Ok, I spend a lot of money on Teachers Pay Teachers. Anyone else? 🙋 As special education teachers, we are always on the lookout for curriculum and supplemental materials for our students with disabilities. Here are five resources that I use (almost) every day that have become a staple in my special education classroom.
This is my go-to for students who need visual supports for behavior or need a visual schedule. I love how it keeps all the visuals in one place and it can travel easily from location to location. Also, it's a lot less destructive when thrown across the room than a binder or clipboard...speaking from experience. It's easy to customize and always lasts the whole year when laminated. And I love updating the tokens based on what my students like.
Question of the day is a great way to work on language and math skills. We create a graph with our answers, go around the room and practice answering the question in a complete sentence, and then asking a friend, and counting and comparing the responses in our graph. It's quick and easy and my students love it.
Ok, I made this one but I've made a lot of things and this is one that we use year after year after year. Sign of the Week is literally my students favorite part of the day (besides lunch but they are middle schoolers so I don't hold that against them). I prep new workbooks at the beginning of the year and boom, lesson planning for the whole year is complete.
4. Adapted Books from Mrs. D's Corner and Mrs. P's Specialties
We live on adapted books in my classroom. When these first became a "thing" I wasn't convinced. I didn't see the point. But I caved in and tried them out and they are a must-have in special education! These are great for modeling with AAC, reading comprehension, matching, and so on. Even my students who are fluent readers enjoy the interactive-ness of adapted books.
These worksheets have been a game-changer for my math instruction. My students always need more practice than a program provides. I have 3 grade level bundles of these skill checks and we use them every day. I love that they align right with my math curriculum and they are in a simple & clear format without unnecessary clip art. Even better, they are print and go!
These 5 special education classroom resources are lifesavers in my middle school classroom! Have you tried any of them yet?
