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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
One of my favorite things to do is go to Half Price Books and scour the clearance section for good resources to complement our studies. Over the years, I've curated quite a library in my home, which means we have resources at our fingertips when we get curious about our Classical Conversations memory work. In…
Body sensations Interoception Activity for helping pupils to identify the sensations they get in their bodies when they are feeling different emotions
Fun ways to work on handwriting skills : developing the fine motor skills required for good handwriting. Apps and resources to help, along with activities
Unlock the potential of your gifted child with our comprehensive guide. Dive deep into understanding their unique needs, the balance of nature
The ability to ask for and receive your students’ attention is crucial. It’s crucial because it saves precious learning time. It improves listening and performance. It allows you to give instruction anytime you need to and know that it will be heard and understood. ... Read more
If you are a beginner looking for direction or an experienced wood carver just looking for inspiration, you have come to the right place!This page…
As I posted before, my kids have been struggling with transformations, specifically rotations. I created this project in the hopes that creating an actual template to move around as they transform…
Create bright and colorful morning messages for your students in a snap with the 45 Good Morning slide templates included in this resource! You will LOVE how quick & easy it is to create an eye-catching morning message in just minutes! What's Included 45 Good Morning Slide Templates in 3 Different Styles (45 designs have a muted grid background and the same 45 designs come with a wood background to look like a desktop) Customizable Slides! All 90 slides are also customizable. These slides do not contain the "Good Morning" header so you can customize the slides to best meet your needs * JUST ADDED!* MOVEABLE HEADERS! (ADDED ON 7/20/23) Moveable Headers Include: Good Afternoon! Happy Monday! Happy Tuesday! Happy Wednesday! Happy Thursday! Happy Friday! Hello Students! Format PowerPoint (text boxes have been added) Google Slides (text boxes have been added) JPEG Folder (folder of all slide templates as images) Please take a look at the preview to see what is included in this resource. If you have any questions regarding this resource, please ask prior to purchasing!
I'm getting ready for my pre-piano class at the end of July, and thought I'd share my tricks for teaching the names of white keys. These games are always a big hit! Hey Diddle, Diddle! D's in the Middle! Start with D. It's the easiest to find because it's in the middle of the two-black key group. I have the students practice this by using a fist to gently play the two black keys while saying "Hey Diddle Diddle," then using an index finger to play the D while saying "D's in the middle!" Repeat with all the two black key groups up and down the piano. Shoot-Out At the White-Key Corral Next, we learn that C is just below it and E is just above it. Now, it's time to have a shoot-out at the white key corral! We pretend to have water shooters by pointing our fingers like a gun. Starting at the low end of the piano, we "shoot out" all the Ds by playing them, alternating left and right hand. Then we come back down the piano shooting out all of the Cs, then back up, on the Es. I tell them to make sure none of them gets away without a good squirting. It's usually best to move the bench away from the piano and let them stand. The assignment for the first week is to shoot out D, C, and E, in that order. I send a note home to parents (if they weren't watching in the lesson, which is what I prefer) to explain that I do not want the students to shoot out keys in alphabetical order. Many of my parents, like most of us from that generation, learned middle C first, and then learned to find other white keys in relation to C. I want the students to be able to find a key without having to count up from any other key. They need to learn where each one is in relation to the black key group that it is near so that they can find it directly. Once the parent understands the goal, it makes their work at home more efficient. F and B, Outside the Three In the second lesson, we add F and B. Using the index fingers of each hand, we play the F, then B while saying "F and B," then we play the three-black key group with a gentle fist while saying "Outside the Three." Now, it's shoot-out time, using F, B, E, C, and D. The assignment at home is to play the "F and B, Outside the Three" game up and down the piano, and then to practice the shoot out in the order given above (or any non-alphabetical order). Our State Is On The Piano! The next week, it's time to learn G and A. My trick for this may not work for you, but since I live in GA, I tell them that we can find our state's abbreviation in the middle of the black keys! And so, we play GA all the way up the keyboard. One of my students came up with another cute idea that might work for non-Georgians: she says there's a baby cradled in the 3-black-key group, and the baby says "Ga! Ga!" Of course, now it's time to shoot out all of the keys on the piano. The home assignment is to find GA all over the piano, and to shoot out all the keys. I assign an order for the shoot-out, usually working through fifths - D, A, E, B, F, C, G Don't Stop Now! One of my mistakes as a younger teacher was to think that once the student had been through this three-week process, my work in teaching white keys was done. I now know that it's a rare student who doesn't need to have this reinforced over several more weeks. In my studio, we talk a lot about "forever knowledge" as being something that you know as well as you know your birthdate or phone number. We don't stop reviewing until white key names are in "forever knowledge." So, in subsequent weeks, I like to play another game. White-Key Relay The student stands on the far side of the studio, away from the piano. I'll call out "Lowest E on the piano, " or "An F in the middle," or "Highest G on the piano" - you get the idea. Then the student runs to the piano, plays the key, and runs back as fast as possible. They love it! As they get faster, I make it harder by asking them to play two keys, usually involving a downward step. I especially emphasize the step between A and G. This helps them to become more comfortable with moving backwards through the alphabet. After two keys are easy, we move on to three. After a few weeks of this, the student knows the white keys forever and never has to count up from C.
What do you do when you learn that your child has dyslexia? Should you hide this diagnosis to protect them from labels and misunderstandings, or should you tell them? If you do decide to tell them, how do you do this? Can you help them to overcome any potential fears or misunderstandings? These are the questions that I will answer in this blog that includes kid-friendly graphics. What are the Benefits of Telling Your Child That He or She Has Dyslexia? Educating your child with dyslexia about the common signs and misconceptions can help them to: understand that they learn in a different way than other kids that don’t have dyslexia. shed negative labels such as stupid, careless, unmotivated and lazy. correct any misunderstandings. identify with other successful people that have or had dyslexia. acquire the needed intervention and instruction in school. learn that many people with dyslexia have strengths that others do not have. Individuals with dyslexia are often: great at communicating their ideas aloud. creative, critical thinkers. good at seeing the big picture. excellent at solving puzzles and building things. If you want to learn more about dyslexia consider reading: The Dyslexic Advantage Overcoming dyslexia Help your Child Understand Dyslexia by Reviewing the Eleven Common Signs Show your child the image below and read the list out loud. Ask them to identify which symptoms describe their difficulties. You have or had trouble with letter reversals (b and d) and words reversals (was and saw). You have or had troubles with reading aloud. You have or had trouble with words problems in math. You have or had trouble understanding jokes, punchlines, sarcasm and inferences. You have or had trouble following a series of written or aural directions. You have or had trouble mispronouncing words. You have or had trouble rhyming words. You have or had trouble telling directions. You have or had trouble recalling names or words. You have or had trouble with spelling You have or had trouble learning how to read. What are Four Myths and Truths about Dyslexia? Show your child the graphic below and read the list of myths and truths out loud. Ask them to respond to each of the myths - "Have you ever felt this way?" Then read the truth and address any questions. Myth #1: People with dyslexia are not smart. Truth #1: Many dyslexic individuals are extremely bright and creative. In fact, many kids with dyslexia are gifted. Watch a video on famous people with dyslexia: Click Here Myth #2: People with dyslexia cannot learn to read or write. Truth #2: With the right intervention and instruction people with dyslexia can become excellent readers and writers. Myth #3: People with dyslexia see things backwards. Truth #3: Dyslexia is not a vision problem. It has to do with how the brain make sense of what is seen. Myth #4: People with dyslexia are lazy and should try harder. Truth #4: Kids with dyslexia learn differently. When they are asked to learn in a way that does not work well for them, it can take more time. Finding Multisensory Remedial Tools for Kids with Dyslexia: If you are looking for fun, creative and multisensory remedial materials, lessons and games created for learners with dyslexia, CLICK HERE. If you would like a free copy of these images CLICK HERE. Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses. · Blog: https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/ · YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1 · Podcast: https://godyslexia.com/ · Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/ & www.dyslexiamaterials.com · Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/ · Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/69400
There are ways to live a simpler life with ADHD. Being honest with ourselves about how we live, the choices we make, and how we spend our time, is a good place to start.
Download this photo by Saulo Zayas for free on Pexels
I don't know about you, but I spend almost the entire year of my school year on this topic! Good citizens is a unit that can be taught any time of the year as a single unit. Or, you can break it up throughout the year. There are so many great activities you can do
Help kindergarteners compare length & use appropriate vocabulary with this FREE "Shorter and Longer" activity. Great hands on practice for comparing length.
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.
If you've been trying to figure out what to pack for the Faroe Islands, here's everything I brought, plus things that would have made the trip much easier!
Birdwatching Notebook. Explore the feathered creatures that surround you with one-of-a-kind games, activities, and guides.
A Question Matrix is a tool to assist students in developing the skill of asking rich, higher-order questions about objects, events, ideas, and places in their environment.
Looking for activities for a civics unit to teach being a good citizen for kids? This blog post has resources and activities you'll love!
Reading is an important skill, and its foundations are laid when kids are in kindergarten. It is during this year that kids take their first steps toward reading fluently. To ensure they have a good start in their reading journey, it is vital to introduce them to what we know as ‘sight words.’ Sight words ... Read more
1. Attach an image (photo, magazine, etc.) to a notebook page and write about it. 2. What things will people in the future say about how we live now? (Examples: They ate that? They believed that?) 3. Pick one from each list to make a creature and animal combination. Now write a short story or scene in which this creature appears. List 1 List 2 Vampire porcupine Ninja armadillo Zombie pig Pirate goat Mummy lobster Clown possum Banshee shark Wraith moray eel 4. Imagine a future in which we each have a personalized robot servant. What would yours be like? What would it do? What features would it have? 5. What does your name mean? Free write about names: names you like, names you don’t, how a name can affect a person’s life, how you feel about your own name, why your parents chose your name, etc. 6. Create a brand new holiday with its own traditions, rituals, foods, and activities. 7. What road-trip would you take if you suddenly could? Write about it. 8. List six true sentences that begin with the words “I'll never forget…” 9. Imagine that we lost all electricity, water, and gas for a month without any time to prepare. Write about how your life would change and how you would survive. 10. Make your bucket list for the next 5 years, the next 10 years, and for life. 11. Tell this story: “Well, I thought it was going to be a regular summer doing all our regular things…” 12. List 10 places in the world that you would most like to visit, 10 places you’ve been, and 10 places you would never want to go. 13. Think about hospitality in your family. What’s it like to have guests in your house? Do you prefer to have friends to your house or to go to a friend’s house? 14. Pick a family member of two and write about his or her reputation in your family, or tell a family legend. 15. A guitar pick, a red balloon, and a wicker basket. Write a scene or a poem that includes these three objects. 16. What animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something silly, and they're being observed and criticized by animals. 17. Write about your own worst family vacation memory. 18. Write about your best family vacation memory. 19. Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that's how we've always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.) 20. What do you think about when you can't sleep? Turn it into a piece of writing. 21. What traditions does your family have? List all of them or just pick one and write about it. 22. Think about your strongest emotion right now (irritation, boredom, happiness, contentment, etc.) and find five quotes about this emotion. 23. What do you struggle with the most? Write about it. 24. Write a self-portrait. 25. What can we learn from contrast? Write a description of something very dark (like a crow) in a very light place (like a field of snow). Make the dark thing seem innocent and the light thing seem ominous. 26. Write about someone who has no enemies. Is it even possible? 27. Think of a person from your past who really deserved a good scolding but never got one. Write a fictional piece where you tell that person off intelligently. 28. Can honesty honestly be bad? Write about someone, fact or fiction, who gets in trouble for being too truthful. 29. The word “fat” carries a negative connotation. Write a story or observation where something fat is celebrated. 30. What animal lives beneath your human skin? A mouse? A cougar? Or what? Explain with writing. 31. Write about the best piece of advice you ever received. 32. Remember a favorite book from your childhood. Write a scene that includes you and an old copy of that book you find somewhere. --> 33. “I was so mortified, I wanted to crawl in a hole!” Write a short narrative (fiction or nonfiction) where this is your first sentence. Illustrate it if you want. 34. Should books ever be banned? Discuss. If no, explain why. You might want to look at a least of commonly banned books. If yes, explain under what circumstances. 35. Ernest Hemingway said to “write hard and clear about what hurts.” Write about something that hurts, whether it’s an emotional, physical, or phantom pain. 36. What if everyone had to wear a shirt with his or her Myers-Briggs personality type on it? What would this change? How would this affect the way people interact with each other? Would you like this or hate it? (If you don’t know your “type,” try this site. 37. William Shakespeare wrote that: “Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.” Write your thoughts about conversation, or make up dialogue between two characters who are meeting each other for the first time in an unexpected place. 38. Tell this story: “There it was, finally. Our island. Our very own island. It looked beautiful above the waves of fog, but there was still one question to be answered: why had they sold it to us for only five dollars?” 39. Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way s/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” Tell a story in which a character has to deal with one, two, or all three of these scenarios. How does your character respond? 40. You have a chance to go back and completely re-do an event in your life. What is it, and how to you change it? What is the outcome? This can be a real or fictional event. 41. Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something (e.g., who has suffered more, who has had a happier life, etc.). 42. The one shoe in the road: why is it there? Write a story about the circumstances that led to one shoe in the middle of the road. 43. You get to guest star on a TV show. What show is it? What happens in this particular episode? 44. What would you pack in your suitcase if you could not go home again? 45. You can only use 20 words for the rest of your life. You can repeat them as often as you wish, but you can only use these words. What are they? 46. What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Why? 47. Choose five symbols or objects that represent you. Why did you choose these things? 48. "When I stepped outside, the whole world smelled like…" Write a scene that starts with that line. 49. Write a poem entitled "Hitchhiking on a Saturday Afternoon." 50. Use these two lines of dialogue in a story: "What's in your hand?" "It's mine. I found it." 51. Write a scene that happens in a parking lot between a teenager and a man in a convertible. 52. If you only had one window to look out of for the next six months, what would you want to see on the other side? Describe the view. How would it change? 53. Write a story for children. Start with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a land far away.” Include a dragon, a deadly flower, and a mask. 54. "Did she actually just say that?" Write a scene that includes this line. 55. “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard. Write what comes to mind when you read this quote. 56. List five things you want in a relationship. 57. List ten favorite lines from movies. 58. Write about the biggest mistake you made this week. Now write about the best thing you did this week. 59. What is the very first memory that you have? Write about it. 60. What if your pet could only talk to you at midnight for an hour? 61. Write an acrostic poem using your full name and three words that describe you—good and bad— for each letter. For example, S: sensitive, stubborn, smiling. A: artistic, argumentative, agoraphobic M: melodramatic, moody, magical 62. What if you could create your own TV show with all your friends and loved ones as the cast? What kind of show would it be and who would play which parts? 63. Take a photo or draw a picture of every place you go in a day. Put the pictures or drawings in your journal. 64. A to Z: Make an alphabetical list of advice for someone who is about to become a teenager. For example: A: ask forgiveness, not permission. B.: bake cookies. C.: cook something delicious once a month. D: don't compare yourself to others. 65. Find 10 quotes about happiness. 66. Write about 5 things you'd rather be doing right now. 67. Write out the lyrics to your favorite song. Find some pictures to illustrate the song. 68. Who do you spend the most time talking to? Siblings, parents, friends? Make a list of who you actually talk to during the day and estimate the amount of time invested in each individual. Does the list reveal your priorities? Is it proportional to what is important to you? Make notes of what you talk about in your daily conversations. 69. Find a quote for each month of the year. 70. Animals can sometimes seem remarkably human. Describe an experience with an animal that acted in a very human way. 71. Imagine you opted to have yourself frozen for 50 years. Describe your first days unfrozen, 50 years in the future. 72. Imagine that you are an astronaut who has been doing research on the moon for three years. You are do to go back to earth in a week when nuclear war breaks out on earth. You watch the earth explode. Then what? 73. Create a menu from a fictitious restaurant. Make sure the restaurant has a theme, such as Classic Books, and the food should all be given appropriate names (e.g., “Mockingbird Pie”). 74. Preconceived notions are often false. Describe a time when you discovered that a preconceived notion of yours (about a person, place, or thing) turned out to be wrong. 75. Create a story using words of one-syllable only, beginning with a phrase such as: “The last time I saw her, she...” “From the back of the truck...” “On the night of the full moon...” “The one thing I know for sure…” 76. Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible and as many similes as possible. (E.g., “Her hair was as golden as straw.”) 77. Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. What name would you give yourself other than the one you actually have? 78. Parents are our first and most important teachers. Describe a valuable lesson you learned from one of your parents. 79. Imagine a moral dilemma (for example, you see someone shoplift or a friend tells a blatant lie to her parents about where she was last night) and explain what you would do and why you would do it. 80. Review an obituary, birth, or a section from the police record or classified ads section of a local newspaper. Choose one and tell the story behind it. 81. List the most attractive things about your current hometown. Now list the most unattractive things. 82. Come up with a list of nouns and a second list of verbs, all of one syllable each. Describe a scene or situation, using a minimum of ten words from each list. 83. Where is your happy place? Write about it and include a picture or drawing. 84. Create a how-to manual for something you can do well (make a craft, bake cookies, restring a guitar, apply make up, etc.). Describe the process so that someone else could complete the task based on your directions. Use present tense verbs. 85. Free write on this quote by Samuel Johnson: “Ignorance, when voluntary, is criminal.” 86. Find a favorite quote and work it into an illustration. (Inspiration here.) 87. Make a soundtrack for your life so far. List songs that describe you or different times of your life. (Make the actual soundtrack on Spotify, etc. too!) 88. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that force us to face our deepest fears. Tell about a time when you had to face one of your greatest fears—or make up the story. 89. You’re a talk show host. Pick two guests. Why did you choose them? Are they people who get along, or people with vastly different viewpoints? Write about the episode. 90. What three books do you think should be required reading for everyone? Why? 91. “What you don’t know what hurt you.” Write a story that begins with this statement. 92. Free write on this quote by Woodrow Wilson: “Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” 93. According to a Czechoslovakian proverb, “Better a lie that soothes than a truth that hurts.” Agree or disagree? Explain. 94. Rewrite “The Tale of the Three Little Pigs” by using people that you know as the pigs and the wolf. 95. There is a saying that you should be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Describe a time when you wished for something and got it—and then wished you hadn’t—or make up a story in which this happens to the character. 96. As the saying goes, “rules are meant to be broken.” Tell about a time when you broke the rules and what happened as a result. 97. "That's not what I meant!" Write a story that has this line in it somewhere. 98. A blue trash can, a red picture frame, a teddy bear with the stuffing falling out, and a padlock. Put these four items somewhere in a story, scene, or poem. 99. Write your name in outline letters on a whole sheet of paper. Now fill in each letter with words you like that begin with that letter. For example: 100. Make a word collage of who YOU are. Use pictures too, if desired. **HURRAH! You can now purchase this as a digital PDF ($2) at Teachers Pay Teachers. For more creative writing ideas, check out my free WordSmithery creative writing lessons and my popular Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing Resources! Check out 100 other 100 Things posts from the bloggers at iHomeschool Network! Do you have it yet? The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas—a collaboration of over 50 authors with 103 chapters— is now available! Don't miss this amazing resource!
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Teaching behavior expectations in kindergarten is important, especially in the first few weeks of school. This often sets the stage for your class for the entire year. For students to fully understand what is expected of them, it is important that teachers address and teach these expectation. I usually spend a lot of time during the first weeks of school teaching student expectations and classroom behaviors. We complete sorts of good choices and bad choices in the classroom and discuss what makes them good and bad choices. We complete these sorts whole group and students also complete individual behavior reflection sheets. These work great during the first few weeks of school or when students may need a review. These include different levels of difficulty beginning with students simply deciding if an actions is a good or bad choice, to a student sort of good and bad choices (this is a freebie at the end of the blog post) to finally illustrating or writing good or bad choices. Also we color an emergent reader reviewing some of the classroom expectations. These can also just be used as little coloring pages when a classroom expectation is introduced. In your classroom, you may want to challenge your students to focus on a certain expectation for a week. Included are posters that would work great for this: These provide a visual and focus for students when expectations are being taught. You can make it a game and provide an incentive if students can meet this expectation a certain amount of times in a week. Once these expectations are taught it is important to keep students accountable to their actions. I have been using a visual think sheet in my classroom that is perfect for this. It is very appropriate for your early learners in pre-k or kindergarten or special ed because it includes pictures for students to show what they did. Students simply color in the choice they made and a better choice they can make. These are great reflections for students, communication for parents and documentation if necessary. You may also want to post these cool down methods where students can reflect on strategies to cool down, instead of getting upset. You can find this entire Behavior Think Sheets and Activities in my TPT store and the Free Good and Bad Choices Student Sort here:
17 Easy attention builders for Attention Autism at Home. Activities to capture the attention of those with a short attention span.
When teaching the scientific method, it's important that you also teach the scientific process skills. Check out these science activities to help you get started and grab a freebie!
Looking for games you can play with groups when teaching about the good samaritan as found in Luke 2? Part of a range of Good Samaritan resources onsite.
Naming your characters might be a small part of the writing process, but read these tips anyway to make sure you do it right.
