As a teacher, those same free educational websites for kids make for a fantastic addition to your classroom! They're excellent practice for early finishers

Special education IEP checklist for teachers to track each student's supports. Record accommodations, modifications, interventions, and supports for IEPs, 504s, and special education.

Although I didn’t prefer virtual teaching (did anyone?!), it did lead me to discover websites that I used in my classroom even when we weren’t strictly virtual anymore! I’ve compiled a list below of my favorite free websites I use in my special education classroom. I’m always looking for ways to increase engagement and interaction

Challenges with focus and attention can become a huge roadblock to learning for kids and young adults. Simply put, attention is critical to learning. If students can't focus on the lesson, they are going to struggle with understanding the new content. If students can't focus on the directions, they

One of the best feelings about starting a new school year is getting organized. Even if it is just for 0.2 seconds. That feeling that everything is one place and your paperwork is nice and neat. Yes, I know, that is a perfect world, but a girl can dream. Being a special education teacher, brings […]

REVIEWED BY NUMBERDYSLEXIA’S EXPERT PANEL ON APRIL 08, 2023

Special Educators – Have you’ve ever felt nervous and wondered about the “right thing” to say at the IEP meeting table? If you’re nodding your head YES, these “Sample Sayables” IEP Meeting Scripts are for YOU.

Teaching the scientific method to kids can be tough. Here are some modifcations to the classic steps of the scientific method for special eduacaiton students.

It's more than just 'bad handwriting.' An OT specializing in dysgraphia shares her top tips and interventions for helping kids with dysgraphia.

We all know how important reading strategies are to becoming successful readers. My students struggle with many of the strategies. We would focus on one each week, and by the 3rd week, they couldn't remember the first strategy. I created this poster to post in the classroom as a reminder of the strategies. Now, this is not a "post it and ignore it" type of thing. I used it as I taught each strategy and I would refer back to it daily, until it became ingrained in their heads! I printed the poster on a small vistaprint banner. The printing came out fabulous and the vinyl of the banner means it will last for years to come! This could very easily be printed onto a bookmark for students to keep at their desks. Enjoy!

My last post was all about phonemic awareness. Make sure you read that post before you read this one. This post is a just a short follow-up to show you my phonemic awareness intervention kit. (All of the activities in this kit are already in that post. This just offers you that post in a ... Read More about Phonemic Awareness Intervention Kit (Part 1)

Math intervention workbooks for struggling math learners. Extra help on specific CCSS-aligned math topics for students who need more practice.

Use the special ed inclusion documentation forms to keep track of service times, lesson plans, and more. Streamline it all quickly and effectively!

Special education law requires that students with disabilities be placed in the least restrictive environment possible so they can be educated with peers.

Looking for the best IEP data collection sheets for special ed progress monitoring? Get some ideas on exactly what to look for & how to make it all make sense!

Accommodations vs modifications: what's the difference? Plus some common examples of accommodations and modifications

25 examples of Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) for IEPs in reading, math, social skills, behavior, and executive functioning: why SDI is exclusive to IEPs.

special education, back to school, paraprofessionals

IEP goals should be specific enough to be implemented by anyone who reads them.

Teaching in special education classrooms can be tricky! We often teach students in a variety of grades and with a variety of needs. We have to figure out how to teach SO MANY standards and IEP goals & differentiate based on each student's needs. Something that has helped me with this SO much over the years is creating scope & sequences for content areas (math, reading, morning meeting, science, social studies, etc). Scope & sequences are also great because they remove the question "What am I going to teach next week?" and ensure that you cover all of the standards/ IEP goals required. What are scope & sequences and how are they helpful? Scope & sequences are also often called curriculum maps. A scope & sequence lays out the content that will be taught (the standards, IEP goals, etc.), the order that the content will be taught & often also includes materials and activities for lessons. They help you plan how you will teach different standards/ skills across lessons and units. If you have boxed curriculum in your classroom, it likely includes a scope and sequence. However, many special education teachers don't have boxed curricula that meets the needs of all of our students... So creating a scope & sequence based on your state standards and your students' needs is a great alternative! Steps for creating a Scope & Sequence: Start by creating chart or document with all of the standards for each grade you teach. I start with one content area at a time. I make charts in a Word Doc for Math, Reading, Science and Social Studies. This year I only have 4th-5th grade, but I also did this when I taught K-5. These charts will help you look at all of the grade level standards at one time. Now it's time to start grouping standards that have similar outcomes/ tasks. Here is an example of how I did this for 4th and 5th grade math standards > I color-coding standards that aligned with each other (i.g. there are multiple 4th and 5th grade standards that relate to money). After I grouped all of the standards with similar outcomes, I identified 13 broad math units. I picked 13 because that would allow me to do 3 week math units, but you can pick whatever number of units that works for your classroom and standards. I know this is harder when you're planning out more than a two grade levels, but it's doable with creativity! Now you're going to create another chart (sorry!) for each unit. I put each grade level side by side for each unit. For each unit, you can include: The standards you're targeting IEP goals you will target Materials you will use or activities to do How you'll differentiate Any other important information or reminders! (I left some of this information off of the scope & sequences I'm sharing due to confidentiality) Creating scope & sequences can definitely take a few hours for each content area (depending on how in depth you make them and how much info you add), but they will save you time in the long run! I pretty much use them as my "lesson plans" and guide for the entire school year, so it saves me a lot of planning time during the school year! If you're looking for math units to use with your scope & sequence, check out this bundle of math units! Each unit includes differentiated worksheets, hands-on centers & digital Google Slides!

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!

Being able to de-escalate and defuse situations with kids and young adults is an extremely helpful skill. Kids and young adults who become emotionally overwhelmed or irritated in a situation may begin to express their emotions in challenging ways. Some examples of these behaviors might include aggre

As our readers know, we at the Inclusion Lab are all about connecting educators with practical tips they can use right away to welcome, reach, and include all learners. Our posts here tend to be meatier and more in-depth, but we also create lots of smaller tip sheets with bite-sized bits of wisdom to share […]