Use the special ed inclusion documentation forms to keep track of service times, lesson plans, and more. Streamline it all quickly and effectively!
These Editable PDF Parent Conference Forms are just what you need to foster positive parent support in your students' education this year! Keep things simple by using the Parent Conference Forms as they are, or, personalize the forms to fit your personal teaching style and classroom needs! The Editable PDF Parent Conference Forms come in three designs that are perfect for any classroom! Choose from a simple Clipart Free Design, a Modern Arrows Clipart Design, and a Cute Kids Clipart Design. Because the files are editable, they will align with any grade or subject area! Simply open the Editable PDF Parent Conference Forms file in Adobe Reader (available as a free download online), print the forms as they are, or, choose to personalize the file to your own classroom needs by typing in the blue highlighted text boxes. The fonts are embedded into the document, so your edits will look polished and professional! Please download the Free Preview file for a sneak peek at the three styles included and to receive a free sample of an Editable Student Self Evaluation! You could use this form for conferences or even for a content-related reflection depending on how you choose to edit it! Please Note: If you are using a Mac, you must open the file in Adobe Reader for the fonts to appear correctly. If you open in the Preview, the fonts will not appear correctly.
A list of the best teacher websites, blogs, and online resources recommended by teachers for teachers.
Many teachers aren't sure how to convert rubric feedback into grades or points. Here's one way to do it.
Do you feel like you're always telling your students to quiet down? If student talking is a problem, check out these tips to get the chatter under control.
Geometric Art
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.
Special Educators Resource Room - Find the tools and support you need to feel calm, collected, and totally together as a special educator.
10 mistakes I made as a first-year teacher, what I learned my first year of teaching, and how I've grown as a teacher since then.
Come grab this free resource that is a collection of my favorite virtual math manipulatives!
Ready to get more sub jobs and keep your income steady? Follow my substitute teacher tips to be a requested substitute teacher and make teachers LOVE you!
Use this free printable teacher questionnaire to get to know the teacher. Find out exactly what to give the for birthday, Christmas and end of year gifts.
In this engaging activity, students make inferences and draw conclusions by analyzing a variety of text message conversations. Students are required to cite evidence for each answer. Digital & Printable Options: This product now includes a Google Slides option as well as a printable PDF. This product also includes a page that has two blank […]
I love using interactive lapbooks in the classroom. They are fun to create, engaging and can be used throughout the year to review skills taught. I finally completely my Lapbook Bundle and I am happy to share the lapbooks included with you. Whether you think your learners will enjoy creating all of the lapbooks, if you
Freebie Vault Login How do I login??? Keep Reading! Welcome to the freebie vault, Teacher Friend. As a thank you for being an email list subscriber and supporter of my business, I love to create and add monthly freebies for YOU to enjoy! It is absolutely free to join this community and to continue to […]
Fun ideas for teaching adjectives and descriptive writing that are just right for October and Halloween week in the primary classroom.
IEP goal bins will help you keep your students' goals and materials organized so you can focus on what's important: the students.
Hey Y'all! This is Chandra from Teaching with Crayons and Curls! I hope that you've been enjoying our posts this month and have learned some magical new ideas to use in your classroom with our Teaching Pot of Gold: Making Learning Magical blog series! I don't know about you, but I truly believe that for my students to LEARN, they have to be ENGAGED! So, I'm here to share some magic about how I try my best to keep my students engaged! My husband is also an educator and many of our conversations are school related. He has been so fortunate to attend many more education conferences than I have, and has always been willing (and excited) to share the information he has learned with me! At one of the conferences that he attended, he was very lucky to learn all about Kagan Structures. I had never heard about Kagan Structures before, but now I am completely hooked! I have to figure out a way to be officially trained or find a way to attend a workshop! If you've never heard of Kagan Cooperative Learning, but you are looking for ways to engage your students and provide them with experiences for cooperative learning, I highly suggest looking into these structures! This book is absolutely incredible! One of my favorite structures is Show Down! My students absolutely LOVE this activity and it's a great way to review for a math test while also allowing them to work cooperatively- hello Speaking and Listening standards!!! You can read about the specific directions for how to complete this activity from the creator, Laura Candler, on her blog! I changed it up a little bit in my classroom for my firsties, but it's still very similar! My students always use dry erase boards for this particular strategy. I LOVE using dry erase boards in my classroom because they are fast and easy, and my kids love using them! Win, win! I have my students work in small groups of about 4 students and they sit in a small circle. We usually sit on the floor for this activity and I walk around the classroom to take observations on their work- great quick assessment tool! In the actual directions, there is a team captain that switches a task card over! However, I usually just display the problem students are solving on the Smartboard. The task cards are a great way for you to differentiate the problems each group is working on, but since I usually use this activity for a test review, we are all working on the same problem! Once the problem is up, students get to work independently. I have them try to keep their dry erase boards hidden from the other members of their group, so that they are working independently. Once I notice that most students are done working, I yell "SHOWDOWN" and students turn their boards around so that all the students in their group can see their work. This is when they work cooperatively to discuss how they solved their problems or completed the problem. They can celebrate successes or tutor each other on how to correctly solve the problem. This is NOT a game, nobody wins or gets point! It's truly about working together and teaching each other! My students get so excited everytime I tell them we are about to complete Showdown, which makes my teacher heart so very happy! I would LOVE to know what Kagan Structures you love using in your classroom! Make sure to comment below with your favorites! For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!
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!
Teacher assistant tips: Here are 10 tips for working effectively with a teacher's aide in your elementary classroom.
A ton of free printable worksheets for kindergarten you'll love to use in your class or at home. Fun kindergarten worksheets to download!
Students will be performing rigid transformations: reflections, rotations, and translations. There are 3 activities: (1) Students will determine the type of transformation that was performed and color the hearts according to the color key code, (2) capture the lovebugs by performing transformations, and (3) a harder version of capturing the lovebugs by performing transformations.
If you're looking for a list of all of the best English Teacher things (for at home and at school) you won't want to miss this post. You can check out everything from the best planner to the best English teacher resources (and even my favorite cookbook). This is one post you won't want to miss.
Creating a middle school syllabus doesn't sound difficult, but I know from experience how hard it is to condense all of your classroom guidelines and
If more schools took the time for collaborative planning rather than top-down PD, we'd be in a better place.
All easy things around your house or on Amazon that you need in your substitute teacher bag to get you through the day and keep calm and carry on.
So, you're a new 5th grade teacher... Are you overwhelmed? Excited? Terrified? Maybe you're all of these things! It is my hope that after reading this blog post, you will feel prepared and confident to meet your new
This Teacher Favorite Things Form will take the guesswork out of gift giving. Let teachers know how much you appreciate them!
Teacher professional development leaves us feeling overwhelmed. Here are the 10 best types of PD teachers would love to see.
This Student self-assessment tool with data tracker, exit ticket, and formative assessment helps students track progress.
These quick substitute teacher activities can be used when you are in a pinch! They require no tech, no copies - nothing! Learn more here!
You landed the job and you're a brand new teacher! Check out these tips for first year special education teachers in this blog post!
If you are like me you HATE lecturing. I simply cannot find the strength every class to get in front of students and blab on while...
Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!
This article provides an in-depth look at the 10 best things to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers, the popular online marketplace for educators and teachers. Learn what items are most popular and lucrative to list, as well as tips and tricks to make your products stand out.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means that if you click the links and make a purchase I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. I do not recommend any companies that I do not persoanlly use and love. Please read our disclaimer for more info. Teaching inclusion can be overwhelming for someone who is new to the job, or maybe you are just in a new co-teaching relationship. There are so many things to worry about, from the needs of your students, to your co-teaching relationship, to working with parents. Here are some tips for someone who is new to inclusion. Treat all of the students the same It is easy to go into the classroom and focus on only the students on your caseload. It is your job to help these students and ensure that they are receiving all of their necessary accommodations and modifications. But, you need to remember that for optimal co-teaching, you need to remember that as a co-teacher in the classroom, all of those students are yours. Treating all of the students as though they are yours, makes your special education students more comfortable asking you for help and working with you. The older students get, the less likely that they are to want to seem like they’re receiving extra attention. When I am circulating the room, I make sure to help all of the students so that my kids are not embarrassed when I am helping them. Also, treating all of the students as though they are yours makes classroom management easier. When students see you as the special education teacher or the helper teacher, they don’t always show you the same amount of respect as they show the general education teacher. If you and your co-teacher act in a way that demonstrates that you are both in charge, the students are not going to walk all over you. Keep open lines of communication Co-teaching is impossible without a lot of communication. You need to make sure that you’re always on the same page as your co-teacher. Make sure that you agree with them in how you are going to teach a concept. Make sure that you agree with them in how you are going to assess the students. Don’t leave your concerns unheard because you are nervous to upset or offend your co-teacher. You have a valuable perspective that maybe they just need to hear. Communication is also important for parent-teacher relationships. If you are keeping an open line of communication with parents/guardians, the parents are going to feel more apt to trust you when they are questioning something. How often are students running home and telling parents a different side of the story? If the parents have heard your side of the story first, they will be prepared to talk to their kids when they come home from school. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind Your school district hired you for a reason. Although, co-teaching can be difficult when there are disagreements. Sometimes, it can feel like it would be easier to just differ to the content area teacher because they are the expert in that subject. But, your opinion is valuable. You are the specialist in teaching strategies, and modifying the curriculum to meet the needs of your students. If you approach a disagreement from a place of respect, you can hopefully have a calm conversation and maybe agree to a compromise. Don’t go in expecting a fight, because if you do there is a greater chance that is what you are going to get. Don’t let the paperwork get ahead of you When people ask me what I do, sometimes I just answer with, “paperwork.” Sometimes it feels like I am drowning in papers. I am constantly surrounded by testing reports, IEPs, work samples, quizzes or tests I am grading, professional development handouts, you name it! Make sure that you take the time to develop a paperwork organization system, and that you stick with it. I try to carve out time every week where I file away everything that I have sitting around. If you go too long it is just going to get more and more overwhelming and you’ll want to put it off even more. If you have time scheduled into your week that you put paperwork away, it won’t get away from you. Also, check out: Guiding Paraprofessionals When Co-Teaching Gets Tough The Ultimate Guide to Co-Teaching eBook! Check it Out! We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered By ConvertKit FREE co-teaching checklist Subscribe to receive a free co-teaching checklist! Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription and download the checklist. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. Get the Checklist! We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit
