Task boxes can be highly beneficial for special education students for several reasons: They provide structured learning by way of presenting learning materials in an organized way, they provide visual supports, repetition & practice, and skill generalization. Task boxes can also be customized to meet each individual student’s needs and IEP goals, promote independence, and […]
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!
Variety of TEACCH work task boxes to help promote student independent work. Great for students with autism and special needs.
Check out three easy to make task boxes to encourage and engage your students to practice their fine motor skills!
Task boxes can be highly beneficial for special education students for several reasons: They provide structured learning by way of presenting learning materials in an organized way, they provide visual supports, repetition & practice, and skill generalization. Task boxes can also be customized to meet each individual student’s needs and IEP goals, promote independence, and […]
From developing fine motor skills, letter and number recognition, sight words, sorting, sequencing, reading, and math, these task boxes for autism tasks will help develop important life skills and beyond!
In February I blogged for the first time about what was actually INSIDE my work boxes. My first post focused specifically on "put in" work tasks. If you missed that post, read it {here}. This post is going to focus on sorting activities. At one point this school year my students ranged in ages 2-5 years old. I really can't emphasize enough the variety of skills I need my task boxes to offer. And they need to be skills a child can complete almost independently. You can always differentiate the level of a sorting task which is nice. They can simply sort by color or make things a tad more complicated and sort by object. I also consider the amount of items they are sorting to contribute to the difficulty. Some students may only have the ability to be successful with sorting 10 items, where another may be successful with sorting 25 items. But let's jump right into the sorting activities that I'm currently using in my classroom! I know a lot of these are self explanatory but I'm going to feel the need to talk about them anyway. For this box students sort the erasers onto the correct picture. I found the erasers and the Dollar Tree and I made the sorting mat on my computer with Pics for PECS. I purchase a gazillion of these little containers from the Dollar Tree. They usually do 2-3 color sets per year and I always buy some. They come in packs of 4 for $1 and we use them for so many things. Students sort the colored Popsicle sticks into the containers. This is essentially the same task as above- students are sorting the sticks by color. However, they are putting them into the correct spot on the container. I simply colored around the holes on this lid with a sharpie to designate each hole to a certain color. Students are sorting erasers for this task. I taped an eraser into the bottom of each container so students knew what container to put them in. I found these erasers a few years ago in Staples. I can't remember if they were clearance or in a dollar section, but I stocked up on all the different ones they had. (There's more used in another activity) Who says hearts are just for Valentine's Day?! Again, using these awesome containers from the Dollar Tree, students sort the hearts into the containers by color. I've had the hearts for a while so I don't quite remember where I purchased them. I don't think you can tell from the photo angle, but the cups shows are blue, purple, red, and yellow. I purchased the cups and the manipulatives at the Dollar Tree. I found the manipulatives in the party favors section. The cups match up perfectly making this a great sorting activity! The erasers are back! This is the same type of activity, there are just three items to sort versus two in the previous activity box. I recently made this letter sorting activity with some letter beads I picked up at Michael's. I had to hot glue them into the tray so the students new where to sort them to. (Yes, I know I duplicated 2 letters--whoops!) I will say I think the letters in each bag vary. I picked the letters for the tray that I had the most of for sorting purposes. Color sorting for two colors with the pom-poms. I bought the little dip dishes at the Dollar Tree. I also picked them up in green and blue to use for sorting activities too. I can't believe I didn't think to buy these little dishes sooner! Silverware sorting! I simply taped picture of each item to the bottom of a tray (found at the Dollar tree) and purchased plastic silver pieces from the Dollar Tree as well. I wanted the materials to look as real as possible, but also didn't want to use real knives for sorting. Obviously. I found these flip lid containers in packs of 2 per color at the Dolalr Tree this summer. I labeled each container with a letter and write letters on foam cubes. Students sort the cubes into the containers by letter. I found these clothespins at Michael's during Valentine's Day. I got the pails there at that time too. I use this activity in two ways. For some students they simply drop the clothespin into the correct container. Others, will clip the clothespin around the edge of the pails for extra fine motor practice. I believe this number mat is made by Lakeshore. It's been around for a while. The activity itself comes with directions for various games and activities. I added it to a task box to use a sorting activity for numbers. Students place each number in the correct square on the mat. I purchased this activity in a pack from Hailey Deloya at The Autism Tank. You can purchase the sorting pack {here}. I just prepped these two pages and added them to a task box for a sorting activity. Easy peasy. This sorting activity was really simple to put together. I already had a ton of pipe cleaners. I just picked up some travel toothbrush containers at the Dollar Tree. I cut pipe cleaners to fit inside. Student sort by color, then place the lids on the containers when they are done. This would be the most difficult sorting task we have. They are not only sorting by color, but by shape too. I only have 2 students who complete this activity. One is doing so independently, one who still needs a few prompts. Here are more of the mini dip containers I mentioned above. Students sort the buttons by color. I found the buttons in Michael's in a craft pack. I took a Lakeshore bug sorting activity we had and placed two of the animals in a work box. This also comes with bug scoopers. I had a pair in the box as well, but a lot of my students were playing with them so I took them out. All the items in this box were purchased at Dollar tree. Green and blue stones with the mini dip dishes. Using some farm counters and what I believe are old paint cups? Students sort the animals out by colors. We used to have transportation counters in this activity but I had students who just wanted to drive them around the table- HA. So we switched to farm animals. I simply made this sorting mat (I think), printed it out and laminated it onto black construction paper. Students sort the counting bears by color into the correct circle. So there you have it. All of our current sorting task boxes. Next up I'll feature all of our matching activities. If you're looking for more great work box ideas be sure to visit Autism Classroom News! The first Wednesday of every month Christine posts a work basket Wednesday link up. Head there to check out more ideas from other special ed bloggers! Don't forget to enter the {giveaway} to win my latest Cookie Tray Activities pack {AND} all of the magnetic supplies you'll need for cookie tray activities! (Giveaway ends 3/9/15)
Get them HERE! Task boxes have been a hit for the last couple of years – especially with these super convenient photo storage boxes. I got mine from Michaels! These boxes I made are perfect f…
Start your fine motor skills task box collection with this free set of playdough activity cards! This freebie also includes a label and instructions.
Do you want to try task boxes, but think your students are too high for them? They aren’t! I find it easier to do higher level academics in task boxes than coming up with new ways to practice lower level skills such as “put in”. This post may include affiliate links. First, let’s talk about […]
These task cards are perfect for morning bins, indoor recess, early finishers, and many more! These task cards work best with magnetic tiles. Inside You'll Find: 26 task cards (4 cards per page for easy printing) Cards are in 3 versions!! Version 1: picture reference with shape tiles tiles Version 2: letter for reference Version 3: black and white letter reference Formats Included: PDF file Teacher Directions: Print task cards (the version that works best for you) Optional: Laminate for durability - this will make your cards last for many years Keep cards in a box or pencil case for easy access Have fun with your students! Related Products That You Might Like: Animals Magnetic Tile Task Cards | Makerspace | STEM Task Cards Alphabet Book and Mini Book | Letter Recognition Worksheet Grab a Coffee and Let's Connect: Follow my store for the latest and newest products and sales HUGE thanks to the following TPT store for their wonderful fonts, clipart, or borders! Bunny On A Cloud Any Questions? Use the “Product Q&A” tab and I will answer as soon as I can <3 Terms of Use: This product is licensed for personal classroom use ONLY unless multiple licenses are purchased. Your purchase grants you a license to use in a secure, password-protected online platform with your students only. You may not transfer or share with another teacher or use it for commercial purposes. ©2023 to Present | Made for Teaching
Task boxes can be highly beneficial for special education students for several reasons: They provide structured learning by way of presenting learning materials in an organized way, they provide visual supports, repetition & practice, and skill generalization. Task boxes can also be customized to meet each individual student’s needs and IEP goals, promote independence, and […]
Staying organized as a special education teacher does not have to be hard or time-consuming. Enter the color coded classroom!
Start your fine motor skills task box collection with this free set of playdough activity cards! This freebie also includes a label and instructions.
Looking for a way to organize independent work time for your special education classroom? Students gain more independent and personal responsibility skills with an organized Especially Education Task Box Independent Work Station. Ideas to organize task boxes for independent time or for work time.
I am focusing on assembly work tasks for the the first Workbasket Wednesday of the new year! I thought I would share some assembly tasks
I could never say enough positive things about using a work box system in the classroom-- for any child. I've used them with typically developing peers in the classroom as well and it's an amazing way to in-bed practice and skill maintenance, all while working on attending to a task as well. Over the summer I did a whole post on how I structure this system in my classroom. You can check it out {here}. But one thing I've never done is actually post photos of the activities I have in my boxes. My boxes have grown since I last posted a photo this summer. I have 83 work boxes available in my classroom at all times. I know that sounds like the only thing that make up the shelves in my classroom are work boxes, but I promise it's not. It might be close, but it's not! I don't have a lot of remaining storage in my classroom. So to constantly be changing out activities and finding a storage system for previous activities is a little challenging for me. So I prefer to just have a lot of boxes available. We also need a high number of boxes to complete each day. Let's break it down. I have 10 students total, 8 of whom complete work boxes at some point doing the day. Children complete anywhere between 1-10 boxes a day. Right now, as a class, we are completing 28 boxes a day. We come to school 4 days a week, so that's completing 112 boxes a week. And planning so strategically that a child doesn't repeat a box during the week. It's a huge planning challenge. And my paras are awesome at catching my goofs! I'm hoping to come across some appropriate shelving between now and the end of the year to expand our boxes even more. Sounds crazy I know, but it will make the planning challenge so much easier when there is a larger amount to pick from. So the whole point of this post-- what's in the boxes?! I use a combination of handmade activities, printable activities, and existing manipulatives from my classroom to make up my boxes. Our lowest tasks are simple "put-in" activities and our higher tasks include activities like capital and lowercase matching using clothespins and sight word matching mats. I've been trying to come up with more and more put-in activities so that's what I'm going to share with you today. In another post I'll share another category. For this activity I saved a small peanut can from the grocery store. (Yes I washed it out) I simply cut slits in the lid--these lids are super easy to cut into which is nice. It's the perfect height for dropping these mini popsicle sticks into. This activity is another saved container- an almond one. I have saved a ton of these! They are a great size and again, the lids are easy to cut into. This one has a circle in the middle of the lid and heart erasers to put into the container. This activity I found on pinterest. I simply saved a Parmesan cheese shaker, washed it out and added q-tips. When students open the box the cheese shaker is already open. (It would be too challenging for my little guys to get open independently- it's tough!) This task I clearly didn't make. It is courtesy of Lakeshore Learning. Students simply place the buttons in. This jar is one of three included in the pack and can be purchased by clicking {here}. If you wanted to make a more challenging task for a student you could place two jars into one task box so the student has to sort as well. This is the second jar included in the Lakeshore pack. I used another almond container for the activity. And obviously a hole punch to put the holes in the lid. Students have to put the beads into the container through the holes. I saw someone else blog about these small paint containers they found at the Dollar Store. They really are great! I bought four of them and used one for this work box. Students simply push the pom-poms into the container. This activity is similar to the Lakeshore bucket with buttons. I found the small yellow containers at the Dollar Tree in the baby section. They come in a multi-pack which is nice, BUT, they are a pain to cut holes in the top. It's a much harder plastic than I thought, and it cracked in the corners. If I hadn't gone through so much trouble to cut the slot in, I probably would have used another almond container. This was one of the first work box activities I made. I recycled a cookie dough container and cut holes in the lid. Then students just have to put pom-poms into the holes. I'd like to re-do this container at some point because most students catch on that the middle hole is big enough to just drop the pom-pom in versus pushing it through the hole. I don't know if you would call this a "put in" task, but I do. They're putting pegs in a peg board! I can also guarantee you that this peg board is older than I am. For this activity students push down the lever on the gumball machine to get a stone out, then they have to place the stone in the container. I liked the idea of students using their index finger to get the lever done-- additional fine motor practice. Sometimes more than one stone may come out, but that's okay. So there you have it. Those are our current "put in" activities. I hope you get some new ideas for your own work boxes from these. Next I'll share our sorting activities.
Task boxes can be highly beneficial for special education students for several reasons: They provide structured learning by way of presenting learning materials in an organized way, they provide visual supports, repetition & practice, and skill generalization. Task boxes can also be customized to meet each individual student’s needs and IEP goals, promote independence, and […]
Make sure your students are getting the practice they need with their IEP goals by using IEP work bins in the special ed classroom!
At the beginning of the year, I am always that hot mess teacher; HOWEVER, there is always one thing I make sure I have running smoothly by the end of September... independent work stations. Without independent work, SPED teachers would literally never get anything done. Plus, work boxes are a great way for students to
It’s been a while since I linked up for Workbasket Wednesday, but I finally snapped some pictures of my Workbaskets and just had to share them with you all! Check out these adorable Back to School tasks with a focus on fine motor skills! This task has been a classroom favorite. Students use the ... Read More about Workbasket Wednesday!
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!
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You all LOVED the 4 simple task boxes I shared here, so here are 4 more! SIMPLE task boxes that don’t cost a fortune and are low level for independent work and beginning learners are so hard to find. What’s even harder to find is ones that are appropriate for ANY age. These 4 hit […]
Task boxes can be highly beneficial for special education students for several reasons: They provide structured learning by way of presenting learning materials in an organized way, they provide visual supports, repetition & practice, and skill generalization. Task boxes can also be customized to meet each individual student’s needs and IEP goals, promote independence, and […]
Et si dans votre classe ou à la maison vous mettiez en place un espace de travail individuel ? Avec les work boxes, cela est possible ! On vous explique !
I was observing a little guy in preschool who had just entered school the other day. He was still working on basic skills like following directions and had limited things that he could do to engage himself independently. The teacher was working on having him do a simple put-in task of putting cards in a coffee can, but because his skills were so limited, he was completing this task repeatedly throughout his day. This wasn't the only thing he was doing and there was time in the day when he was working on discrete trials for learning readiness skills, learning to wait his turn, and working on communication through a number of activities in his day. However, one way that he was working on communicating was to use the coffee can task, that he seemed to enjoy, to have him request the cards to put in from other students. That got me thinking about one of my pet subjects over the years--creating put-in tasks that are age-appropriate and have some variety for learners who are just starting to gain other skills. These are typically the types of tasks that we start work systems with because they are easy for students to do independently. You can see from the picture a variety of types of tasks and materials you can use. I particularly like the seasonal tasks like the jack-o-lanterns that the students is putting in for 1-1 correspondence (a little more advance than just putting in).
Looking for hands-on & interactive task boxes for kindergarten that builds independence, cooperation, fine motor, and more? Absolutely!
Overwhelmed and understaffed my first year as a special education teacher in the self-contained classroom, I discovered that implementing an effective independent workstation helped my students become more successful and independent. Click to learn how I got control using task boxes and independent workstations in my special education classroom. My students loved the differentiated math, language arts, science, and social studies curriculum with age appropriate clip art and real photographs.
From developing fine motor skills, letter and number recognition, sight words, sorting, sequencing, reading, and math, these task boxes for autism tasks will help develop important life skills and beyond!
Task Boxes are important to practice mastered skills, work independently, and gain life skills to be successful in their special education curriculum!
It's almost February, so it was time for me to knock out some February themed task boxes! I normally keep these posts super short and full of pictures, so here we go!
Try a Freebie When helping a child in Special Education to learn a new skill you need to give clear and simple instructions. A visually structured task can provide the small steps needed for them t…
Overwhelmed and understaffed my first year as a special education teacher in the self-contained classroom, I discovered that implementing an effective independent workstation helped my students become more successful and independent. Click to learn how I got control using task boxes and independent workstations in my special education classroom. My students loved the differentiated math, language arts, science, and social studies curriculum with age appropriate clip art and real photographs.
September fine motor task boxes are perfect for preschool and kindergarten students. Use these fine motor activities as busy bins, for early finishers, or as morning tubs. There are 10 activities that easily fit into 4 x 6 storage bins! Here is a look inside this pack!! September Fine Motor Task Boxes -Spin and Cover- Spin a spinner. Cover the correct picture with a button or counter. -Build a Letter- Build each letter (uppercase) with pom poms. -Count and Clip- Count the apples in a barrel. Clip a clothespin with the correct number on the card. -Count and Link- Count and link linking shapes onto each number card. -Lacing Patterns- Lace beads onto pipe cleaners to create and extend each pattern. -Clip a Sound- Use alphabet clips to clip each letter to the correct beginning sound. -Count and Build- Use cubes to count and build towers. -Cutting Lines- Practice scissor skills by cutting along each line. -Color Match- Use pom poms and tweezers to match each color. -Count and Punch- Identify each number. Count and hole punch holes into each apple. Tracing Lines- Use dry erase marker to trace each line. You can grab this pack in my TPT shop! September Fine Motor Task Boxes For more preschool fun, follow along with us @michele_dillon
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