8 Ways to Use Binders in Your Classroom

As many of you are aware, I am obsessed with using binders in my classroom.  Today, I thought it would be fun to do a round up of all the different uses for binders.  As many of you are getting ready to go back to school, you may be looking for some new organization systems or work stations to set up in your classroom.  And this time of year is the best to purchase binders for discounted prices.

I used binders for a variety of different work tasks, student schedules, as well as storage and organization.  I included some pictures throughout the post, but please feel free to click on links throughout the post to get additional information/pictures of what is included in each of these binders.

My Day At School

Do your students' parents want to know what they did at school today?  Do you want to help facilitate more conversations between your students and their families at home?  For many of our students with autism, communicating about their day is difficult.  And if parents don't know what happened at school each day, they don't really know what to ask their child besides "'How was your day today?"  "What did you do today?"  These type of open ended questions are so hard for many students with autism to answer.  If you send home a daily sheet so parents know what activities their child completed, they can ask them questions like "Did you have speech today?" "What did you make in cooking?"  These questions are more narrow in focus and can make it easier for students to answer.

I know, I know, having to write a summary each day for every student can be time consuming and hard to keep up with.  I often liked to communicate special activities with parents through sending home monthly newsletters, monthly calendars of special events, and sending text messages with pictures/info about my students' days.  The other way I communicated with parents, was through sending home these daily "My day at school" sheets.  To save time and energy on the adults' parts, I had my students fill these out for themselves!  What a great way to work on answering questions, increasing the ability to reflect on past events, as well as increasing independence.

As your school year is starting up, why not incorporate some time into the end of every day (15 minutes should do the trick) where you work on teaching your students how to fill this sheet out for themselves.

TPT Sale and a NEW PRODUCT

Time for the BEST YEAR EVER Sale on TPT!  I, personally, feel like it is a little early to think about Back To School (I'm enjoying summer too much!), but we might as well take this opportunity to stock up for the upcoming school year!  A little confession time...I may have stayed up until midnight last night, just so I could buy some materials as soon as the sale started...

Just enter BestYear at checkout and you will receive 28% off all of the products in my TPT Store!

And what better way to celebrate a sale, but with posting a new product!  I have been working on these Beginning Reader Center Activities for a long time and I am so excited to finally have it posted on TPT yesterday!  It is over 400 pages and can last you the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR!  Most importantly, it is on sale for 50% off today only!

This product is great for students who have recently mastered letter identification. If they are still working on letters, think about checking out my letter identification worksheets and letter assessments and activities.

Once letters are mastered, our students are ready to begin reading and spelling!  For many students in special ed, typical sight words (I, but, the) are not the place to start. Instead, I like to start with functional words that have more meaning and make reading more motivating and fun for my students. 

This product can be used to work on reading, spelling, or both!. This product can be used with the pre-made word lists, your own word lists, or a combination of both! 

The activities and assessments included are good for beginning writers, although accommodations can easily be made to most activities for non-writers. Students do not need to be verbal to utilize this product.

This product includes:

*30 Weekly word lists for student use as well as a blank list for your own word lists.

*30 Weekly word lists for Parent involvement and blank parent lists.

*4 Parent letters with different ideas for implementation at home (plus a blank version for you to add your own suggestions)

*9 Center Activity Mats and accompanying materials

-Write your words 3x

-Build your words with letter tiles (tiles included)

-Stamp your words

-Word Bingo (using current and mastered words)

-Write your words in rainbow colors

-Type your words

-Match words to pictures blank activity mat (and all words/pictures provided).  This can be used as a cut/paste activity for students to complete or you can laminate/pre-assemble each set.

-Make your words out of play-doh (blank mat as well as pre-made play-doh mats for all 150 words)

-150 Worksheets (one for each word covering color in the word and picture, trace the word, write the word, fill in the missing letters, identify and circle the word)

*Weekly reading/spelling assessment for students

*3 Types of data sheets for progress monitoring throughout the school year

*Flash cards for easy assessment

*Picture labels for all materials

*Schedule templates and visuals for reading center schedule

*Implementation Ideas and Tips including photos of how this product is utilized in my classroom

This is a great product for a station run by paraprofessionals or for students to complete independently.  Let me know your thoughts...if you would like anything added, if you would prefer me to sell any of these activities as separates, etc.   Happy Shopping!

Mini-Series: Strategies to PREVENT Elopement #3

No....this mini series isn't about getting married....in the special ed world, we know that elopement is just a fancy word for running away.  This is one of the most challenging behaviors to deal with in a school setting as it is disruptive and can be very dangerous.  As a consultant in a school district, this is one of the most common issues I get called in to help with.  As some of you may already know from reading my blog, I do not like to be put in a position where I have to be re-active on the fly to challenging behavior.  I would rather PREVENT the behavior from occurring in the first place...and then if the behavior still occurs (which it most likely will), I want a specific plan laid out so everyone in my classroom knows what to do.  This mini series of posts will cover identifying function/replacement behavior for elopement, simple to implement prevention strategies, and creating a safety plan.

Even with all of your hard work in identifying the function of the behavior, teaching a replacement behavior, and putting tons of preventative strategies into place,  elopement will most likely still continue to occur for a little while (sorry...old habits are hard to break!).  And when it does happen, everyone in your classroom will feel better if there is a plan in place.  There are 2 parts of an elopement plan that need to be thought about...one is for less dangerous forms of elopement and would include all of the elements of a behavior intervention plan.  And the other is an actual safety plan where you will lay out what to do in emergency situations.

Mini-Series: Strategies to PREVENT Elopement #2

No....this mini series isn't about getting married....in the special ed world, we know that elopement is just a fancy word for running away.  This is one of the most challenging behaviors to deal with in a school setting as it is disruptive and can be very dangerous.  As a consultant in a school district, this is one of the most common issues I get called in to help with.  As some of you may already know from reading my blog, I do not like to be put in a position where I have to be re-active on the fly to challenging behavior.  I would rather PREVENT the behavior from occurring in the first place...and then if the behavior still occurs (which it most likely will), I want a specific plan laid out so everyone in my classroom knows what to do.  This mini series of posts will cover identifying function/replacement behavior for elopement, simple to implement prevention strategies, and creating a safety plan.

As we discussed in my last post, identifying the function of the behavior and teaching a replacement behavior are key ways to reduce elopement, but today we will talk about some simple strategies you can implement to prevent the behavior from occurring in the first place.

Mini-Series: Strategies to PREVENT Elopement #1

No....this mini series isn't about getting married....in the special ed world, we know that elopement is just a fancy word for running away.  This is one of the most challenging behaviors to deal with in a school setting as it is disruptive and can be very dangerous.  As a consultant in a school district, this is one of the most common issues I get called in to help with.  As some of you may already know from reading my blog, I do not like to be put in a position where I have to be re-active on the fly to challenging behavior.  I would rather PREVENT the behavior from occurring in the first place...and then if the behavior still occurs (which it most likely will), I want a specific plan laid out so everyone in my classroom knows what to do.  This mini series of posts will cover identifying function/replacement behavior for elopement, simple to implement prevention strategies, and creating a safety plan.

As with any other challenging behavior, the first thing we need to think about before we can prevent the behavior from occurring is, What is the function?  In order to figure this out, we can look at antecedents and consequence (what is happening before and after the behavior occurs).  You can use an ABC chart such as the one below to take this type of data.

Animal Habitat Book

In one of my last posts, I wrote all about my love for Adapted Books and how they helped transform literacy in my classroom by motivating and engaging my students.  Today, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite adapted books about Animal Habitats.  The books covers habitats such as a farm, ocean, rain forest, bee hive, nest, desert and house.

10 Task boxes for Under $15: Target Dollar Spot Finds

Ok you guys...so besides the dollar tree, binders, laminating, data, and preventing problem behaviors....my other love is THE TARGET DOLLAR SPOT!  I had found some awesome materials that would be great to make task boxes or use for direct instruction back in January and now they are back...and they added even more!

Although I was overwhelmed with seeing the back to school section in the seasonal area of my local target,  I was thrilled with my dollar spot finds.

Adapted Book Resources

Gearing up to teach literacy skills to students across varying ability levels can be extremely difficult. Why not use a type of text that can be beneficial for students who have wide variety of literacy skills?....enter Adapted Books.  There are lots of ways you can "adapt a book."  You can do things to make the book physically easier to manipulate (like adding page fluffers), easier to read (modifying the text on each page, adding Braille, etc), or you can make them an interactive experience! This last point is typically what I mean when I say "adapted book."  I have found adaptive books extremely helpful in keeping my students engaged and motivated to complete literacy activities!  Depending on their level, students can work on concepts such as matching, identifying vocabulary, comprehension, as well as sight words and fluency. The goal of today's post is to give you some quick and easy ideas/resources for creating your own adapted books as well as where to find some great pre-made resources.

Adapt Pre-Made Books:
My first year of teaching, I found using adapted books a life saver!  I started with books that were already in my classroom  (i.e. "Brown Bear" by Eric Carle) and just found pictures (thank you google image and Boardmaker) of items on each page.  I would pass out the pictures to a small group of students and when we got to "their page," they would velcro their picture into the book.  Having pictures in their hands as we read kept their little hands occupied.  In order to know when it was their turn to stick their picture in the book, students had to pay attention to each page which helped keep them engaged throughout the entire story.  For more advanced readers, these books were also at our "quiet reading" station.  Students could read the words with story as well as velcro in the pictures as they read.  At one point, I also had a listening station with adapted books where students would listen to the books being read to them and velcro in the pictures as they went.

Teaching Cooking in the Classroom

Cooking was the key to my students' hearts from the very start.  Back in my first year of teaching, we used to cook every single week...sometimes multiple times a week.  Sure, I spent a lot of my own money buying materials, but when I had a group of students who could not sit together for longer than 1 minute for any typical "academic" task, I had to explore creative options to teach them in a way that was motivating!  Today's post is meant to describe not only some of the skills you can target during a cooking lesson, but also to give you a variety of ideas/resources for implementing cooking in your classroom.

Skills to Target During Cooking Lessons

We used cooking activities to practice COMMUNICATION.  I created communication boards so my students could request the necessary ingredients and supplies to complete the recipes.

Happy Holidays (Freebie!)

Hello again and happy holidays!  It has been some time since I posted.  Ever since re-locating a year and a half ago, I have struggled to keep up a regular posting schedule.  On the bright side, I have been taking a lot of time to spend with my family and to take care of myself.  We recently bought a house (!!) which is keeping me busy and both my husband and I started new jobs (for the second time since moving).  We are still trying to train our little stinker of a dog to sit, stay, and shake, but she is making steady progress (I haven't resorted to taking/charting data on her behavior quite yet!).

Back To School Ebook!

I am SUPER EXCITED for today's blog post!  A bunch of us (25 to be exact) Special Ed bloggers have been cooking up an awesome Back To School Ebook full of TIPS and FREEBIES for you guys as some of you start to think about the upcoming school year!  

For new teachers or veteran teachers, the tips alone are worth the download...I know I got a lot of great ideas from reading others' suggestions!  This is also an awesome way to find some new bloggers to follow on whatever your favorite social media platform is....Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or all of the above!  So click on the image below for your copy of the Back to School Ebook...

My freebies include my back to school forms and back to school visual rules!

The other best way to celebrate the back to school season is with a giveaway.  I will be giving away a $40 gift card to my store for one lucky winner!  Enter below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out all of the blogs included in this event as there are many giveaways going on as well by clicking on the link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Special Ed Blogger Giveaway!

Happy month of LOVE!  In order to show my appreciation for all of you fabulous people reading my blog today, I have teamed up with some of my favorite special ed bloggers to offer you freebies every day this month!  Today, it's my turn!!  

Today on my TPT store (all day....or from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed), I will be offering my Spring and St Patrick's Day Stories (with comprehension worksheets) for FREE.  I mean, it's almost St. Patrick's Day....and hopefully spring is coming? soon? please? 

I love using these stories to help prepare my kiddos for seasonal changes and holidays!  And the comprehension worksheets are a great way to check on your students' understanding of the stories!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!  

Make sure to check out all the other amazing bloggers doing giveaways the rest of the month! 

 Special ed bloggers are sharing the love this February!   Click on any of the days below to be redirected to the blog listed to see what type of giveaways are going on!

Amazing Valentine Blog Hop-All Month Long

 Special ed bloggers are sharing the love this February!



 Every day in February, you can have a chance to get a FREEBIE from one of the amazing special ed blogs shown above!  Just click on the day, and you will be directed to the blog where you can claim your freebie!  Hope you enjoy!

Adapted Books Starring Your Students

As a special education teacher, I am always looking for ways to make learning engaging for my students.  If work can be motivating for students to complete, we may be able to teach them something, while also preventing problem behaviors (especially escape-maintained  behaviors) from occurring. 

One way that I have found to engage students is when you involve them in their own learning.  When I first started out teaching, I used to create little books that had pictures of my students or photos from field trips we went on.  These books used simple language and were very repetitive so as to make it easy for my beginning readers.  Each book also had an adapted component, where the kids had to velcro something (picture or word) into the book.  These were used during reading groups or as independent work and my kids loved them.

This book featured our trip to the zoo.  Each page has a picture of an animal we saw on our field trip...many of the pages had pictures of the kids posing by the animals as well.  The kids are responsible for filling in the correct word on each page.

Task Box Tuesday (Sorting by Class) and a FREEBIE

At my new job, I have been in the process of setting up a task box system for a couple weeks now.  In my old classroom, it was so easy because I was always hoarding collecting items to make up new task boxes.  In my new job, I did a little digging in a storage room full of unused toys, but struggled to find enough containers/items to create more than a couple new tasks.  

So...what to do?  Of course I took a massive trip to The Dollar Tree...and I now know the stock well enough in these stores, that when I can't find something I am looking for at one, I hop on over to the next.  Sure enough...2 Dollar Tree visits and $75 later, I have enough containers and materials to put together all of my task boxes!  I am still working on putting the finishing touches on everything and getting it ready for the kiddos/staff to use, but figured I could start by sharing one of my favorite task boxes I created and of course the FREEBIE for you to use to create this yourself.

I bought a $1 muffin tin at the dollar tree, then made the following labels (food, animals, plants, people, vehicle, and sports) and taped them into the bottom of each compartment of the muffin tin.  

Then I laminated pictures of items from each of these classes.  During the task, kids sort the pictures by class into the compartments of the muffin tin.  I like this task because it involves NO velcro, which makes it much easier and quicker to put together.

Click here to get the labels and pictures (all you need is the muffin tin) to create this task!

Sorting "Expected" vs. "Unexpected" Behavior Pictures

If you know my philosophy on teaching my kiddos about appropriate behavior, you would know that I think it is fine to categorize behavior as "good" and "bad" when teaching kids with autism.  However, I know this is up for debate with many people.  This is simply my own opinion...when working with kids with lower language skills, I find this concept is easier to latch onto than using more subjective terms.  With that being said, at my new job, the terms of choice are "expected" and "unexpected" behavior.  So, I am trying something new and seeing how it works...I'll keep you posted if I change my mind. ☺ 

Anyways, during our social skills group, one of my staff members did this great sorting activity.  She verbally gave a scenario or explanation of the picture and had the kids sort pictures of expected and unexpected behavior onto 2 different color pieces of paper.  I love sorting activities because I think this is extremely beneficial for kids with autism, most of whom are very visual learners.  I have made these visuals available for FREE here in case you are interested in re-creating this activity in your classroom....I did not make include any terms for behavior...so you can call it whatever you want good/bad, appropriate/inappropriate, expected/unexpected ☺  NowI am curious...what are your terms of choice? 

Belated Holiday Craft Ideas

Happy Holidays (a couple weeks late!!)  Well, even though the holidays are over, I though I would share these cute crafts we did this December.  If you like them, you can always put them on your to-do list for next year :-)

Co-Teaching in an Autism Classroom: Planning

Throughout this miniseries, I really wanted to share with you one of the best things I ever did as a teacher: Co-Teaching.  Co-Teaching with one of my colleagues best friends was almost always the highlight of my day.  I learned so much from her, and I truly believe that the two of us working together helped our kids make more progress than either one of us could have done alone.


Co-teaching is not something I started with in my first year of teaching...I waited until I was a few years in before taking on this project.  Since our co-teaching set-up is quite complex and involves a decent amount of prep work, I am going to take the next few days to bring you through the nitty gritty of co-teaching in an autism classroom.

Today is the final day of my miniseries on co-teaching. Please feel free to click on any of the links below to read more about what goes into setting up Co-Teaching in your own classroom.

1.  What is Co-Teaching in an Autism Classroom?

2.  Reasons Why to Co-Teach

3. Qualities Needed in Co-Teaching

4.  Topics to Co-Teach

5.  Grouping in Co-Teaching

6.  How to Schedule Co-Teaching

7.  How to Plan for Co-Teaching

Co-Teaching in an Autism Classroom: Scheduling

Throughout this miniseries of posts, I really want to share with you one of the best things I ever did as a teacher: Co-Teaching.  Co-Teaching with one of my colleagues best friends was almost always the highlight of my day.  I learned so much from her, and I truly believe that the two of us working together helped our kids make more progress than either one of us could have done alone.


Co-teaching is not something I started with in my first year of teaching...I waited until I was a few years in before taking on this project.  Since our co-teaching set-up is quite complex and involves a decent amount of prep work, I am going to take the next few days to bring you through the nitty gritty of co-teaching in an autism classroom.

 
We will cover:

1.  What is Co-Teaching in an Autism Classroom?

2.  Reasons Why to Co-Teach

3. Qualities Needed in Co-Teaching

4.  Topics to Co-Teach

5.  Grouping in Co-Teaching

6.  How to Schedule Co-Teaching

7.  How to Plan for Co-Teaching