfect for vocational preparation. Putting together curlers. Ribbon threading around a wire basket. I never would have thought of this task! I love using the wire basket to thread the ribbon, and bet students would have fun with this task too. Sewing kit packaging. Packaging tasks like this are great! Tea candle sort. I love this age appropriate color sorting activity. Toiletry packaging. Wouldn't it be awesome to get donations of items like this and put together kits to give out to the homeless as a classroom service project? So, there you have it! Did you get some more good ideas? Happy task box prep! If you ever have anything you want to share, feel free to email me. I love being able to share your fantastic ideas with other special education teachers like yourself!

Science units are wonderful for teaching science concepts in a special education classroom… especially those with multiple grades. The science units help me differentiate and teach and reteach the science concepts year after year. Focus On Vocabulary Many students struggle with all of the vocabulary and language that come with science concepts. From scientific tools […]

Adapting an art lesson and providing a meaningful art experience for an artist with special needs and a short attention span can be a...

For our learners who need to work on foundational learning skills, such as simple matching, I have always love creating hands on task boxes put-in tasks and color sorting tasks. My classroom closet always looked like it could be featured on an episode of hoarders. I kept every shoe box, coffee container, baby jar, and

Listen to this Special Ed Podcast with 15 great ideas for Functional Centers for students with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism in High School. Read more and subscribe today!

DIY Sensory Rooms: Have you ever thought about creating a sensory room or space for your child, but thought it would be too expensive or you would need to dedicate an entire room? We know that sensory rooms have a huge calming effect on our children, so, we challenged a couple of moms (and two behav

What do you do as a special ed. teacher when a student with autism refuses to work? It depends on the function of the behavior! Learn the 12 Best Strategies!

I have been CRAZY excited to share my classroom with ya'll this year. This is my third year in this classroom, and I'm in love with how it turned out it this school year. I kept a lot of the same centers from last year, and added a few new fun ones (Magnet Center,

For our learners who need to work on foundational learning skills, such as simple matching, I have always love creating hands on task boxes put-in tasks and color sorting tasks. My classroom closet always looked like it could be featured on an episode of hoarders. I kept every shoe box, coffee container, baby jar, and

What do you do as a special ed. teacher when a student with autism refuses to work? It depends on the function of the behavior! Learn the 12 Best Strategies!

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

When it seems like the only word they know is "no."

If you work with children, I can promise you that you will come across at least one student that has these difficult behaviors. Not only are they really stressful for the teacher but they impact the student’s life in many ways. Behaviors like disrespect and defiance can make classroom's chaotic.

Do you want to work on life skills in your classroom? Are you looking for hands-on special education life skills activities that your students will love? If so, you've come to the right place. Because today, I'm sharing my top 10 life skills activities that you can do in your classroom. 1. Washing Hands One

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!

If you're a kid with behavioral, mental, or physical disabilities, sometimes craft time can be a hard time, but we're here to turn that around. This list of 45+ Crafts for Kids with Special Needs is the ideal guide to making craft time fun for kids of all ages and developmental levels. Whether you're two or twenty, a beginner or expert, this collection has the perfect project for you to work on your skills and is aimed at children who may need help in the areas of development and behavior. These easy crafts for kids take little to no time to put together, cutting down on boredom. These wonderful crafts for kids with special needs are sorted by skill set so that you can skip directly to the skill you're working on. You're guaranteed to keep them entertained for hours as these projects aren't only educational but also a blast. Whether you want to work on your fine motor skills by making your next masterpiece with paint or putting on a theater show with marker cap puppets or engage your senses with scented playdough or sticky sticks, there is no shortage of activities. If you love what you're reading, let us know by subscribing to our newsletter: Crafty Kid Creations Get started by following along with our How to Make Playdough video below, a fantastic sensory activity for kids with special needs.

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.

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

Are you looking for new ways to increase your students' independence? Read this post to learn more about types of structured work systems!

Those days of forgetting their math facts? Staring blankly at a multiplication problem? Adding or subtracting when they should be multiplying? Done. Gone. Over. Those days are in the past! Today we’re going to learn how to teach multiplication facts to our students with disabilities so that they build conceptual knowledge and retention.

Informal math assessments for special education for K-8. Assessments are aligned with Common Core Standards. Find your students average level/abilities.

When you teach in a multiple disabilities classroom, there is often a lot of equipment in a multiple disabilities classroom

For our learners who need to work on foundational learning skills, such as simple matching, I have always love creating hands on task boxes put-in tasks and color sorting tasks. My classroom closet always looked like it could be featured on an episode of hoarders. I kept every shoe box, coffee container, baby jar, and

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.

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!