Start your year of right with these activity ideas for the first week of school for secondary special education classrooms.
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!
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By the end of this year, after changing our math rotations around about a bazillion times, I FINALLY feel like I figured out the perfect combo of stations to help my students learn, practice, and mast
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!
Don’t get me wrong — I love candy. And, a jolly rancher, a tootsie roll, or a starburst can work wonders in the classroom for student motivation and enthusiasm. So can pizza parties, and cupcake days, and brunch, and…I’ve had so many types of food parties I can’t even keep track! Recently, however, I’ve been […]
FREE rewards that teachers can give their students that will not cost any money, while at the same time, promoting a fun and interactive classroom atmosphere.
Manage your middle schoolers during speech therapy with my 10 best strategies for behavior management to encourage and motivate!
Teach statistics in a way that your students love! Click for 5 fun and engaging ways to teach statistics to middle and high school students.
Wiggly students can feel distracting but do they have to be? Check out my tips and strategies for students who can't sit still!
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.
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
Virtual icebreakers are perfect for getting students introduced to one another. They help encourage students to get to know one another better.
Create a classroom of writers with these fun writing activities for middle school students! There's something for everyone!
We've all used exit tickets in our classroom for informal assessment, but sometimes it can become boring. Read this post to get exit ticket ideas on how you can engage students with exit slips and still assess your students!
What should we do on the first day of school? Teach? Get to know students? Go over procedures? Planning the first day can be stressful. I’ve always been told the first day sets the tone, so …
Some days you just need a break from the monotony! Preparing for exams, transitioning to a new unit, days when half your students are gone for a basketball tour
With World Down Syndrome Day and Autism Awareness Month right around the corner, this is the perfect time to think about hosting your own disability awareness day to help students throughout your school better understand different types of disabilities! Last year, I used this Disability Awareness Day Kit from The Bender Bunch to host a schoolwide awareness day for 3rd-5th graders. I was lucky enough to have a principal that let me get a sub for the day to run this wonderful event. I set aside about an hour and 15 minutes per session and did each grade level at their own time. For the event, I sent out parent volunteer forms and got parents to sign up for a time slot to help run a table! Traci from The Bender Bunch included so many great things for me to use during this event. There are some things that you need to grab ahead of time that you'll see in my pictures, but overall it was really just making copies, finding volunteers, and setting up the stations! For my event, I created my own questionnaire to send out to teachers about a week before the event to have their students fill out. This gave me a great idea what they knew about disabilities already, what questions they had, etc. They answered a very similar questionnaire after the event so I could see what they learned! I also spend about 15 minutes at the end of the the event talking to each grade level about ways they can be a good friend to someone with a disability, asking them questions about what they learned, and answering any lingering questions. Overall, it was a GREAT success! In the future, I'd love to do it again (with help!). I did this event last year all on my own and although it turned out amazing, I would love to do it again with a little less stress (and someone to help me answer questions, those kids had some awesome questions!). Each station was set up at a table like this with everything you needed to run the station smoothly! I grabbed a bunch of gloves from our school lost and found and had the students trying to pick up pennies, tie their shoes, etc. It was eye opening for them! Finger spelling word puzzles, these were awesome! One of our stations had Google Chromebooks set up with a couple different things. One was white noise where they had to listen to the white noise while doing the specified activity. I also had some set up to show them a video through the eyes of someone with Autism. They all loved this! I e-mailed the Autism video to classroom teachers in case someone didn't get a turn. You can see the video HERE. I loved this station. All of the kids were like "I can't see that!!!" and I'm like "that's the point ;-)" haha! Have you ever done something similar at your school? If not, I highly recommend doing it! This event was a huge eye opener and big hit!
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!
What questions should you ask before co-teaching with content teachers? Ones that inform collaborative teaching and bring language into focus.
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These handy free printable school cheat sheets are a great way to refresh memories and have on hand for quick reference.
You are probably familiar with Kahoot as a review game, but my favorite way to use this website is a BLIND Kahoot. The game structure is the same only instead of reviewing a concept, you use it to introduce it! Check this out as a way to mix up your lesson plans, introduce content, and engage your students!
Our list of essential math manipulatives to teach concrete understanding with a hands-on approach! Plus, ideas for how to incorporate them into your classroom.
I love these math games for middle and high school students! They are great for small groups or whole class activities.
I know I am not alone when I say that I struggle to sit through staff meetings without doodling on my paper, shifting in my seat, getting up to use the bathroom and occasionally whispering with my teacher friend next to me. Now, these are every other week, and only for an hour. Every time I leave, I […]
Tired of constantly writing restroom passes when your students are supposed to be learning?Here's a successful remedy. How to Stop Writing Restroom Passes
My family is not very strong in math, so I am always nervous when we reach the high school math years. I am so very thankful that high school math doesn't have to be a scary thing since there are so many great helps available online.
These differentiation strategies in the classroom are perfect for middle school and high school students. I use these ideas in secondary math, but they would even work in elementary.
These simple four ways to increase classroom student engagement and motivation are the key to running an effective classroom.
Make practice fun with this printable linear equations puzzles set! As kids solve the linear equations, they find the matching piece to complete the puzzle.
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.
Here are 10 co-teaching tips for classroom teachers, intervention specialists, and anyone in an inclusion-type educational setting at school.
FREE response to intervention forms and how to use them
As your daughter gets off the bus, you notice her flushed face and her eyes are filled with tears. You ask what’s wrong, and the words come flooding out. “Julia said she won’t play with me at recess anymore. I don’t understand why she’s mad. I was just telling her the right way to play!”
Need free entrepreneurship curriculum, lesson plans, and projects? Here's entrepreneur lesson plans for high school, middle school, and elementary.
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.
Echolalia- Learn strategies for your Autism classroom. What echolalia is and how to reduce it with activities to decrease repetitive speech or non-authentic communication.
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
Have you ever had a class with so many difficult, disruptive students that you felt that you could barely even teach? What can you do to get past it? In this post, I am going to address this problem with my best advice, and some advice from others as well.
