Search Results

It's finally April, which means we have hit the end of the year countdown. Teachers, it's the time of the year when the days fly by and drag on at the same time! We are so ready for summer, and our students are too. Here are some fun, hands on activities and resources to help you get through those last few months of school. This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. April CLASSROOM RESOURCES Life Science Match It! Independent Task This matching set is aligned to the DLM Essential Elements standards, so it's a great way to review skills that students have learned throughout the year in preparation for the end of the year testing. Weather Errorless Sentence Helpers If you're doing a spring weather unit, these errorless sentence helpers are a great way to support students in writing sentences. They come in 3 phases so you can use them with your whole class. Spring More & Less Task Cards Task cards are my favorite way to practice a skill! They can easily be added to a structured work system, hung around the room for a write-the-room activity, or simply given as desk work. If you have students that are working on the concept of more and less, these are a great option. Spring Next Dollar/Dollar Up Puzzles You can grab this one for FREE in the resource library. It's a great Fun Friday activity or math center! APRIL CLASSROOM SUPPLIES Life Cycle Models If you're teaching a unit about life cycles this month, these life cycle figures are a great way to make learning more hands on and concrete. Feelings Student emotions and behavior frequently spikes towards the end of the year. These little sensory bags are a great addition to a calm down corner or break space in your classroom. Fraction Circles I always teach fractions toward the end of the school year, so these fraction circles are a must. I love that they connect together so you don't have pieces scattered across your classroom. Fruit Counters How cute are these fruit counters?! They can be used for math manipulatives, or as a sorting, packaging, or put it in work task. Egg Puzzles These egg puzzles are a great independent work task to add to your work stations this month.

Spring is almost here! I am over the cold and snow, and so are your students, so this month's classroom favorites are full of color. Check them out! This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. MARCH CLASSROOM RESOURCES Shamrock Pattern Tasks & Worksheets These new pattern strips are perfect for file folders or work tasks! You can even send the worksheets home for homework to reinforce the skill. Check them out! Holiday Cookie Math Flip Books No more boring worksheets or flashcards! These math flipbooks are perfect for students with counting or addition IEP goals! These adapted books will give your students extra practice on essential math skills. There are 6 holidays included, so you can use this resource across the entire school year. Spring Errorless Sentence Helpers Do your students struggle to write complete sentences that make sense? These Sentence Helpers are designed to provide scaffolded instruction for students with disabilities, beginning with errorless teaching and eventually fading prompting for students to generate their sentences. This resource includes 20 different spring themed sentence helpers, each in three phases. St. Patrick's Day Spin & Count You can grab this one for FREE in the resource library. It's a great Fun Friday activity or math center! MARCH CLASSROOM SUPPLIES St. Patrick's Day Mini Erasers Mini erasers are my go-to math manipulative. Counting, addition, fractions of a set, sorting...the possibilities are endless! They are also a great option for student reinforcers. Rainbow Spiky Balls These little spiky balls are fun to throw in a sensory bin or use for sorting IEP goals. They are great fidgets too! Rainbow Pom Pom Sorting Set This sorting set is so fun for March! It's a great addition to your fine motor stations. Plastic Butterflies I love these butterflies for patterns, sorting by attribute, describing language, etc. St. Patrick's Day Coins I like to use these golden coins for a fine motor independent work task. Patterned Easter Eggs Pair these patterned Easter eggs with a Match It! set and you have instantly made a work task way more engaging!

Handwriting can be especially difficult for students with cognitive disabilities or fine motor challenges. I work with many students who have spent years of instruction working on letter formation. I often recommend that teachers implement the use of technology to support handwriting because, while we know that repetition is important, doing the same thing for many years can get boring. Here are three of my favorite apps for students to use to improve handwriting. Writing Wizard Handwriting App Cost $4.99 (one-time fee) Includes pre-writing strokes, letters, numbers, and words What I like about it: The Writing Wizard app starts with an animated model of the letter strokes. Then, students trace the letter. You can change the settings for errors. If students make a mistake, you can have the app stay in place, go back to the last key point, or go back to the start. I also like that students must continually hold down their finger or pencil to write. It's not just animated if they start the stroke. With this app, the teacher can program custom words. It's so important to practice handwriting in application, so this is a great way to give meaning to a task. Another amazing feature of this app is that the teacher can generate or print reports. Talk about easy data collection! You can export student work as a PDF and add it to their data binders or send it home for parents to see student work. For only $5, this app is a great choice for handwriting practice for your students! iTrace Handwriting App Cost $3.99 (one-time fee) Includes letters, numbers, name and words What I like about it: The app starts with a step-by-step model and then provides guided dots for student assistance. I love that you can see the actual strokes you make on the app. Students must stay inside the lines, or there is an error correction. Students must practice each letter three times. Each time, they are given a star, either gold, silver, or bronze, based on performance. This app allows you to customize strokes for individual letters. The teacher can view student history and errors. This is great for data collection! LetterSchool Handwriting App Cost $44.99 (per year) Includes pre-writing strokes, letters, numbers and words What I like about it: This app has a three step process for each letter. First, it provides a step by step model. Next, students practice tracing with a fun animation. Finally, students practice writing without the tracing lines. This is the only app from the three that allows students to practice without tracing. This app has so many fun animations! It's very engaging and bright. Let me know if you try any of these handwriting apps out in your classroom! I'd love to hear how they go!

This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. FEBRUARY CLASSROOM RESOURCES Valentine's Day Tracing Task Cards Need a quick, low-prep activity for fine motor and handwriting? These task cards include 5 levels of tracing, from pre-writing strokes to whole words. Valentine's Counting Task Cards If you have students working on counting, these task cards are a great way to address IEP goals. Even better, this special education resource includes 4 differentiated levels so you can use it with a variety of students! Heart Pattern Strips & Worksheets These new pattern strips are perfect for file folders or work tasks! You can even send the worksheets home for homework to reinforce the skill. Check them out! Cake Shop Budgeting Unit If you have students who have mastered counting money and are ready to move to the next step, this budgeting unit is perfect for you! It includes budgeting for amounts up to $20. fEBRUARY CLASSROOM SUPPLIES Valentine's Wooden Beads These Valentine-colored wooden beads are perfect for fine motor or independent work tasks. You can make a sorting task, a lacing task, or a put it in task. "The Day It Rained Hearts" Book This book has always been one of my favorites! It's about Cornelia, a little girl who catches the hearts raining from the sky and decides to create valentines for her friends. Valentine's Mini Erasers I LOVE mini erasers! They are my favorite classroom manipulatives! Mini erasers are great for math manipulatives, Bingo markers, reinforcers, and sensory bins. The patterns in this pack of mini erasers are so fun! "Love From The Crayons" Book I saw this book and had to have it for my daughter. It's such a cute story about love in all kinds of colors. Valentine's Day Stretchy Strings These fidgets are a great addition to your break bins. They would also be cute to hand out to your students for Valentine's Day.

It is freezing cold out there and I don't know about you, but I need a lot of motivation and extra coffee to get out of bed every day and go to work! Switching things up each month is fun for me, but it also keeps students engaged and trying new things! Here are my January favorites. This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. JANUARY CLASSROOM RESOURCES Winter More & Less Task Cards These task cards are my absolute favorites because they include levels from concrete to representational to abstract, giving students a solid understanding of the concept. The best part is that you can use them from the introduction of a concept all the way to independent practice. Winter Counting Task Cards If you have students working on counting, these task cards are a great way to address IEP goals. Even better, this special education resource includes 4 differentiated levels so you can use it with a variety of students! Snowflake Pattern Strips & Worksheets These new pattern strips are perfect for file folders or work tasks! You can even send the worksheets home for homework to reinforce the skill. Check them out! Winter Holidays Match It! These Match It! activities are perfect for independent work tasks, work binders, file folder activities, or even cut and paste worksheets. JANUARY CLASSROOM SUPPLIES Mini Resin Snowflakes Looking for a quick and easy task box to create? Throw these cute little snowflakes in a sorting or matching task. For students who are still working at an errorless level, these are great for "put it in" tasks too. Melting Snowman I love this little melting snowman kit! It's a great hands on prop to use with the book, "There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow." Mittens This 12-pack of colorful mittens is perfect for teaching matching! Create a quick and functional work task box with these cute little mittens. Grab the free labels in the resource library. "There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow" A classic story with a January twist- yes, please! This book is super fun to add to your January classroom read-alouds. Ice Crystals Vase Filler This cute ice vase filler has so many uses in your classroom this January! You can throw these into a sensory bin or use them as math manipulatives. If you have students with counting IEP goals, it's great to switch up your counting objects for generalization and to keep students interested and motivated.

It's hard to teach in December. Everyone is ready for winter break! Here are some fun resources and supplies to spice up your classroom in December. This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. DECEMBER CLASSROOM RESOURCES Christmas Boutique Budgeting Unit This Christmas Budgeting Unit is perfect for students who are working on functional money skills! Christmas Counting Task Cards If you have students working on counting, these task cards are a great way to address IEP goals. Even better, this special education resource includes 4 differentiated levels so you can use it with a variety of students! Winter Errorless Sentence Helpers Provide scaffolded writing support with this Winter Sentence Helpers resource. Students move from errorless writing to generating their own sentences, all with a winter theme. This resource will be a hit this December in your special education classroom. Winter Holidays Match It! These Match It! activities are perfect for independent work tasks, work binders, file folder activities, or even cut and paste worksheets. DECEMBER CLASSROOM SUPPLIES Holiday Greeting Cards Pack These greeting cards are blank inside, making them perfect for a functional writing center in your classroom this December! Students can practice writing cards and addressing them to friends and family. Christmas Colored Pom Poms Spice up your independent work tasks with some Christmas themed pom poms! Looking for a quick and easy task box to create? Throw these pom poms in a sorting or matching task. For students who are still working at an errorless level, these are great for "put it in" tasks too. Instant Snow! I loved using instant snow during December in my classroom. This is a great science activity! Instant Snow can also be used in a sensory bin. Christmas Mini Presents These adorable little foil gift boxes are another great option for work tasks. Students can match them or sort by color. For students who aren't quite ready to match yet, you can also create a "put it in" task box. Christmas Vase Filler This cute Christmas vase filler has so many uses in your classroom this December! You can throw these into a sensory bin or use them as math manipulatives. If you have students with counting IEP goals, it's great to switch up your counting objects for generalization and to keep students interested and motivated.

As a teacher, summertime is usually a long break from the classroom, but for some students with disabilities, the extended school year is a necessity. For those special education teachers tasked with teaching during extended school year (ESY), it can be a daunting experience. What is the purpose of ESY, what skills should I teach, and how do I create a schedule? Let’s talk about the essential steps for preparing to teach ESY for students with disabilities. Gather materials from teachers As an ESY teacher, you may have students that are not typically in your classroom. Make sure to talk with their current teachers about their curriculum, progress, and other important need-to-know information. I always suggest that teachers go observe students before the end of the school year if possible. You want to be prepared to address challenging behaviors or situations that may occur. In addition to talking with current special education teachers, you can request that the current teacher provide data sheets and materials for the student. If the student has a communication device, make sure to arrange for it to come to the location ESY is being held. If the student has a specific behavior plan or visual support, ask for copies. It's important that ESY looks similar to the school year for students so that they are not trying to generalize skills in a completely new environment and instead are focused on maintaining the skills they have gained throughout the school year. When I did not teach ESY for my students that qualified, I sent the ESY teacher a quick tip sheet like this. Create folders for student data During ESY, I simplify my data collection system by creating student folders instead of binders. Each student has a section for math, reading, and other goal areas with a copy of their data sheets. Then, I send this back to their special education teacher at the end of the ESY session (if I am not their regular teacher). Make sure to check each student's ESY paperwork to see which IEP goals have qualified for ESY services- you may not need to take data on every single goal area like you do during the school year. Decide on whole class instruction Think about how you want your ESY session to run. You'll of course need time to work in small groups or 1:1 with students to address goals. But you also may want to throw in some whole class instruction or large groups. Maybe you want to start the day with calendar or end with a large group read aloud. When I teach ESY, I like to have a fun summer theme each week and do related activities, like an art project, read aloud, science, etc., during a large group period. Create a schedule ESY is generally a shorter day than the typical school day. You'll want to set up a schedule that covers all the skills that students qualify for, including related services. I like to do a few different blocks to address IEP goals. I also recommend getting students outside for a little while each day is possible. In elementary settings, this may be a quick recess session. In secondary settings, maybe you can plan some outdoor activities or community based instruction. The last few summers I taught ESY, we went on 2-3 CBI trips and it was a blast! Once you've decided on what large group activities you want to include, plug them into your schedule. Here is a sample schedule for a 3 hour session that I give my teachers. Remember the purpose Extended School Year services must be provided if the IEP team determines that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE. Not all students are eligible or need ESY services. ESY services are specialized instruction or related services that are a part of a student's IEP. This means that you can't just teach whatever fun activities you want. You must ensure that you are providing specially designed instruction that is indicated in the IEP. These specific eligible goals and skills will be identified by the IEP team. The main purpose of ESY is to help students maintain skills and minimize regression in the progress they have made throughout the school year. As an ESY teacher, you are tasked with minimizing the regression of a skill to shorten the time needed to gain back the same level of proficiency. It is not to "catch students up" to the level of their peers. I find it extremely helpful to remember the purpose when going into teaching ESY. You don't want to overwhelm yourself trying to create a fun, summer school program that covers all the things! Stick to what students need and are qualified for, and remember that you are not trying to get them ahead, you are simply helping them maintain the skills they currently have. With the right preparation, you will be able to build a successful extended school year program. Have fun!

Students with disabilities need explicit and repetitive instruction, so it's important that we maximize our instruction across school environments. Lunchtime often involves a busy and noisy environment, social interactions, and the need to manage students' own behavior and self-care. There are so many opportunities for incidental teaching! Here are some functional skills that students with disabilities can work on during lunchtime. Social skills Students with disabilities can work on social skills during lunch by learning how to initiate and maintain conversations with peers, ask for help, share food or utensils appropriately, and use polite language. Many students have paraprofessional support during lunch. Support inclusion by sending students to lunch with their peers. Paraprofessionals can pre-teach and remind students of social skills to work on prior to going to the cafeteria, and then students can practice these skills with their same-age peers. Use your paras to provide specific feedback and praise. Self-care skills Lunchtime provides an opportunity for students to practice self-care skills, such as opening containers, using utensils, cutting food, and cleaning up after themselves. They can also practice hygiene skills, such as washing hands before and after eating. Being able to Executive functioning skills Students can work on executive functioning skills during lunch by planning ahead for what they will eat and how they will manage their time, organizing their lunch items, and monitoring their own behavior and emotions. For older students, giving them some freedom to spend their time after lunch as they choose is a great way to practice executive functioning skills. Using visual timers during lunch is a great way to work on time management. Problem-solving skills Lunchtime can present challenges for students with disabilities, such as dealing with food they don't like, managing social situations, or handling unexpected events. They can work on problem-solving skills by learning to identify problems, generate possible solutions, and choose the best course of action. Safety skills Lunchtime can also be a time when safety issues arise, such as choking, food allergies, or spills. You can target safety skills, such as chewing food thoroughly, being aware of allergies, and reporting safety concerns to an adult. Download the Lunch Time Targets Checklist & Assessment in the free resource library: By targeting specific functional skills during lunchtime, we can help students with disabilities to build independence, confidence, and social skills that will serve them well in other areas of their lives.

Classroom jobs are a great addition to your classroom community. They teach students responsibility and to care for their materials. Here are a few ideas for implementing classroom jobs effectively. Just a quick note before we dive into classroom jobs. One thing to remember when making classroom jobs a part of your routine is to avoid students with disabilities doing school-wide janitorial tasks. We don't want to portray students with disabilities this way, and we shouldn't expect them to complete tasks that are not required by their peers. There are special considerations, however, where this may be appropriate. For example, maybe a student has a janitorial career goal and a transition goal to align. Or perhaps a student is highly motivated by cleaning, and working with the janitor is a reinforcer. Daily Classroom Jobs Built Into Routines One option for classroom jobs is to build them directly into your classroom routines. When students come to school, part of their morning routine can be completing their daily classroom job. I loved doing this with my students because it gave them something to do when they came into the classroom daily. I had several classroom jobs that students rotated through weekly. Some of the morning jobs I had were to set up our lunch choice chart, plug in classroom technology and devices, change the date on the whiteboard or our letter board, change the question of the day, etc. You can also incorporate classroom jobs into your end-of-day routine. Look at your routines that are already in place and determine where you have some extra time to fill. Some years, I had students that needed to eat breakfast first thing in the morning, so we fit daily jobs into the end of the day routine instead. Weekly Classroom Jobs Another option for classroom jobs is to complete them weekly. Each week, students would be assigned a new classroom job, and on Friday afternoons, we would all participate in our classroom clean up before the weekend. I like to incorporate classroom jobs into our classroom economy system. Because our weekly jobs took more time and were above and beyond our typical daily jobs, I used punch cards to reinforce students when their job was complete. Once they earned en punches, they earned an additional $10 for the classroom store. Customizing Classroom Jobs You can easily customize your classroom jobs to address student skills or IEP goals. Here are a few different ways to do so. If you have a student who has a goal to complete a routine or follow a visual schedule, classroom jobs are a great time to address this goal. If you have a student working on social skills and greetings, consider having them do a job that requires them to interact with other school faculty. For example, delivering materials to the office, delivering mail, picking up teachers' recycle bins, etc. Some students struggle with a new job every week and need more time to master a skill. For some students, I assigned them the same job week after week, so they had the consistency and time to improve. These students also had more para support to complete their jobs. Change things until they work for your classroom and students. This may mean adjusting the schedule of classroom jobs, adding visuals or checklists, or assigning paras or peer tutors to assist individual students. Like most things in our classrooms, classroom jobs may look different from year to year, but they will be a valuable addition to your schedule!

We all need a quiet place to regulate from time to time. This is becoming even more important as our classrooms are full of students with behavior and mental health concerns. By designating a break space in your classroom, students can learn to step away to regulate their emotions or comfort themselves. It's essential to teach students how to use the break space, as well as coping skills and emotional regulation skills that they can use when they do need to step away from the chaos of the classroom. In addition, it's important that the break space in your classroom is not punitive. It's a positive, calm area that students can visit as needed. If you are looking for a way to teach students to self-regulate, here are five must-haves to create a calm and peaceful break space. Comfortable Seating You want your classroom break space to be comforting. One way to achieve this is by adding some comfortable seating options. You can use a bean bag, a floor mat, some floor pillows, or even some cozy chairs. Fidgets Many students need a tool to regulate their emotional or sensory needs. I like to have a fidget bin in my break area with a variety of different fidgets for students to use to help them calm down and be ready to return to class. Here are some of my favorites. Noise-Canceling Headphones I love to have a pair of noise-canceling headphones in our break space because often students are overwhelmed with sensory input and need to block it all out. This way, the headphones are available when needed and students can use them as a tool to help regulate their bodies. Emotional Regulation Posters or Breathing Posters Your classroom break space should include teaching tools, like posters or check-ins. Here are a few options that are available for free in the resource library. Emotions Books Books are an excellent tool to teach students self-regulation and coping skills. Here are some great options for your break space. Once you've got a designated space in your classroom, you'll want to explicitly teach students how to use it, including how to ask for a break, how to use the tools to calm down, and how to transition to the break space. I hope this helps you create a calming break space for your special education classroom!

As a new special education teacher, it takes a lot of time to collect and prep classroom activities for students at multiple levels. You want to make sure you have enough on hand to easily differentiate for students, and that you can quickly grab to minimize downtime. This new resource line was designed to help with this exact issue! Who has time to cut, laminate and Velcro dozens of work tasks before the school year starts? Not me! Easy Prep Clip Cards are a quick task that can be used with multiple students, and the best part is that they don't take nearly as much time to prep as task boxes, adapted books or file folder activities. Just laminate and cut them in half and you are ready to go. This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. Once you've got your Easy Prep Clip Cards prepped and ready to use, here are some fun ways to use them in the classroom. Clothespins or Paper Clips Using clothespins or even paper clips is great for fine motor development. Plus, you most likely have paper clips on hand, and clothespins are inexpensive and easy to find. Magnetic Chips & Magnet Wand I love finding ways to make school work more engaging, and I think using magnetic chips and a magnet wand does just that! Students can set a chip on each of the target pictures and then clear it with the magnet wand after checking with a teacher. Craft Pom Poms Using craft pom poms gives this task more sensory input for students that need it. Throw in a pair of tongs and you've got a great fine motor skill too! Playdough If you're feeling brave, bust out the playdough containers and let students smash playdough balls onto their Easy Prep Clip Cards to show their answers. Mini Erasers I can't stay away from the Target Dollar Spot mini erasers, and this is a perfect way to put them to use! Bingo Daubers You can use Bingo daubers on laminated paper and they will wipe off easily. These are another fun way to respond with Easy Prep Clip Cards. Hole Punch If you want to take this low-prep activity to an even easier level, just print the cards and have students use a hole punch to record their answers. No laminating required! Ready to try them out? Grab yourself a free set and see how well they work in your classroom! Leave a comment below and let me know how you've used Easy Prep Clip Cards in your classroom!

I have always loved a cactus classroom decor theme! There's just something about decorating with plants that creates a calm and cohesive classroom! If you're thinking of using a cactus theme to decorate your classroom, check out these cactus accents and decor items. These all go perfectly with the Golden Cactus Classroom Decor line in my TpT store. Check out my favorites! This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the qualifying links at no additional cost to you. Bulletin Board Trim I love pairing metallic golds with cacti! Such a beautiful combination! This cactus border is from Oriental Trading and it's my favorite cactus border out there! Bulletin Board Paper A black bulletin board background will make your golden cactus theme pop! I just love how it all comes together! Classroom Lights These fun cactus lights would look adorable on the top of your classroom whiteboard! Office Supplies The key to going with a patterned theme, like cactus, is making sure not to overdo it! This gold tape dispenser and stapler will look so good on your teacher's desk! Add these cactus shaped pen holders next to your golden stapler and you'll never want to leave your desk! Bulletin Board Push Pins Displaying student work has never been easier (or cuter!) I love these cactus push pins! Gold Storage Baskets These gold wire baskets are excellent for your classroom library! Classroom Pens These cactus pens are perfect for filling out your teacher planner or grading student work! They come in a set of 30 so if you wanted to get student gifts that tie into your classroom theme, these would work great! Looking for more? Here's my Golden Cactus Theme list with all of my favorites! Don't have an Amazon Prime membership yet? Try it out with a free 30-day trial. If you are looking for a one-stop classroom decor bundle that will last you for years and years, check out this Golden Cactus Decor Bundle in my store. This bundle has everything you will need for your classroom and so many of the items included are editable so you can customize them to fit your needs!

The last few months of the school year are always so busy. Transition meetings, ESY paperwork, progress reports...it feels like there is never enough time to get the paperwork done!!! Here are a few tips to stay on top of it all. 🖤 Set up a paperwork schedule. Set a designated time of the day and week you will focus on paperwork. I have a task list for each day of the week that I work on during my prep time. For example, reading group data on Fridays, peer tutor grades on Mondays, progress monitoring on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and so on. 🖤 Get a progress monitoring system in place. Stay on top of progress monitoring by completing monthly student averages every month and just plug the data into your progress report. I use this progress report to keep track of it all. 🖤 Plan for some extra prep time. If you know you have extra paperwork coming up (like ESY right now) plan a class period that your students can work independently or with a para so you can get it all done. Here are some low-prep seasonal activities that you can use for this! Spring Counting Boom Cards Spring Errorless Sentence Helpers Addition Uno (not seasonal but still fun!) 🖤 Reinforce yourself when you’re all caught up! Grab an iced coffee or sneak out a few minutes early on a Friday. You deserve it! Paperwork is a necessary part of the job, but it doesn’t have to take over your life! Comment below and let me know which of these tips you're going to try out this year.

Whenever I am called to help a teacher with a specific student or classroom management in general, one of my first questions is, "What can the student(s) do independently?" Why does this matter? Well, our number one goal as special education teachers is to increase student independence. We do this by explicitly teaching skills that our students need to increase access to the general education classroom and the community. Students with disabilities have so much potential, but too often and to no fault of their own, they are prompt-dependent and struggle with independent skills. With so many paraprofessionals and modifications built into our classrooms, sometimes we don't realize that we are doing students a disservice with our intensive support. So, how do we help our students increase their independence? One of the main strategies in my classroom was teaching students to work independently using work tasks. What are Work Tasks? Independent work tasks are what they sound like. Tasks that students can complete independently. Here's the key- these are skills that students have mastered. This is important because we need to ensure that we are not prompting or correcting, or it's not really independent, is it? There are many benefits to using independent work tasks, but I’ll dive into a few. First and foremost, our students need to learn independence. It’s essential for growth, challenging skills, and decreasing prompt dependency. Independent work tasks also give students the space to review previous skills and increase their confidence. Plus, since you have a student working independently, you can free up a paraprofessional and get extra help with other classroom tasks. How do I get started using Work Tasks? Instead of having every student work on centers or independent work at one time, select one or two students to complete independent work. Start by setting a timer for 5-10 minutes, and slowly increase the amount of time students spend working. You may have students that need to start with an adult next to them, but make sure to slowly fade the adult out as the student increases their ability to work independently. This can be as easy as moving the chair further away from the student. It's also important to set clear expectations for how independent work functions. Students should have a location to place the task when they are finished. It's also important NOT to reset the work in front of the student because it devalues their effort. To get started, identify which students you have that can work the most independently. Select the level of work tasks that you want them to use and prep them. Here are my must-have prep supplies. How often should I change out Work Tasks? I have done this in different ways, depending on the year. First, I change all the tasks out monthly. I store them in a large bin and transfer them to the task card cases when I put them out each month to save space. Some years, I just had students grab any task from the shelf that was an appropriate level for them. Other years, I used plastic shoe boxes and placed 4-5 tasks for the week inside. Students would grab their boxes and do the same tasks for the week, and then we would switch them out for the next week. Another option that I have used is a visual schedule of tasks, like I shared in this post. How you incorporate work tasks into your schedule will depend on what works for you and your students. How do I store Work Tasks? I love to use photo boxes and pencil pouches to store work tasks. You can also buy mesh zipper pouches in different sizes, which also works great. I was able to snag this bookshelf from the librarian for free, and I kept all of my work tasks for the month on it sorted by level. Inside each box or pouch, I placed the cards and a small baggie that contained the pieces. I didn't want students to waste time separating the pieces from the cards, so this was a good system for us. If you're ready to get started with work tasks, I have a free sample for you!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I attend a LOT of IEP meetings as part of my role as a special education coordinator. I am one of those weird special educators that love IEPs. Anyone else? Whether you like them or not, it's part of the job, and being able to put together a well-structured IEP and run a good meeting takes some practice. One of the most important and most often rejected parts of the IEP is the Present Levels section. You may call it a PLAAFP or a PLOP, or even a PLEP, but it all means the same thing. This is the guiding force behind the IEP. If I pick up your student's IEP and read the Present Levels, I should know exactly what the student can do and where the student is still struggling and clearly understand why you wrote these goals. A well-written Present Levels section of an IEP should explain exactly why a student receives special education services. It should guide the IEP goals and service pattern. The Present Levels section must include the following components: 1. Student strengths (current data) 2. Student weaknesses (current data) 3. The student's academic, developmental and functional needs 4. How the student's disability impacts their access to general education Here are a few quick tips for improving the Present Levels section of your IEPs. Make sure your PLAAFP is clear enough that if the student transferred to another school, there would be enough information to describe the student's needs just from reading the PLAAFP. Use measurable terms. There should be nothing subjective in your PLAAFP. Give me the data! Stay neutral. Make sure your statements about student weaknesses are stated in a neutral/positive way. Include current baseline data from multiple sources, including curriculum-based assessments, observations, parent concerns, and information from other educators that work directly with the student. Don't just change the numbers from the student's present levels last year. Remember, an IEP is to provide access to the general education curriculum, and those standards differ in each grade level. Address the whole student, not just their ability in one specific, narrow skill. For example, your PLAAFP should never just be one sentence on how a student can solve addition with 40% accuracy. How did you get here? The PLAAFP should address any areas of need that a student has. The next time you IEP and want to quickly throw together a PLAAFP so you can focus on the goals, I encourage you to pause and really think about the student's present levels. A poorly written PLAAFP will often cause you to set the starting point for a student to high or too low, but a well-written, thoroughly addressed PLAAFP will help you to develop appropriate goals and objectives.

We know compliance is crucial in our jobs as special educators, but let's be honest. Keeping up with IEP deadlines and paperwork on top of the other teaching requirements can be challenging. You need a system if you want to make sure you don't miss an IEP! Here's how to get organized with your IEP deadlines. You'll want to follow these steps in your planner, Google calendar, or whatever system you use. 1. Add all meeting due dates. Use the IEP Due Dates Calendar to write out your annual IEP meeting due dates and re-evaluations. Then, add these dates to your planner. 2. Add reminders to schedule meetings. For each meeting, go back a few weeks to one month and write in a reminder to schedule. I ask my teachers to schedule IEP meetings with me one month in advance because my schedule fills up fast, so this is one way to make sure you have all the required team members at the meetings. You may have a specific deadline in your district for scheduling meetings, so make sure you follow district requirements. 3. Write reminders to send home drafts and necessary paperwork. One week before the meeting, write in a reminder to send home a draft of the IEP goals. This is so important for parent input and preparedness. Just make sure to add a DRAFT watermark! You can also use this reminder to send home your Prior Written Noteice. Once you get a system in place for staying on top of all the meeting deadlines, you'll feel much better about managing everything! Don't forget to download your FREE IEP Due Dates Calendar. It includes a printable version and a digital version. You've got this!

In my years of teaching middle school, I've tried many different things to start the day. This routine was so effective in getting my students going in the morning without overwhelming them with high task demands. It was a great way to start the day with success and build independence! First, I set up three stations- 1) morning work, 2) movement, and 3) work boxes. Students spend 5-10 minutes at each station, depending on the available time. Station 1: Morning work So, I scrapped the instruction aspect of my morning meeting/ calendar time. No more "listening" to me talk about the date or the weather. Instead, my students set up their schedules for the day, write the full and short date, answer a question using a complete sentence (or 2 depending on level) and complete their morning work, which consists of a packet of personal information worksheets and forms. I switch it up occasionally so they can also learn to generalize and fill out different types of forms. Station 2: Movement This is my favorite one! Students participate in movement activities, like yoga or stretching. It's great motor practice, and it helps wake up their bodies and minds. Station 3: Independent Work Boxes Each student has a plastic shoebox with activities related to our monthly theme or unit at their instructional level. For example, if we are doing a functional unit on warning and safety signs, they have matching tasks, file folders, or adapted books teaching about warning & safety signs. Students grab their boxes, find a place to work, and independently complete the activity in their boxes. They are required to check in with a teacher before cleaning up. I switch out activities each month and add more as needed. I let students work wherever they want, as long as they can stay on task where they are working. It's so easy to differentiate and provide meaningful learning tasks on their level. This new routine has been a great way to help us all wake up, warm up and get working independently. We ease into the day, and they don't have to listen to me talk. It also gives me the opportunity to wander around and check in with each student, which helps us build relationships and rapport.

Story Based Literacy is my favorite way to incorporate access to grade-level text and literacy standards! It's a fun, hands-on approach to teaching comprehension and vocabulary. Unfortunately, there's no curriculum out there that we can purchase and use, so it's up to special education teachers to create their own units. Here are the steps I follow when planning & creating a Story Based Literacy unit. Choose a book. I generally try to stick to a 4th-5th grade reading level. Anything below that can be a little too "young" for my middle schoolers. I've found that this is the sweet spot to keep them engaged and be able to comprehend the story. I also always pick a book that has a movie that goes with it. This is really helpful for comprehension. If possible, find a book with a movie that is closely aligned. Once, we tried to do "Mr. Popper's Penguins," and the movie is so different than the book that it was a disaster. I've also learned that as much as I love fantasy books, they often add a layer of difficulty because of the made-up vocabulary or the complex fantasy world. Not only do students have to understand the text, but they also have to be able to visualize this complex world that is very abstract. So as much fun as it is to read "Harry Potter" or "The Lightning Thief" or "BFG" my students have been a lot less successful in the years that we've read those books. Identify Story Elements. After you've decided on your book (and read it), begin by identifying all of the characters and settings. I create visuals for all of these. If there is a movie that goes with your book, it can be fun to use images of the actors as your visuals. Create an interactive notebook. I create an interactive notebook with a section for characters and setting, chapter vocabulary, and each chapter's summary. We complete these as we read each chapter, and then the students can take them home at the end of the unit. Start working on chapter content. Next, I start working on the content, chapter by chapter. For each chapter, I do the following: 1. Break down the chapter plot into 4-5 events. I create plot cards that we can sequence after reading. 2. Pick 2-4 vocabulary words per chapter that reappear throughout the text or are words that your students will be able to use in their daily life. I create vocabulary cards for these words with a visual. 3. Write 10-15 comprehension questions per chapter. I usually do 2 levels of questions- one set is very explicit and the other set is higher-order thinking questions. You can do a quick Bloom's Taxonomy search to learn more about higher-order thinking. It's much easier to ensure that your comprehension questions target the skills you are wanting to teach if you write them out ahead of time. 4. Create a chapter communication board. I always include the characters and setting of the chapter, some basic core vocabulary, the chapter vocabulary words, and some key details from the chapter (these can be answers to your first set of comprehension questions). You may want to vary the size of your boards depending on your students and their levels. 5. Write a repeated line for each chapter. This is basically the main idea of the chapter in one sentence. 6. Write a chapter summary and find a picture that aligns. Sometimes, we write our own summaries, and sometimes we cut and paste the ones I've written. I also give my students the choice to draw their own pictures or color the picture that I have. 7. This is optional, but depending on the level of my students each year, I will create vocabulary worksheets or matching tasks. I like to create several levels so all of my students can participate- matching picture to picture, matching picture to word, and fill in the blank sentences. 8. Create chapter activities if you'd like to. I love to incorporate other subject areas into our SBL lessons weekly. For Winn Dixie, we wrote party invitations, made egg salad and Dump punch, and planted "Wait and See" seeds. For Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, we used shrink art to shrink Mike Teavee, did a science experiment to increase the size of gummy bears (like Violet blowing up into a blueberry), and learned about budgeting with a candy shop budgeting activity. Prep your unit. And finally, print and prep your unit, and start teaching! This can be a time-consuming process, so if possible, involve your paras (and your spouse or your children). Grab the free SBL How To Guide here. Creating a Story Based Literacy unit is time-consuming but so worth it! If you want to skip all the planning and prep time, I have the following units available in my store. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory The One & Only Ivan (Coming Soon!) Questions about Story Based Literacy? Let's chat! Feel free to reach out to me via email or on Instagram.

Reading, writing and thinking are some of the most functional skills a student can leave school with. Think about all the opportunities you have to write each day: adding an event to your calendar texting your friend or significant other writing a grocery list sending an email to your employer leaving a note for your roommate filling out a form doing a google search for something online writing in your journal and so on... Writing is an essential skill to be successful in life. As teachers, we need to ensure that writing is a core skill we teach in our classrooms, whether we are general education teachers, resource teachers, SLPs, or special education teachers. All students need to be able to write. Here are three quick ways that you can encourage students to write every day in your special education classroom. 1. Daily journal prompt I love journal prompts because they can be informal. It's easy to pick topics that are motivating and exciting for your students. There's no length requirement, you're not obsessing over grammar and mechanics, and students are able to write what they want. A daily journal prompt is a great self-start or bell work activity. Even your students who are emergent writers can participate with the use of picture supports, drawing, alternative pencils, or scribed writing. To make it more engaging, I like to introduce the prompt with a short video or picture. 2. About my day home school communication What parent doesn't want to hear more about what their child did in school that day? For our students with more significant disabilities, that communication can be limited. A great way to work on writing in your classroom is for students to complete a daily school-to-home communication sheet. You can create a simple communication sheet and include as much or as little as you'd like. I liked to include space for students to write a sentence about one thing they did that day, what they ate for lunch, and something they are working on (goal setting). We took a few minutes at the end of each day to fill these out. For students who need to write less, you can incorporate visual choices for them to circle or mark on their papers. 3. Independent writing station I loved having an independent writing station in my classroom because it was a way to work on two skills simultaneously- independent work skills and writing. Provide a variety of writing tasks that students can choose from. Ideally, you will pair this station with explicit writing instruction, but even if you're not there yet, you can get started with an independent writing station. The key is having a variety of differentiated tasks. Some examples of tasks include writing basic sentences, paragraphs, lists, stories, notes or cards, or even emails. You can even provide tasks to match your curriculum themes or seasonal events. Here's an example of my resource, Let's Write a List. It provides multiple levels for students to work on list writing in a station format. This is a great task to incorporate into your independent writing station. You can try it out with this freebie. Another task I love to use during our independent writing station is Errorless Sentence Helpers. They come in three phases, so you can easily differentiate for various students. If you want to try them out, I have a few free versions in my store and an exclusive freebie in the resource library. Teachers, I challenge you to spend the next week trying to incorporate at least one writing activity daily. I'd love to hear how it goes! Leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @missluluspecialed. Happy writing!