Core Vocabulary Tubs/ Activities for Special Education

A few weeks ago I got a few questions about what I store in my core vocabulary tubs. I have been meaning to work on this post since then, but I was busy finishing grad. school (YAY!) and then I got sick. So better late than never, right?!

Tips and Tricks for Making Task Boxes for Special Education

I've had a few questions/ comments on some of my task box posts, so I wanted to share some of my responses, tips and tricks!

Tips for Ensuring Paraprofessionals Take GOOD Data

Data collection can be hard, so you should take some load off of yourself and utilize your paraprofessionals for taking meaningful data! However, you can't expect to hand a data sheet to a para and get good data... Here are a few tips to ensure that your paras are able to take GOOD data.

Put In Task Boxes for Special Education

With so many of our students only doing level 1 or "put in" task boxes, we are constantly making new boxes to keep the students from getting bored. We have also been trying to use materials that make noise because we have a few students with vision impairments this year. Here are the latest boxes we've made all from cheap supplies from the Dollar Tree or items we already had in the classroom.

Quick & Easy Leveled Independent Work Activities for Special Education

Creating new independent work activities is important so students don't get burned out on work, but it can be VERY time consuming! I'm all about creating quick and easy materials for independent work time/ task boxes. In this post, I wrote about how I use free printed worksheets, charts, etc. to create cheap and simple work activities.
I love using printables for work activities, but I felt like I needed a way to differentiate or level the materials so more of my students could use them. So... I set out to figure out a way to created EASY leveled work activities!

Managing and Organizing IEP Data in Special Education

Organizing and managing IEP data can be scary! I know it's very common to have 1 data binder for each student on a caseload, and this is how I've done it in the past... but this year, I changed my ways and I couldn't be happier! This year I just have ONE binder for all of my students, and I LOVE it!

Making an Interactive White Board in the Classroom

Everyone in education knows that technology is an amazing way to get students engaged in class  activities. Although many classrooms already have SmartBoards or some other interactive white board, there are still so many teachers who don't have the luxury of having fancy technology in their classrooms. The good news is that there is a very cheap alternative if you already have an iPad, computer and a basic projector. It's an app called Splashtop and it's AMAZING.

Dollar Store Task Boxes for Special Education

I've been a little MIA, but I wanted to share the latest task boxes we made in our classroom! The cool thing about these is they are all made with cheap supplies from the Dollar Tree! We are focusing on increasing our supply of "put in"  or level 1 task boxes because we have a lot of younger kiddos this year who need them.

Creating a Classroom Environment that Promotes Communication in Special Education

Anyone in the special education world knows that it can sometimes be tough to motivate our students to work and communicate. As sped, teachers, it's our job to create an environment that promotes communication for ALL of our students.

3 more tips for effectively working with paraprofessionals

If you work with multiple paraprofessionals, it can be very difficult to make sure you're all on the same page. I work with 3 paras, and it's normal for at least 1 of them to be out of the classroom at a time (either in specials, in general ed, in the bathroom, etc.), so I often find it hard to tell all of my paras something important at the same time. I've written a few posts about working with paras effectively and supporting them so you can be a great classroom team. First, make sure you start the year off right with paras by using these these 3 tips for starting the year off right with paras here. Then, support paras by providing them with visuals (this post has some examples and freebies).

Special Education Classroom Setup

The front of our room.

I've wanted to share our classroom since kids returned to school last week, but I just couldn't find the time to do it! I'm pretty lucky because our room is pretty big and we have a ton of natural light and storage space! Our room is more open than it has been in the past. I got rid of a lot of furniture because we just didn't have the space to have so many bookshelves/ cabinets dividing the room into smaller spaces. We have more kiddos with wheelchairs this year, so we really need the space to be able to maneuver our kiddos throughout the room easily. Check it out!

Literacy Groups in Special Education

I've had a few people ask how I running literacy/ reading groups in my severe-needs classroom, so I decided to share how we do them!

Ideas for Circle Time in a Special Education Classroom

Another year... another circle time... I continue to struggle to update and change my circle time. I can have my students for up to 6 years (YIKES!), so I try to mix it up quite a bit from year to year so they're getting exposure to different academic tasks and not getting bored. I mean, how long does a student need to work on basic calendar skills?!! I'm nixing the normal calendar and weather tasks and focusing on more functional academics and social skills instead ;)

3 Tips for Training Special Education Paraprofessionals

I totally get how stressful it can be to train sped paras... Like I've said before, every year I have taught I have had at least 1 new para, which means training training and more training! This year I have 2 new paras so I really need to step up my training game. Balancing required school trainings/ PDs and making sure you have time to train your paras can be tricky! Check out these three tips to get the most bang for your buck out of your para PD.

Tips for Math Lessons in a Special Education Classroom

Math is something that is can be tough to teach in self-contained special ed classrooms. I used to really dislike teaching math, but once I started running math groups the way I run my circle time/ morning meeting, I really started to love teaching math! If you teach math as a whole group, check out my tips for running whole group activities effectively.

Layout for Circle Time Lesson Plan in a Special Education

I love love love circle time/ morning meeting because it's super interactive and I love that my circle time allows me and my staff to sing and dance with our kiddos. You can read a little more about my different circle time activities here, here, here, and here. Also, check out my tips on running whole group lessons to learn more about how to run whole groups effectively. I've explained the generic process I use when running circle time before, but I've never shared the Powerpoint template I use when making my circle time lessons.

Making Schedules for Special Education Classrooms

Most sped. teachers already have a draft schedule that they are relatively happy with. But you can always make your schedule better, and let's be honest, you'll probably change it twenty more times before winter break ;-) So, when you're reviewing or editing your schedule, think about these tips to try to make your schedule a little better.

3 Tips for Building Positive Relationships with Students' Families

Teachers often complain that one of the hardest things about teaching is dealing with parents. Although I've definitely had my struggles with families, working with parents is still one of my favorite parts of the job! As I've grown as a teacher, I've found a few things that have helped me to grow a bond and make a relationship with all of my students' families.

Schedules You Need in your Special Education Classroom

Schedules are SO important for keeping special education classrooms running smoothly. A lot of people think you just need a staff schedule and maybe a visual schedule for the kiddos. I've found that by adding a few specific schedules, my room is running much smoother and there are way less miscommunications.

3 Tips for Starting the Year Strong with Paraprofessionals

Starting the school year off with paraprofessionals can be tricky... especially if you're working with paras who are new to your classroom (or new to the career all together). It's so important to start the year off by creating a team mentality, promoting collaboration and being clear about expectations and responsibilities. Here a few tips that have helped me to start the year off on a good note with my paras:

Two reasons to REMOVE THE TOYS FROM YOUR SHELVES!

Did that get your attention? Don't worry, I don't think we should throw away all the fun stuff in classrooms, but I have 2 reasons why removing these things from your bookshelves and counters can be beneficial to you and your students!

Using Visual Prompts in Special Education

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that visual are simply for schedules and classroom management, but that is FAR from the truth! Visuals are great for prompting kids with a variety of academic skills. The most frequent visual prompts I use during academic activities are: color coding, pictures, and letters/ numbers. Check them out!

4 Tips for Effective Whole Group Lessons in Special Education

I have heard so many self-contained special education teachers say their students just "can't handle" whole group lessons or activities... I enjoy small groups and working 1:1 with students, but I really LOVE whole group activities and have found strategies that make whole group lessons successful and fun!

Before I share a few tips, I want to give a brief description of what whole group lessons in our classroom look like- All whole group lessons are done at a kidney table that faces our interactive whiteboard. Students and staff sit around the kidney table. Students complete tasks for 4-7 minutes and then watch an educational music video on the smart board. This sequence repeats for 30-40 minutes.

Task Box / Independent Work Organization in Special Education

I was happy with how I had our task boxes/ independent work activities organized (you can see the post and pictures here), but it just wasn't giving us enough space. We would often have activities and work stacked on top of the cabinet and it was so visually distracting!

Put In Task Boxes in Special Education

I have quite a few students who need level 1 task boxes this year. My go-to for many of these students are "put-in" tasks because it allows them to do the tasks with as little prompting as necessary.

Check out the "put in" tasks our classroom is full of now!

Resources for Creating Adapted Books in Special Education

I use a ton of adapted books in my classroom. I create a lot of them using Word or Powerpoint, but I also find a lot online, print and adapt them. There are a lot of great resources out there to get adapted or low-level books out there for free or for a small membership fee.

Target Dollar Bin Task Boxes for Special Education

I love task boxes that are easy and cheap to create. A few days ago, I found a bunch of great deals in the clearance dollar bins at Target (they were only $0.30 each!!) and got to work! It's great to buy and use pre-made materials, but it's also important to remember that they will often take a bit of prep and adaptations to get the materials ready too. 

Visuals in a Special Education Classroom

Most sped. teachers are LOVE visuals, but severe-needs teachers often have to go heavy on the visuals because we still have so many non-readers. At the beginning of the school year, I assigned each student a different shape/color. I labelled every students' things with that shape/color (and paired with the written name).
A ton of items in the classroom are labelled with their shape/color, including:

Task box/ independent work time organization for Special Education

I've had a few comments asking how I organize and switch out my task boxes/ independent work activities. My organization system is super simple- All of the actual task boxes (like the "put in" boxes and others with manipulatives) are stored in their boxes in this storage cabinet.

EASY and FAST data collection systems for special education

Don't get me wrong, I know that many teachers hate data because of the time commitment it can be and the pressure it seems to put on classroom staff. But I have to admit that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE data and everything that has to do with data..... I love collecting data, I love interpreting data, and I love graphing data!  I haven't always loved data though- over the years, I've found a few systems that make data collection a little easier and quicker.

Simple Task Box Ideas for Special Education

There's something exciting and refreshing about creating new task boxes... I literally make new ones on a weekly basis. Here are some of the latest ones I've made-

Color sorting boxes with color bears and manipulatives. I bought the cups and teacups at the Dollar Tree and used manipulatives that I already had in the classroom.

Circle Time / Morning Meeting in Special Education

It's that time again... you know, the time of the year when you get a little bored and need to mix things up in the classroom. I felt like our circle time needed a little face lift from how we started this year.

Quick and easy task box ideas for special education

I realize that creating task boxes/ independent work time activities can be VERY time consuming. So I wanted to share a few tips for making some really quick and easy (and cheap) tasks.