3 Simple Ways to Target Number Sense During Morning Meeting

Developing number sense is an important building block for more complex math skills. Without strong number sense, students will likely struggle with higher level math. The key areas of number sense include:

• counting
• arithmetic operations 
• number knowledge

It's obviously important to work on number sense during math groups/ lessons, but I think it's helpful to also embed number sense activities across the day! Check out 3 simple ways we target number sense activities during morning meeting:

Tips for Morning Meeting during Online Learning

You probably know that I LOVE morning meeting / circle time! It's always been one of my favorite times of the day. I was scared that morning meeting would be impossible and not as enjoyable for students when we switched to online learning... but we love it just as much as when we are in-person! Keep reading for tips for morning meeting during online learning!

Establishing a Fun, Engaging and Effective Circle Time in a Special Needs Classroom

If you've followed me for a while or you've spent any time on my blog, then you probably know I've always LOVED circle time/ morning meeting.

It's so nice to start the day in a fun and engaging way that builds classroom community! You can also work on SO many different academic, functional and social skills!

I think it's really important that we mix up our instruction (and materials) so our students don't get bored! Although our students likely need a lot of repetition with tasks, they also need to generalize those skills with a variety of materials!

Circle Time in Special Education: Focusing on Communication & Literacy

Circle time is still one of my favorite times of the day! It can be tough planning and mixing up circle time since I have the same students for up to 6 years. This year, I decided to spend much of circle time focusing on communication and literacy and I'm super excited about how it came out!

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 ;)

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.

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.

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.

Circle Time/ Morning Meeting in an Elementary Special Education Classroom

I have some of my students for a total of 6 years (yes, that's an incredibly long time), so I'm constantly trying to mix up my lessons and methods of teaching. I revamped my morning meeting yet again! I hope you enjoy the new pieces! You can read about my previous circle time posts here and here.

Circle Time Ideas for Special Education

Circle time (or morning meeting) is a very important time of the day for students. It can help them learn basic skills like identifying their names and counting. Although circle time should be a fun time for students, it should also be a learning opportunity with meaningful tasks. You can use it to focus on a variety of skills including math, literacy, and communication. I love our circle time routine and want to share how I the time it to encourage a variety of academic skills and communication.