Archive for category: Uncategorized

A new look at a back to school favorite: The Kissing Hand

August 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, has been a long time favorite story to use for back to school. Especially for our younger students who deal with separation anxiety, often for the first time, this story helps teachers talk with students about their feelings. I loved using this story. But, in a special education classroom, we often have students who are with us for many years and were not as excited to hear this story by year 3. Sometimes, even the best stories can get stale. So, I wanted to share with you a new approach to this favorite story.

At the end of this post, be sure to download the free sorting activity add a new twist to this back to school story.

As our students come back to school, they are faced with many changes. Our students with social and emotional challenges can often find these changes more challenging than other students do. That brings me to the first new way to look at this story:

Dealing with Change

The bravery of this little raccoon is the perfect way to address constructive ways students can deal with change and the emotions that come with it. Of course social stories are a natural fit, but also adding related activities to explore further ways students can deal with the stress are also important.

Pull out the resources you may already have on dealing with change, and work them into your literacy lessons focused on The Kissing Hand. Social stories, circle maps, sorting appropriate and less appropriate ways to deal with your emotions, and power cards are all great ways to teach students on how to deal with change. (To read more about using power cards, visit my blog post on how to use them HERE.)

A Nonfiction Study

I know it is the doctor (veterinarian) in me, but I love exposing students to nonfiction studies on different animals. That is why I chose to put together a short unit on raccoons to use with this story. Often, our students have an easier time comprehending nonfiction content.

Raccoons actually play an important role in our ecosystem. They are masters at adapting to the extreme changes humans make to the environment. Due to the fear of rabies, raccoons have earned a reputation of a potential hazard. Although they certainly can carry this disease, it is not nearly as common as people fear. More often than not when a raccoon gets too close to a home or populated area (like a campground,) they are simply foraging for food.

If you do not want to take the time to put together an entire unit on raccoons, look for some National Geographic or other wildlife magazines that feature raccoons. In the past, I have even just quickly printed out some google images to pass around and share with the students.

If you would like to grab this sorting activity I created to go with my Kissing Hand unit, click the button below. It contains photos of real animals, some of which are raccoons and some that are not. There are also some great suggestions for differentiating this activity even more if needed.

Free raccoon/no raccoon sorting activity — ***Click the button below***

I hope this has inspired you to breathe new life into an old favorite. Yes, I still made the heart in the hand craft every year. But, these additions made the story seem new and fresh to my students who had been with my for a few years.

If you would like to check out my entire unit on the Kissing Hand. CLICK HERE

How to teach spelling in special education

Teaching spelling in a self-contained classroom

July 29, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Teaching students to spell in a classroom that often contains multiple grade levels and multiple learning levels can be a challenge. You have some students who are non-readers, some who are just emerging with their reading skills, and then you may have a few who read at a level that is just 1-2 years behind. It can really be a challenge to take one resource and make it fit for everyone. Let me share how I envision this happening.

At the end of this post, you can download a COMPLETE spelling unit for FREE.

For your non-readers

There are a lot of activities you can do with the activities that come in many spelling units that will work for your non-readers.

You can make any activity into an identical matching task by simply making 2 copies. So, if the purpose was to sort -ack vs -ap words, these students can take one copy, cut out the sorting pictures and match them on the second copy.

Sorting task turned into a identical matching task in a spelling unit.

You can also use color coding to provide that additional level of visual structure your non-readers need to complete the activity independently. When doing a word-picture match activity, outline the word (or box) and matching picture the same color. That way, the task becomes a color matching task using the same materials the other students are using.

Adding color coding to a word to picture matching task from spelling unit.

Finally, make the activity errorless. This is something I have come to realize many teachers have come to expect and appreciate and now comes in many of my units. For the circle map displaying -ack words, only give students correct answers to choose from to place in the circle map. If you use my units, I provide this as a choice, so there is no need to eliminate wrong answers. Simply choose the errorless version for those students who need it.

For your emerging readers

Well, this one is easy. This is the group of students who are the target for this type of unit. These are all the activities you will find in this unit, perfect for your emerging readers:

Circle map
Sorting activity
Photo-picture matching
Word-word matching
Word-picture matching
Circle the correct spelling
Fill in the missing letters
Choose the best work to finish the sentence
Writing prompt
Quiz

For your more advanced readers

This group of students are usually beyond the easy spelling lists and units that other students are using (or so you may think). But, you can use the same list and create some extension activities to build more skills using the same resource.

Here are some activities you can do with your more advanced students:

Go through magazines to make a collage describing the word, synonyms, and maybe even antonyms
Have then make a small dictionary for each list (either let them look up words on the computer and copy definitions, or you could type them up and let them cut and paste them
Use the words in a novel sentence
Remove the picture choices from the activities, so students have to come up with on their own:
- words to complete the circle map
- sorting words
- words for picture matching

If you visit my Free Resource Library (click here), you will be able to download some extension activities for the unit below that is perfect those more advanced students.

(Don’t have the password? Click here to sign up)

Ready to start spelling with your students? Grab this complete spelling unit on -at words for free. Just click the button below.

The First Men on the Moon

July 22, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

This weekend as I was trying to decide what to add to my free resource library, I was watching all the coverage on the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. So, I knew I wanted to do something to honor those brave men, and give students in a special education setting the ability to connect with this historical event.

So, I sat down and did some research and wrote a short story about this special moment in history that I thought students with significant challenges could understand and appreciate. You can see a video preview below and download the book for free.

This brings me to the topic for this particular blog post. I want to share how I go about writing the books that go with my units, and is the same method I used for writing this book on the Apollo 11 landing. That way, you too, can write your own stories to supplement your lessons and content this year.

1. Do research

This is always my first step. Even when I feel I know the content fairly well, I like to do some research. I spend a few hours, or even an entire day, searching and reading about the topic. I like to add the qualifier “for kids” when I am doing google searches. For example, if I am researching about evolution (my current project), I would use the search terms, “evolution facts for kids.” That way, I tend to get back results that highlight the most important things to know in simple terms.

Once I have combed through all those results, I like to do some reading without the “for kids” qualifier. I find it helps me get a deeper understanding of the material. I may not use much of this content in the finished product, but it is important for me to truly comprehend the content.

The very last thing I like to do is watch some YouTube videos if I can find them. When I was in the classroom, I did this to help me find some appropriate ones to show the students. Now that I am no longer in the classroom, I still search and watch them because I find it is just one more way for me to assimilate all the information. If I can watch a video and feel like, “oh, yeah I totally get this,” then I know I have researched the topic enough.

2. Take notes

So, as I am researching, I am taking TONS of notes. I am a paper and pen person. I have my favorite pen and yellow legal pad that gets me inspired and ready to tackle even the toughest subject.

When I say I take a lot of notes, I mean A LOT. I paraphrase and rewrite things in my own words that I know will work with my students. I am taking notes on the main points and supporting details. Honestly, much of what I write, I don’t always use. But I like to have a lot of material to choose from and reference while writing.

You may also notice that I highlight certain words. I like to create vocabulary lists to go with the books I write. So as I am taking notes, I am highlighting any words I think are 1) important to the content and 2) may be unfamiliar to the students.

3. Write the story

I know this may be intimidating for many people, but this is my favorite part of the entire unit. The beauty of doing so much research, is that the information gets totally saturated in my brain. So, when I sit down to write the story, it just flows out naturally. I do refer back to my notes a lot, but the sequence and flow of information is easy for me to put into words.

It is critical to think about the students who will be reading your story. I keep the sentence structure super simple. If at all possible, I stay away from big words. I tend to use words like “great” rather than “distinguished.” I also try to only have 2-3 sentences at most on each page. Focus on the BIG picture.

5. Add photos

The last part is finding some engaging photos to go with the story. I like to use pixabay.com because they have tons of free photos. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of diversity there, so I do find I sometimes have to purchase a photo from another source. But, if at all possible, I try to find something that will work on pixabay.

I hope by sharing my process it will inspire you to write your own story to go with your curriculum content. Most textbooks are just not going to work for our students, but they still need access to the material. This is a GREAT way to help your students make deeper connections to the information.

Here is the book I wrote to celebrate the Apollo 11 landing 50 years ago. You can download the actual book below.

Click below to download the book.

If you would like more information on the moon, check out these units I have below:

The Earth, Sun, and Moon Unit (CLICK HERE)

The Moon Unit (CLICK HERE)

The one activity you should add to your small group lessons

July 15, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

If you teach in a special education setting, especially if you teach in a self-contained classroom, then you may find most of your teaching is done 1:1. That was me for the first two years. But, then I got tired of trying to block out the chaos (on the worst days), or the boredom (on the best days), that was happening around me as I focused doing discrete trials with one student after another.

The reality is that although a 1:1 teaching model using discrete trials may be one of the most effective research-based methods for instruction when working with students who have significant challenges, it just is not always practical in a classroom setting.

So, after 2 years, I made the conscious decision to switch to a whole group teaching style with lots and lots of differentiation layered in so all my kiddos could participate in the same task, at the same table, at the same time.

It wasn’t easy, and it took time to simply teach the structure and expectations of working in a group, but it was 100% worth every bit of the effort.

After a few months, I had tweaked and persevered and came up with a set of activities that flowed well and allowed for the level of engagement I was looking for. But, there was ONE golden nugget. There was ONE activity that I added which made all the difference. And, if I could only keep 1-2 activities in my group lesson, this would absolutely be the one that I would keep every time.

So what was it?

Spending time at the end of every lesson for students to share their finished work with the group.

Sounds simple and seems obvious? Perhaps, but it took me a while to realize the value of it, and looking back now, I realize it likely made the biggest impact on my students.

The process is fairly simple, but there are some key components:

Allow students to share their work using the communication mode of their choice.
Allow students to share as much or as little as they feel comfortable.
Allow students to ask for help from a peer (not an adult.)
Repeat/reflect back what they are saying.
Reward, reinforce and praise their efforts.

1. Using the communication mode of their choice

This is THE MOST important component of all. Many of our students have communication devices given to them. We encourage our students to use those devices as often as possible, across settings, and with many different people. However, with this one activity, I wanted to give students the freedom to share their finished work however they wanted to do.

For some, it meant they absolutely used their devices. But, for others it meant they only wanted to hold up their worksheet with a smile on their face. The key was, it was their choice, and they knew that.

2. Allowing student to share a lot or a little

This goes right along with point 1 above. Allow students to freedom to share a little or a lot. You can certainly chime in with some probing questions or share your own observations if you have a student who is only willing to hold up their paper. The key is respecting their choice of how and what they choose to share.

3. Asking for help

I had one student who was just not able to hold up a piece of paper, collage, or art project to show the group. When I first started this activity, her aid would hold it up for her. But, I quickly realized how much better it would be if a peer was the helper rather than her aid. This student would choose who to help her (often using eye gaze), and her partner for the day was always willing to lend a helping hand. A win-win on both sides.

4. Reflecting back what they are saying

Showing a student you “hear” them is very powerful. Many of my students were non-verbal. Many did not really want to use their communication device. Honestly, many of my students simply held up or pointed to their finished project.

But, I quickly realized the impact if I could just “ooh” and “ah” over their color choices, their comprehension of the content, or even simply their scissor skills. Regardless, by reflecting back what they were sharing with the group was one more opportunity for me to reinforce and repeat what we had been learning that day.

5. Rewarding any effort

This is the easiest component of all. As special education teachers, we are trained better than most to watch for when our students are doing the right thing. We are constantly rewarding and praising good behavior, and often ignoring less desirable actions. So, this is likely a natural extension to what you are doing everyday, all day. But, it is still worth mentioning because we know how powerful a positive word or tangible reward can be for increasing the likelihood a behavior will continue.

I hope this inspires you to consider adding this one activity, to your group lessons: students share their finished work with the group.

It is absolutely the best thing I ever added to my lesson plan.

STEM activities in a low incidence classroom

July 8, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

You see it everywhere, STEM activities and project based learning. But if you teach in a classroom with students who have significant intellectual, fine motor, gross motor, communication, and behavioral challenges, you may be thinking it isn’t for you. BUT, with the right support in place your students can participate in these activities in a meaningful way that will keep them engaged and excited about the material.

So, let’s think about the supports we can put in place:

Visual structure
Peer support
Conducting the experiment
Social/communication support
Sharing the finished product

1. Visual support

As with most activities in classrooms that serve students with significant challenges, there is a heavy emphasis on adding visual structure as a main support. This can be challenging when it comes to using a main-streamed regular ed activity like a STEM activity. But, it can be done. And, after you do it once, it will be easier to repeat the process with similar tasks.

The first thing to do is to is add some structure when it comes to choosing supplies for the project. Take pictures or use symbols for the materials students will have to choose from.

2. Peer support

Forming teams of students is great opportunity to capitalize on certain strengths individual students have. Making sure there is a student with strong fine motor skills in each group is helpful. It is also good to balance communication skills and behavioral challenges.

In the end, it is always better to have another classmate or peer help a student with specific challenges than have an adult step in.

3. Conducting the experiment

So, here is the thing, doing STEM with these kiddos can get pretty interesting and messy. But, I really encourage you to let it flow and give students as much independence and control over the process as possible. Having an amazing looking product at the end that adults had a heavy hand in creating, means very little to the students or to the parents who are entrusting you to guide and support their kids.

If students are truly struggling, ask lots of questions. Give students many choices so they are able to control as much as possible the flow of the STEM activity. The end product may look NOTHING like you expected. But, really, it is so much more about the process then the end product.

Finally, the more you incorporate this type of activity into your lessons, the better your students will get at it. In the beginning, it may feel like they have not gotten much out of it at all. It may feel like it was lot of work for nothing. (I know. I was in that exact same spot for many months. But, by mid-year, I could look back and see definite growth.) By using the SAME format, students were able to master different parts every time. So, at first, I may have ended up with literally a pile of supplies with no obvious purpose. But with time, it started to slowly change into a more meaningful placement of materials in that pile, and eventually became something we could all recognize as a finished product.

4. Supporting social interactions

One of the best things about STEM activities is giving students a chance to collaborate and work together. This often does not happen naturally or unsupported in many of our classrooms. Luckily, with a few critical changes, you can support this interaction in a way that encourages independence and true social interactions.

I like to purposefully call them a team, and have students record their names as team members. This may seem overly simplistic or obvious, but in our classrooms, the team is often made up of, or led by, adults. This activity, as much as possible, is student led and student supported. So declaring them a “team” and having the students record that is surprisingly powerful.

The next thing is to give students some structure to recognize and evaluate any problems that come up in the process. By having a space to specifically record any problems, acknowledges that there are likely issues that will happen, and they will happen to almost every team.

5. Sharing their finished product

The last thing I feel is super important is giving students a chance to share with others their finished product and how the process went. Allowing students to use their communication mode of choice is powerful, and with the right support, you will see that twinkle in their eye that tells you it was all worth the extra effort.

Want to give it a try? Click on the button below to download a FREE STEM activity that comes from my Old Yeller Novel Unit. It pairs well with Chapter 10, as Travis tries to create a stretcher to pull Old Yeller behind his donkey, Jumper.

To download this free STEM activity click the button below.

To check out my novel unit on Old Yeller, click HERE.

Age Appropriate Activities and Reinforces

July 1, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

We have all been there. We slip in that Barney video so we can catch our breath and give our students a much needed sensory break. But have you wondered if there are other things you could try? Is that Barney video really the best we can do?

So why is it important that we try to choose age appropriate materials for our students?

1. Save it for home

We should try to save those Barney videos for home. I have a son who is 22 with significant disabilities, and he spends much of his time at home on his iPad watching Sesame Street videos. When he was in school, he could not wait to get home and watch them, because he was not allowed to watch them while at school. I was so thankful. It made my life a lot easier at home.

Plus, thanks to his teachers, I learned that he also liked some more age appropriate things like music videos and Scooby Doo. (I know, still a bit of a stretch, but much better than Elmo and Big Bird.) So, if we can leave the toys and young viewing material at home, it will make it easier on the parents, and we may uncover some new interests as well.

2. Be patient

Be patient. This does not happen over night. Our students are often VERY attached to their reinforcers. If you are lucky enough, you can start right from the beginning not having those as part of the school environment. But, if this is a change you are looking to make after letting it slide for a few years, then realize it will take some planning and gradual fading away of those beloved favorites. You can always start with an alternating system. They choose, then you choose. Or, you can set a timer for when it is time to switch. However you plan to eliminate those reinforcers and activities that you feel are no longer appropriate, give yourself at least 4-6 weeks to see substantial progress.

Don’t know where to start? I have put together a list of reinforcers categorized by age. It is a great tool to refer to when you have no idea what to try next.

Download it by clicking the button below.

3. Start early

Start early!! If you teach in an elementary setting, think about starting to fade some of those preschool toys and activities by the time your students are entering third grade. Many of us have classrooms with a large span of ages, so this is not always easy. But, with careful planning and clear visual boundaries, you can start moving your older students away from those preschool favorites and start replacing them with more age appropriate choices. Boy, will your middle and high school teachers thank you!!

So, what can you do right now?

Download the list below that has over 100 different ideas you can use for reinforcement in your classroom.

Remember, why should we use age appropriate activities and reinforcers?

It makes the less appropriate ones more powerful at home, which parents will thank you for. Plus, you may find totally new things that excite your students.
It will take some time and planning, so start early.
If you teach in elementary school, start about grade 3. That way when your students get to middle and high school they will already have some more appropriate activities they enjoy during their down time.

Pin me for later…

Figuring out HOW to teach in special education

June 24, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Go back to that first day in your classroom with students. Remember how excited you were? You just knew you would make a difference. You knew you could take your students who were often 3 or more grade levels behind and catch them up by the end of the school year. After all, you spent 4 years in college learning all there was to know about how to teach students with special learning needs. You had all the tools, and you could feel the excitement like electricity coursing through your veins.

Then the students started arriving. Some walked in. Some came in wheelchairs or walkers. Some may have even come through the door like a ball of fire. It felt like a lot, right off the bat.

You gave yourself some grace and time to get adjusted. In your mind, you were thinking, okay 2 weeks, and I will get this running smoothly. Then 2 weeks became 2 months in the blink of an eye, and you were completely, and utterly exhausted and disenchanted.

Sound familiar?

Since leaving the classroom, I have taken what I learned and used it to craft very specific resources for teachers to use in a self-contained, multi-grade level classroom. My focus is that 1% population. Those students who are the most severely impacted by their disability, and they are often all grouped together in the same classroom.

So, here is the bottom line. I have figured out the tools that work. I have been creating them and providing them to teachers in my store on teacherspayteachers for more than 5 years. But, just like in the classroom, I have come to realize that simply providing those tools to teachers is not enough.

Teachers absolutely need those tools. There is almost no content out there that is curriculum based for our severely impacted students. Tons, and tons, and tons of file folder games… YES. But not true curriculum. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE file folder games as a tool, but not as a curriculum

So, here I am 5 years later asking “How can I help?” And what I hear is:

I need more lesson plans
I don’t understand how to make this work
I love this unit, but I need more support

Thus, my idea for a community to support one another and teach the HOW was born. I want teachers to walk into their classroom so excited to teach that day. I want them to wake up before their alarm, not hit the snooze button. I want teachers to exude so much excitement for what they are about to teach, that it is literally contagious to the students and other adults in the classroom.

But for that to happen, I have to give them more than just tools. I have to show them HOW to use the tools. Let’s say someone gave you this tool:

They even told you the name, it is an extractor. They told you it was a great tool and would make your life so much easier. But, then they walked away, and you were left with this amazing new tool, an extractor, but had absolutely no idea how to use it. Worthless right???

The same thing can happen when we find a really cool resource on google, or Pinterest, or even teacherspayteachers. We think, oh my goodness, I love this. This is perfect. But, then you find yourself sitting in front of 5-10 kids, all with issues too difficult to name, and you have no idea how to make this amazing resource work for them. No matter how great it seemed, it was a total waste of time and money.

So, as I start on this new journey, answering the question, “How can I help?” I heard you. You have told me how much you struggle to maintain control of your classroom. You have told me how your principal just does not understand what you are doing or why. You have told me you are at the end of your rope.

I now realize that just giving you more tools is not the answer. You need to understand the HOW. And not just how for a few kids. You need to understand HOW to use these resources for a wide range of learning levels and challenges.

Do I have all the answers? I wish I could say you bet. Just sign up, and I will tell you all you need to know. But, I know we are all smarter than that. Every student is unique. Every challenge feels new. So, I may not have all the answers, but I do promise to figure it out with you.

As we build a community of teachers with the same passion and interests, we can all work together to support one another and find that best path through the chaos.

So, let me be your guide. Let me be the person who can provide not only the tools, but the instruction manual as well. So when someone gives you a tool like that extractor, you will know it is just the right thing for pulling those pesky weeds out our your garden and yard.

Click on the button below to come on a journey with me, as I explore creating an instruction manual for teachers, so the tools I create are more powerful and can make more of an impact for our students.

Join Special Needs for Special Kids membership now

But don’t wait, membership is only open for a short time, several times a year, and I wouldn’t want you to miss out.

Sign up now

10 ways to use the same circle map in a group lesson

June 17, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Working smarter, not harder is what we are talking about today. We all know we need to meet our students where they are, and allow them to work as independently as possible. But, that often seems like an insurmountable task, that will take us hours of prep time.

But, what if it didn’t have to be that way?

What if you could take the exact same resource, and with some quick tweaks with crayons, markers, and scissors, you had 10 different ways to use the same activity with your diverse group of students? Let me show you how!!

1. Circle map with no pictures

So, this is for your highest level learners. They often do not even need pictures or prompts to complete their work. They are good readers, and are able to write and spell out common words found in the lesson. So, for this student, you simply hand him the circle map but no pictures. Ask him to fill in as many details as he can from the story to support the main idea. Will he likely look around at the pictures his classmates have? Sure. But that is okay. He is completing the activity at a level that is appropriate for his learning level and, most importantly, is doing it totally independently.

2. Circle map with wrong answers mixed in

This is the next level. This one is for students who can discern what does and does not relate to the main point, but definitely does require the support of pictures.

3. Circle map with wrong answers mixed in plus outlining with color

Again, this is for students who can handle wrong answers mixed in, but needs a little more support. I outline the correct answers in green and the wrong answers in red. You can also put an X through the incorrect answers.

4. Circle map with wrong answers mixed in plus coloring it in

This just adds a little more support for those students who can handle the wrong answers being mixed in. This time, instead of just outlining the correct and wrong answers, I actually outline them AND color them in. As an added bonus tip, this is so easy to fade to just using outlines.

5. Errorless circle map

So in this case, you are providing ONLY correct answers to the student. Every picture gets cuts out and goes in the circle map. It still serves as a great review tool, and the student did it all on her own!

6. Errorless (or not!!) circle map with pictures cut out

We often have students who truly struggle with fine motor skills. The process of cutting out pictures is very difficult and uses a lot of concentration. That concentration could often better be used (in this case) to actually create the circle map. And, here is the beauty. If you remove the stress of cutting out pictures, some students can totally handle the wrong answers being mixed in. Bottom line, we are not assessing the ability to cut in this activity. We are creating a visual map of the main points of the lesson.

7. Circle map with enlarged pictures

Okay, I know this may take an extra step. BUT, if you email me that you need enlarged picture choices (as some of you have), I will do that no problem and email them right back to you!! (specialneedsforspecialkids@gmail.com) This activity is perfect for our students who have the most significant fine motor struggles or loss of that ability all together. Again, the goal of this activity is to determine 1) if students understand what the main points of the lesson were, and 2) create a visual map of those main points for review. So, if your student is truly incapable of cutting, pasting, or writing, then simply hold up 2 choices and ask which goes in the map. Using their communication method of choice, they should be able to tell you which picture relates to thecircle map. Of course, you can ALWAYS simply eliminate the wrong answers and make it an errorless task. Either way, the STUDENT is telling you which pictures to use in the circle map.

8. Circle map using photos

This one can be a little tricky AND may require a little more work. Some students are just not ready for images, and need photos, you replace the images with photos and you have not only the perfect activity for THIS learning level, but an additional activity all of your students can benefit from.

9. Circle map using color only

If you teach in a multi-grade level classroom, then you often have very young students participating in the same lesson as your older students. Let’s say you are doing a lesson on the Civil War, but you have kindergarten students sitting in the group as well. You read the story to the whole group. Everyone can benefit from hearing the story. When it comes to the circle map activity, for your very young learners, go back to the color coding option. Heavily color in the correct answers as well as the center image of the circle map. Students are then doing a circle map of all the yellow answers. The content, which may be above their grade level, is irrelevant. BUT, the color matching task is not.

10. Circle map with objects

So I add this as a last option, because I know it can be really difficult to find the objects you need. I know, I tried this many, many times with my students. But, if you have students that are truly significantly impaired, and need a more tactile way to complete the activity, then using objects is always a good choice. Unfortunately, it is not always practical, and I realize that. I found using a hula hoop, or even just a box to put the items in made it more likely the student could complete what I was asking independently.

So there you have it. One circle map used in 10 ways. And most of them took very little if any extra prep time. The goal of course is to increase independence of our students, but it is more than that. By using one activity for ALL of your students:

Saves you time
Saves you frustration
Helps eliminate overwhelm
Increases engagement for your students
Increases your excitement
Saves you money

Want to try it? Click on the link below to download my book on the Civil War and accompanying circle maps. Then, use it with your students. ALL of your students. Email me a picture and comments on how if worked out, and I will send you the rest of my Civil War unit for FREE. How can you lose? Email me at: specialneedsforspecialkids@gmail.com

Download the resources below by clicking the button.

Why I don’t use (or create) adapted novels

June 10, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

So, as I enter this summer I have told many of my followers that my primary focus will be creating more novel units. These are some of my favorite resources to make, and they have become one of my biggest source of requests and downloads. So, many of those I have lined up, will adress those popular requests.

However, one request, I am NOT doing is to create some adapted novels. By that I mean, rewrite the novel in a simple, easy to read format that still conveys the main idea, but in a style and language our students can better connect with. Let me tell you why, I don’t do these. (Then I will tell you where you can download a COMPLETE novel unit for free.)

Source of value

First, I actually DO think adapted novels provide value and get our students excited about reading. IF done well, they can even help build an appreciation for good literature and what these famous authors were crafting with their classics. The key word there is IF.

I think it is really difficult to re-write something like The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton in a way that truly honors the author and mirrors that talent. And to be honest, I am not that good of a writer. So, I don’t try.

I am sure there are some sellers and authors out there, however, who are able to rewrite these classics in a way that rings true to what the author intended. But, just be cautious, and make sure they really do that. Giving our students watered down resources can start to lower that bar of high expectations.

Only you can decided if an adapted novel you find is right for your students. Trust your instincts. I have trusted mine, and choose not to create them myself.

Raising the bar

So, let’s talk about those high expectations. If you use my resources on teacherspayteachers than, you know I strive to create material that is respectful, appropriate, and raises the bar for our students. Novel units are the PERFECT way to do this.

Assuming your students won’t get the meaning without even trying, is simply a silly (and often dangerous) precedent. Many times our students have much stronger receptive language skills than expressive skills. In other words, they understand a lot of the language they hear and process, even if they are unable to convey that in a verbal manner. Playing to this strength and providing rigorous and engaging content is critical to helping them succeed.

Comprehension is not always the point

I have said this before in relation to other topics, but sometimes it is not always about the content and more about the behavior and building some foundational skills.

For example, teaching students to sit quietly while someone/teacher is reading out loud is a critical skill. There will be so many times in a student’s life where they need to sit or wait quietly while adults are talking. Often, the subject matter may not even be relevant to them, or be of any interest. But, being able to sit and wait until that conversation is over is a great skill to have.

Listening to a novel unit in the classroom is a great way to start. I have another blog post, where I give you tips and suggestions on how to decrease a student’s anxiety and undesirable behaviors about sitting and waiting for an unknown amount of time. Read about it HERE. I used these methods A LOT, and they really, really worked.

A sign of respect

Finally, I feel very strongly that reading the novel aloud, unchanged, is one of the best ways to show respect to the person who wrote it. To write and publish a book is such an amazing feat. I want to honor that effort by reading aloud the words they wrote.

It has always amazed me (and I have heard the EXACT same thing from many of you) that my students were often riveted by the words I was reading out loud. Perhaps it was the sound of my voice, perhaps it was the cadence of the words, but they loved it. In all my years of teaching, I never had a student who did not come to appreciate this part of our day (although some required a lot more structure and direct teaching of expectations than others.)

One last thing before I tell you where to find that free novel unit…

I have one other blog post with even more tips and free samples when it comes to reading novels as part of your daily lesson plans. You can read HERE about why my novel units are different than others. And why, even if your students are non-readers or significantly challenged, they can still participate and be actively engaged in completing these novel units.

So, if you want to give it a try, then head over to my Free Resource Library where you can download my complete novel unit on Number the Stars by Lois Lowery. Free Resource Library Password

Creating Engaging Learning Experiences in Special Education

June 3, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Have you ever attended a training or workshop as a special education teacher, and thought:

Why am I here? This has nothing I can use.
My students are not able to do these things.
This has been a waste of my time (again).

Well, that was me a few years ago. Our entire district was adopting Rigorous Curriculum Design by Larry Ainsworth. It is a well mapped out sequence of hands-on learning activities and assessments. It encourages deeper thinking and inquiry and project based learning. All things that are hot topics today. BUT, in special education this needs some major tweaking.

As I sat through days of this training, I just kept thinking, “How can I make this work for MY students?” I asked questions. I went up and talked with the instructor one on one. In the end, I got a lot of blank stares. My kiddos had the most significant issues (physical, intellectual, behavioral, social, health, communicative…) in the county. So, in the end, it was up to me to think outside the box.

Engaging Learning Experiences

One of the main components of Rigorous Curriculum Design is the use of an engaging learning experience. This is often a series of weekly tasks that go beyond the actual content of the lesson. They build on each other each week, and end with a final, culminating project.

The main features of an engaging learning experience are:

They need to be real or genuine events. That does not mean they cannot be fictional, but they need to be based in some sense of reality.
The tasks need to be relevant and connect with what students already know or can identity with.
This learning experience needs to weave in other disciplines to make it a deeper, and more enriching activity.
It cannot be routine. It should be exciting and different.
It should be motivating and interesting.
Finally, and most importantly, it needs to be rigorous. This is not a “fluff” activity.

Other main features

Some other things I learned about engaging learning experiences were that they often have a very narrow focus. The goal is to deepen student understanding of one particular topic.

Engaging learning experiences often start with a “hook” or what Ainsworth calls an engaging scenario. This can be imaginary or real, but if you use an imaginary story it still needs to be somewhat realistic.

These learning experiences are often broken down into performance tasks. Students often complete one performance task a week. Many of the units developed using Rigorous Curriculum Design are 4-6 weeks in length, so you are looking at creating 4-6 separate performance tasks.

The performance tasks connect back to the original content of the unit. They build on each other, is a way to deepen student understanding or scaffold learning of a more complex topic.

Finally, these engaging learning experiences need to be intentional, well-thought out and planned. What does that mean? They are a lot of work to put together!! BUT, totally worth it.

Going outside of the box

So, I knew I liked this concept. I also felt confident I could adapt it and make it fit into a framework my students would benefit from. One of the things I like the most about it, was that I could plan it all out ahead of time. Then, I knew at least one activity we would do with the content each week. And, those activities were connected and built upon each other.

It also gave me a chance to take content that may be somewhat abstract and less appealing to my students, and come up with an engaging learning experience that they could connect with and work through in a step-by-step systematic fashion.

Here is the basic framework I used:

Develop an engaging learning scenario my students could identify with
Come up with 4 separate tasks to explore that scenario
1. Task 1 focused on gathering material.
  - photos from magazines
  - items around the school or classroom
  - internet searches
  - photographs we took ourselves
2. Task 2 focused on how we would use or summarize the information we gathered.
  - narrowing down the focus from information gathered
  - making a collage to illustrate information gathered
  - deciding on how we could set up a test or experiment to answer a question
  - making a poster
3. Task 3 focused on applying in some way what we had narrowed our focus to in task 2.
  - make a physical product like a model
  - start recording results if conducting an experiment
  - conduct a public service awareness campaign to share with others what you learned
  - act out a skit demonstrating a skill you learned about
4. Task 4 focused on evaluating the final result.
  - reviewing the results of your experiment and comparing it to the hypothesis
  - survey or poll audience to see if you were able to change how people thought
  - create recommendations based on what you learned to share with others
  - have students make a mini-movie talking about what they learned

I know this is not an easy concept, especially if you are a super busy teacher with a diverse class of students. So, I am sharing the 3 engaging learning scenarios I created while still in the classroom.

Weather Emergencies: Could you save Dorothy and Toto in a tornado?
Photosynthesis: Could plants survive if it was night all the time?
Photosynthesis: What are some things you can do to help make the Earth a healthier place?

Just click the button below to download all 3 of them! Then, try to make some of your own. They are super fun and engaging for students, and worth the effort!!

Can you keep a secret?

May 27, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

For the past school year, I keep asking “How can I help?” So many of you have reached out via email, Facebook, and Instagram to let me know what you need to make your teaching journey not just easier, but more impactful for your students.

This past year, the requests have poured in for resources you desperately need. I have especially heard from high school teachers who feel lost and spend all their time searching the internet for ANYTHING that may work with their older students. I have poured myself into answering this call, and have really increased the number of middle and high school resources in my store.

But then, there are many of you still out there in the world of the little ones. You need more elementary concepts that are engaging yet will also build those important foundational skills students need once they reach that middle and high school curriculum. I have not forgotten about you, I promise.

So, this brings me to my secret….

Starting this summer (July 1 to be exact) I will be embarking on a new venture to support those teachers who work with our most severely affected students. I can’t reveal too much right now, but I will tell you that if fuels my passion to help even more teachers feel confident, less stressed, and excited about teaching.

So, if you:

Need to reduce the feeling of stress and overwhelm
Have to stop spending money on material that does not fit your students’ needs
Want access to appropriate, rigorous, and respectful curriculum
Crave support on how to make it all work so you do not feel frustrated and exhausted every Friday
Are looking to connect with like-minded teachers who share those same high expectations
Are on a tight budget (aren’t we all) and cannot keep buying the newest curriculum guaranteed to bring results

And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you teach students with significant learning challenges in Pre-K through high school, then stay tuned. Because, friends, I have your back. I know what you need, because you have told me. I have listened, and I am coming.

Want to get on the exclusive waiting list for the big announcement? Maybe you are just a little bit curious? Maybe you are looking to make a change for next school year? Then click HERE, and more information will be coming your way in a few short weeks.

I want more information!!

Click HERE to sign up

Building Community

May 20, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

We have all heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” There are no truer words when it comes to a child with special needs. I know this, not only as a special education teacher, but as a parent of an adult son with significant needs. I know I could not do this alone. And, being a part of a community is crucial to my success as a teacher and as a parent.

Building community in your classroom

Almost all of our students have social and communication goals as part of their IEP. So, as teachers, we naturally set up multiple opportunities for our students to interact with one another. This does not come naturally to our kiddos, and requires careful planning and conscious effort.

In the lesson plans I create for the units I have in my store on TPT, I make a special effort to include a designated time every day for students to share either what they have learned or share their completed activity. This is one of the first steps in building community among your students. Learning to share and giving positive feedback to those who do, is a skill ALL students need to learn.

Assigning roles and responsibilities is another way to help build community on your classroom.

Finally, one of the reasons I love doing group teaching so much rather than one on one, is that it builds that sense of community.

Students can learn together.
Students can help one another.
Everyone learns how to respect each person’s learning style and speed.

Building community in your team

Hopefully you are lucky enough to have at least one or two other special education teachers and related service providers in your building. I was so lucky to work with an amazing team when I taught in elementary school. Not only did we support one another emotionally, but we truly planned together. We would plan indoor, traveling field trips. We took off campus field trips together as well.

One of the most beneficial things we did was set aside a protected time every Friday when all of our students came together for a social skills activity. During the week, we would each work with our own individual class focusing on the skills that would be needed for that Friday’s activity. Then we would all meet up, usually in the cafeteria or outside for that week’s Exploration Activity.

We acted out social scripts.
We played games, taking turns and practiced following the rules.
We went on short hikes, exploring the campus. (Check out my blog post on the Magic Pumpkin Activity we did!! It was awesome. Just click HERE)
We even put on plays.

Whatever we focused on that week, we knew it was a time for all of us to come together in a safe place for ourselves and our kids to work on generalizing some skills we had been practicing. It was, by far, my favorite time of the week.

Building community with and among your parents

This can seem challenging and daunting for several reasons. First, we have all the privacy issues to worry about. We cannot be just handing out phone numbers and encouraging parents to connect with one another. So how do we get people who have so much in common, interacting and connecting with (and hopefully supporting) one another?

Second, there is that underlying fear that parents may start talking and gang up against you. Teaching in special ed is so hard. There is no clear cut guide or right way to do things. You also are very vulnerable to close scrutiny and suspicion. Many times, these parents cannot get the information of what is happening in the classroom from their child. So, they are forced to piece together small bits of information to put together a fuzzy picture which is often inaccurate.

Finally, if you are exhausted teaching these students with such high demands, then imagine how their parents must feel. You will have parents going through various stages of grief dealing with the fact their lives are forever changed due to a diagnosis. It is difficult to navigate at times.

So, how can you help build those relationships among your parents? Throughout the year, you can plan several opportunities for family involvement.

Consider putting on a play during Christmas.
Practice those social scripts in front of a larger audience.
Host a movie night.
Our team always put together a huge cookout at the end of the year (that the teachers all chipped in for).

Will every parent come? No. But we need to meet them where they are. For many of these parents, it is very challenging to do things in a group due to the issues their child may be dealing with. School is a safe place. They can come and know there will be adults to help corral their kids and navigate the behaviors or tantrums that may erupt. There is no need to feel embarrassed or judged.

These get togethers are a great way for parents to meet and talk with future teachers. They can also connect with parents who are a step or two ahead of them in the school journey. They can ask questions and get answers to some of their concerns from parents who have truly been there. Because of course another parent will “tell you like it is.”

So, don’t be afraid to get your parents together. If you work with other members of your special ed team, encourage them to plan one of these larger get togethers to encourage more parent interaction. Believe me, your parents need each other. And yes, there will be many who may not come. But some will, and those may be the parents who need it the most.

Maybe this all seems obvious to many of you, but for those who are just starting out on their teaching journey or who may be new to special education, building community is so important. In the end, you will be amazed at how much you, and your teaching, will benefit from it.

Get ready for summer with no-prep and no worries

May 13, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Summer break is almost here for many teachers. It is a time to reflect on the past year. Celebrate what went well. Tweak what did not. Rest up and get ready to hit the ground running in August (or September.) But, before that can happen, we need to get through these last few weeks, which can seem like the longest of the entire school year.

In a special education setting, we often do not have the luxury of just kicking back and coasting those last few days or weeks. Our kiddos need that consistent routine they have come to depend on day in and day out. So, that means we need to keep teaching just like we have all year long. But, that does not mean we cannot focus on something fun!!

Science

At the end of every year, I liked to spend the last 2 weeks or so focusing on the season of summer. We come at it from a science standpoint. What does summer feel like? What kinds of foods, plants, and things grow in the summer time. How does summer differ in different parts of the world? Lots of science related topics we can cover with this season.

Math

I also like to weave a summer theme into my math lessons. We can do patterns that involve summer things.

We can also practice a lot of counting and 1:1 correspondence with summer items.

Literacy

We can weave summer into our literacy block. Writing prompts are the perfect adaptable activity to go with any subject, and summer is no exception.

Getting outside

Of course, you know I love scavenger hunts. (You can read all about 5 Different ways to Do a Scavenger Hunt by clicking HERE.) If I can’t get the kids out for some reason, then I can easily find a book or movie with a summer theme, and do the scavenger hunt right in the comfort of our classroom.

Social Story (download for FREE)

Finally, I always find ways to spend time on social skills and addressing any anxiety students may have with upcoming changes. Summer can actually be a pretty stressful time for kids. Their schedule is often very unpredictable day to day. In addition, the summer can mark the end of their time with a particular teacher, classroom, or even school. So, I have a social story I always use. (You can grab it for FREE below).

Complete Unit on Summer

If you are looking for some no-prep, print and go activities perfect for the end of the year, check out my unit on Summer. You can click HERE or watch the video below. Let me help you end the year with some activities that will keep your students engaged and help you keep your sanity during these last crazy days!!

Summer Unit

Mother’s Day: A different kind of lesson plan

May 6, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Yep, we all love Mother’s Day. If you are a mother or not, we all have one or had one, so this is a great week to stop and take a moment to reflect on all our moms sacrifice and do for us. You are likely looking to do something similar in your classroom as well. So, even though it is testing season, you squeeze in a quick lesson on this holiday. But, what if you could actually make it educationally valuable as well?

This year, I decided to take a different approach to my Mother’s Day lesson plan. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the cute crafts, the painted hand prints, the homemade cards, but let’s go a little deeper. So, here is what I did.

First, I researched how the holiday got started. Did you know it was started by a woman, Anna Jarvis, who later tried desperately to get it removed as a national holiday? Did you know it was Woodrow Wilson who officially declared it a national holiday in 1914? All cool facts, that also allowed me to revisit some names we had learned earlier in the year.

Second, I wondered if Mother’s Day was celebrated in other places and how? I learned that although Mother’s Day is a US holiday, it is definitely celebrated world wide. Some of the traditions and customs are very similar to what we may be familiar with here, but some were totally different. Did you know in Thailand they celebrate Mother’s Day on the birthday of the current queen? Right now, they celebrate in August. Did you know that in Ethiopia, they celebrate motherhood in general in the fall with a huge feast? Again, this gave me a chance to pull out a globe and maps and re-explore places we may have talked about in earlier lessons.

Of course I had to add some of my common tools that students have gotten so fluent with, like circle maps, spelling, and even a writing prompt.

Circle map
5 different spelling sheets

So, I ended up with a good full 2-3 days worth of material that may not have produced a cute card or painted hand print, but was truly engaging, meaningful, and (dare I say) even rigorous. Plus, the kids LOVED it!!

Want to add this to your plans for Mother’s Day? Click HERE or on the image below to check out my Mother’s Day unit over in my store.

And, because I don’t know how to write a blog post without a freebie, I created this Mother’s Day Bingo game that uses some of the facts the students learned from the story. Just click the button below to download 8 BINGO boards and calling cards (in color and BW).

End-of-Year Testing in Special Ed 3 BIG tips

April 29, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

No one likes end-of-year testing. But, I think if you teach students with significant challenges, you probably dread it more than most. Testing our students is not only stressful for all involved, but it can sometimes lead to negative feelings of inadequacy. Even though we KNOW our students struggle to demonstrated what they truly know, especially on a standardized tests, we somehow take it personally when they don’t do as well as expected.

I am not saying these tips will solve all your problems. I am not naive enough to think a simple list will make your students pass a sometimes un-passable test. But, at least it will help you feel like you are as prepared as you can be. And your students will feel confident and supported regardless of the final score.

Of course, I will have some free downloads throughout, so make sure to grab them to help your end-of-year testing journey go a little more smoothly.

1. Background

So, tip #1 is to gather as much background information as you can. I am including a checklist you can download HERE that I used and tweaked over the years. I love checklists, and hope this one will help you out too!

What do I mean by background? I mean learn as much as you can about:

The test
How the student has done in the past
Where, who and what will be involved

I can remember sitting through so many teacher test-prep sessions. Someone would get up and drone on and on about the mechanics of the tests. How to read the directions. How to provide assistance. When and if you could take breaks. I am not saying that it was not helpful or important, it was. But, I wanted to talk to other TEACHERS who had given the test last year. Preferably teachers who had taught my students in past years.

Given the fact there is some limitation to what we are ethically allowed to discuss, I came up with this CHECKLIST that I would start carrying around with me in March. I would take it to trainings, to school visits, any where I thought I might run into a teacher who had administered the test last year. I just kept bugging people until I could get as much checked off as I could.

You can download that checklist HERE.

I also hunted for any sample tests that were made available beyond what was given during the training. The more samples I could attain, the better I could prepare my students. The better my practice problems would be. From the samples I could create my own problems that looked like those the students would likely see.

Getting myself as prepared as possible was the first step.

2. IEP’s

Tip #2 is really getting to know those IEPs. From the very beginning of the year, I would make sure I was aware of any testing accommodations or modifications that were on each student’s IEP. I knew that for my students, especially, they would need to practice testing with these accommodations in place as much as possible. This often included using adaptive aids, communication devices, scribes, or even translators. By the time end-of-year testing came around, these accommodations were just a normal part of the process.

Sometimes, I got new students who had no or very few accommodations. This is another good reason to review the IEP’s for testing support right at the beginning of the year. Take some time to get to know the students, but don’t let too much time go by before you have a meeting to add some appropriate accommodations to the IEP.

I know, UGH!, not another IEP?!!? But, it will be so worth it come end-of-year testing time. DO NOT wait for the annual review to add these in. Students deserve to have the support they need to perform their best on EVERY test. So, add these in as soon as possible if they are missing or inadequate.

3. GENERALIZE

Again, if you teach in special education, you KNOW how important and challenging generalization of a skill can be. Tip #3 is all about generalizing those testing skills. Once you have a good feel of the format and approximate content of the end-of-year test, then set a plan in place to start generalizing.

I have a sample plan you can download HERE.

It is very likely that you will need to do the actual testing in a separate, monitored space like a conference room. I think EVERY year I tested (except one) my students and I had to venture to a far end of the building we rarely frequented to take the test. One year, we had to use the principal’s private conference room. Luckily, my students did not have any negative past experiences “going to the principal’s office,” but surely you can imagine typical students having a panic attack just having to walk through that door. Forget the fact they have to actually “perform” on an exam that could determine if they are promoted to the next grade or not.

So what are some things to things to think about when focusing on generalization? Here are a few:

Location: classroom (familiar or new), conference room (windows, paintings on the walls, plants or other high interest items), familiar location that is used for another purpose (like the library can be confusing if now they have to sit and take a test and not listen to story time)
Seating: desk (familiar or new), table, type of chair (stationary or rolling, padded or hard), height or chair (can their feet touch the floor? This was a HUGE issue for me one year when a student had a melt down simply because their feet were dangling above the floor. The whole test was delayed by a day until we could locate an appropriate chair.)
Lighting: Oh yes, our kids are soooooo sensitive to different types of lighting. Also, check out where the sun is during that time of the day, and will it be a distraction if unable to be blocked with blinds.
Sound level
Traffic outside the door
Smells

You can download a checklist of things to think about when generalizing across environments, people and stimuli by clicking HERE.

So those are some things to think about the environment. But, there is a lot more to generalization. Think about who else might be in the room. Will there be a monitor? Will you be administering the test? Luckily, since our students can be so complex, I was always the one testing my own students. But, I know if you have students with less significant needs, they may end up being tested by another special ed teacher or even an unknown proctor.

Finally, be sure to practice lots of problems using different types of layouts, manipulatives, and wording. By the time the test comes, you will likely feel like you could write these questions for a testing company because you will have ended up creating so many sample problems of your own.

So there you have it, my 3 BIG ways to prep for end-of-year testing:

BACKGROUND
IEP
GENERALIZATION

One last word, be gracious and forgiving to yourself. Try to not internalize and blame yourself if your students do no perform well. Of course, I know in some states your salary may be tied to student performance (which is crazy), but if you take some time to purposefully prepare your students they will do the best they can. What more can we ask?

I have a few resources you may find helpful preparing for this time:

Blog post: Assessment in special education (click HERE). This will give you some great tips on how to set up your own assessments and allows your students to demonstrate growth.
Social story and activities: Taking a Test (click HERE)
Social story and activities: Perseverance (click HERE)

One final comment, many of my units (especially math and science) in my store were developed knowing what I know about end-of-year testing (in NC and OH). I tried to cover the topics and use questions that would look familiar to students.

Butterfly Life Cycle in Special Ed

April 22, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Spring is here and many teachers are ordering their butterfly habitat kits and teaching about the life cycle of the butterfly. It is such a popular activity, especially in elementary school. But, have you wondered how to make this life cycle more accessible to your students who have significant challenges? Many of the materials that come with the butterfly kit assume a certain skill set, like reading, writing, drawing, or even just communicating your observations. All of these may be either lacking or totally missing in your classroom. (At least, they very often were in mine.) So, I came up with ways for my students to be able to track the course of the butterfly life cycle, communicate what their observations were in as independent a way as possible, and make some authentic connections to their own life and experiences. Here are some things you can do yourself, or let me help you (see video at the end of this post). Either way, your students will never look at a caterpillar or butterfly the same way again!

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post for some free downloads and resources to add to the lesson plans you may already be using.

1. Use a calendar to track changes during the life cycle

My class worked on calendar skills EVERY morning during our morning meeting. So, adding a calendar to this unit seemed very natural and had the great added benefit of generalizing the material to a new subject, stimuli, and location. In the unit I created, I made a generic counting board, because I was not sure when people would be using it. However, if you have the chance, I would simply substitute it with the appropriate blank monthly calendar.

2. Report and record observations on the life cycle

Most of my students were not able to draw. So that meant getting creative in finding a way they could report what they were seeing each day. Many of my students were really good with technology, so we assigned a photographer each day to take a picture on the class iPad as a record of the changes occurring in our caterpillars. This gave the students some independence and a tool they loved to use.

In addition to taking photos, we also practiced using a digital scale I had in the classroom. Students would take turns weighing several of the caterpillars. As they would read the numbers off the scale, I would write them down. There is a lot of math you can do with this data depending on the learning level of your students:

Get an average weight
Calculate rate of change or growth
Graph the weights
Record greatest and least weight

3. Look for more evidence of life cycles on nature walks

I wanted the students to realize that what was happening in our classroom butterfly habitat, also was occurring outside during this spring season. We would go on nature walks, looking for (and recording) evidence of more the butterfly life cycle. The more we learned, the better they got at looking for those hidden eggs under a leaf or the cocoons tucked behind a branch. If you are looking for a FREE scavenger hunt for Spring to use, check out my blog post, 5 New Ways to use a Scavenger Hunt (click here).

**Go to my blog post to download this free scavenger hunt HERE**

In addition to looking for signs of more caterpillars and butterflies, make sure students are looking for that “perfect” spot where you will release your butterflies once they are ready. Weigh the pros and cons of various locations. Think about protection from predators as well as food sources for the young butterflies.

4. Create a Butterfly Life Cycle Book

It is funny, but I found my students loved making books that were shaped like something. For this unit, I created a butterfly template, cut out 8 pages from construction paper and had the students create their own story about the butterfly life cycle. They LOVED it!!

If you would like a FREE copy of My Butterfly Book, click the button below.

5. Make it personal

Since I was in a classroom with various social and emotional needs, I was always looking for ways to address these issues in EVERY subject. Science was no exception. The metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly was a great way for me to talk about the idea of change. It was also getting close to the end of the year, and many of my students would be facing a lot of changes with the next school year. So, I created a social story to go with this unit on dealing with change. It may seem odd, or feel like an awkward transition, but I promise it is not. I have a detailed lesson plan included in this unit that will help you navigate the change from science to social story. My students loved it, and we talked a lot about how everything, even insects, have to deal with change.

I hope this gave you some new ideas to add to the lesson plans you likely already have on this topic. As special education teachers and parents, we are always having to tweak and modify materials. We get really good at it after a while!

If you would like to download some FREE vocabulary cards to go with my Butterfly Life Cycle unit, the be sure to sign up for my Free Resource Library right here at my blog. There is a free set in there with color and BW cards as well as a cut and paste activity to go with them. Just click HERE to get access.

If you want to check out my unit on the Butterfly Life Cycle click HERE or watch the video below. This unit includes lots of activities, including:

12 days of lesson plans
36 page book
vocabulary board
circle maps
sorting activities
Venn diagram
life cycle cut & paste worksheets
close worksheets
assessment
PLUS a social story and activity on Dealing with Change

Butterfly Life Cycle Unit

Safety in the community for the individual, you, and the public

April 15, 2019/2 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Besides writing curriculum for students with significant challenges, I also work with families, here in Pennsylvania. I am part of an amazing group of other parents who are passionate about helping others create a vision for the future, find supports and services, and connect parents to accurate and important information. Recently, I have been really focused on safety in the community. Every individual has a right to be a valued and integrated part of their local community. We also know that does not always come easily.

There are a lot of challenges we as teachers and parents face when we go on community outings. I wrote 2 other blog posts on this topic a while ago full of thoughts, suggestions, and a free download. Visit them by clicking below:

Community Trips and Challenging Behaviors: Getting to know the person (click here)
Community Trips and Challenging Behaviors: Getting to know the behavior (click here)

Today, I wanted to come at this from a different angle. An angle that I think is missing in a lot of talks about safety in the community (including the one I currently deliver to the families I work with). This comes from a very personal experience that was scary, upsetting, frustrating, and embarrassing. I share it because, as always, I think there is a lot to learn from our failures, and I KNOW there are so many parents and teachers out there who deal with this issue and no one wants to talk about it.

Keeping the general public safe while we are in the community.

The sad reality is that many of us deal with students and children or adults who have such extreme behaviors that they can actually be a danger to people they may come in contact with while in the community. I deal with this personally with my son, Jimmy, who is 22 and is a very big strong guy. I have also had a similar situation with one other student in the past, who, although not as big, was more explosive and impulsive than Jimmy is. So here is what happened with Jimmy in a nutshell. What I learned, and what tools I can share with you if you are in a similar situation.

For the past 8 months, I have worked with some very skilled and trained individuals who have been helping me get Jimmy more acclimated to being in the community. Honestly, it has gone pretty well. The only aggressive behaviors have been directed at either me or one of the workers, and that has been really infrequent. In fact, Jimmy’s behaviors, in general, decreased the more times we went on trips into the community. It seemed like a big win, and we all had high hopes as we looked for possible employment opportunities in our local community. But then I got over confident.

Jimmy was doing so well, I decided to take him to the local thrift store on my own. We had gone so many times in the past months, that I felt like this was something I could handle. What I forgot was Jimmy has a past behavior trigger of becoming very aggressive toward children who are crying. In fact, we had been out in stores numerous times the past 8 months with upset children, and although he may have glanced their way, he never made any move towards them. But, that day I took him he seemed different. I will never know why. Maybe he had a stomach ache, maybe his head hurt, maybe he just didn’t sleep well and felt grumpy. For whatever reason, this was the day he decided to revisit that terrible behavior and try to attack a 3 year old sitting quietly in a shopping cart while his mother looked through a clothing rack. I can say no one was injured, as I was able to get in between Jimmy and the child, but it was really close. He did grab the boy’s sweatshirt which scared the little guy who started crying immediately. Thankfully, Mom got her son and the cart out of the area very quickly. It was a real struggle getting Jimmy out of that store for reasons I won’t go into, but needless to say I was pretty sore the next day from wrestling him out and back into the car. We got home safely, and Jimmy acted as though it had been just another normal outing into the community.

So what does this mean for his future? How will he ever successfully integrate into our community? First, I had to really think about what it was that he enjoyed so much about going to these places. Was it the actual store? No. Was it the interaction with the people there? No. It came down to three things:

Going for a car ride
Attaining a new toy or book
Stopping for fast food on the way home

So, I started thinking about how I could provide these things without endangering another child EVER. I have now come up with a list of places where I am almost 100% certain children will not or cannot be present. I am creating my own thrift store in a neighbor’s garage where he can go and shop for a new toy or book. So far, this new plan has been going really well.

I found an arcade, empty during the school day.

I found the movie theater is empty in the afternoon in between movie times. And, he LOVES popcorn.

I found a church willing to open up an empty building during the day so he could play on their piano.

I am still working really hard at finding more places we can go where I know he will be safe, I will be safe, and the public will be safe. I feel it is my responsibility as a parent (and as a teacher) to ensure the safety of all involved. That may mean I have to think outside the box, but special education teachers and parents are awesome at doing that.

I wanted to share a list of questions I came up with when looking for potential places to visit in the community. You should definitely take the time to explore some places on your own first. In addition, use this checklist in combination with the other 2 lists of questions from the blog posts listed above to help you have the most successful community outing possible.

Download the checklist HERE (no email required)

This was not an easy story for me to share, but I know there will be at least one other person out there who is in the exact same (or worse) situation that I am in. We have to talk about the tough times as well as all the accomplishments. I hope this conversation helped at least one teacher or parent.

PS If you are a teacher and want some more helpful tips on having a successful field trip with your class, then visit my blog post on it by clicking HERE.

25 Excellent Earth Day Activities for a Special Ed Classroom

April 8, 2019/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

April 22 is Earth Day. This has always been a holiday I could get behind. Teaching students about why we need to keep the Earth healthy and how they can make a local impact was always something I found really important and fun to teach. Now, with the explosion of Pinterest, you can spend HOURS going down a rabbit hole looking for an activity your students can actually do and connect with. So, I spent that time for you!! I went down a lot of rabbit holes, before finding what I think are some great Earth Day activities (ALL FREE) that I think students in a special ed setting will truly be able to get excited about and learn from. So here we go…

First, I want to offer you a free resource of my very own. Like I said, I love teaching about Earth Day, and I recently just updated and expanded my Earth day Unit. You can check that out HERE. But, I wanted to put something together that you could use right now at no cost (not even an email address!!)

**Earth Day sorting activity (CLICK HERE**)

This sorting activity allows students to decide if something is good or bad for our Earth. There is a color-coded option already included for students who need more support. So click below the image to grab this awesome activity to use with any learning level you may have in your classroom.

So, now onto my other great finds (ALL FREE):

Math Resources for Earth Day

Earth day I Spy worksheets (click HERE)
Earth Day math games (click HERE)
Color Matching File Folder game for Earth Day (click HERE)
Earth Day Number Worksheet (click HERE)
Another set of cool math games for Earth Day (click HERE)

ELA Resources for Earth Day

Earth Day word searches (click HERE)
Parts of Speech coloring page (click HERE)
Earth Day Mini Book (click HERE)
Earth Day Close reading passages (grades 4-8) (click HERE)
Earth Day Syllable Sort (click HERE)
Earth Day Adapted Worksheet (click HERE)
Earth Day word tracing (click HERE)

Science Resources for Earth Day

Earth Day activity pages (click HERE)
Earth day activity pages for K-5 (click HERE)
Recycle Board game (click HERE)
Earth Day File Folder Activity (click HERE)
The Impact of Bottled Water power point (click HERE)

Art Resources for Earth Day

Earth Day Headband (click HERE)
Make Earth Day handprints with this template (click HERE)
No mess painting in a bag (click HERE)
Earth Day collage with torn magazines (click HERE)
Earth Day project using straws. Good for older kids (click HERE)

Other activities for Earth Day

Earth Day Social Problem Solving. Good for older kids. (click HERE)
Earth Day Playlists: songs, poems, videos and more (click HERE)
Community Service Projects (click HERE)

If you are looking for complete units for Earth Day, I have three in my store depending on the age of the students you teach. Check them out by clicking the link below each picture.

Earth Day for elementary
(***Click HERE***)

Pollution & Conservation
Middle School
***(click HERE)***

Global Connections
High School
***(click HERE)***

Errorless Teaching: Is it worth it?

April 1, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

If you are not in the special education you may wonder what the deal is with errorless activities. What is the point? What are students learning? If you are a special education teacher, then you know they learn a lot from these simple activities. Here are some benefits from having your students do activities that are errorless plus a free download at the end.

1. Learning the mechanics

Before learning new content, we need to give our students a chance to learn how to do certain activities. For example, if you want students to use a circle map to illustrate the main points from a lesson, you want them to already be familiar with what a circle map is and how it works. Having students use a tool with only correct answer choices gives them the foundation they need when faced with unfamiliar or new content. Just think about it. You likely first learned to ride a bike on your driveway or in your neighborhood. It was probably a while before you ventured onto an unknown road or terrain. Riding your bike on a trail successfully only happens when all you have to do is focus on the trail, not how to ride a bike. So, give your students lots of practice using certain tools in a safe and errorless manner before combining them with new or unfamiliar content.

2. Increasing participation

When students feel more confident, they are more likely to participate. In addition, it adds to the discussion and interaction because all the answers they provide will be correct. That gives you so many more opportunities to validate their interaction and reinforce their attempts to participate. Imagine being observed when doing an errorless lesson. It is very likely, no one will pick up on the errorless part and instead, will see equal and active engagement by all the students in the group. A win all around!!

3. Addressing multiple learning levels with the same material

If you have used any of my units on TPT, you know I started about a year ago including errorless and non-errorless options for certain activities. This all came about from a suggestion from a teacher who was using my units. She told me she loved them for her lower level kids, but needed something more challenging for those who were a little more advanced. So, I started adding those options. Now the exact same worksheet can be used for more than one learning level. You can use errorless for those just starting out. You can use the non-errorless version with some color-coding added for more advanced. Finally, you can use the non-errorless version just how it is for those who can truly discriminate right from wrong answers. To see more on color-coding check out these two blog posts:

Color coding for differentiation (click here)
Differentiating 1 activity 3 ways (click here)

4. Building confidence

As I stated above, students who are consistently reinforced tend to repeat that target behavior more often. If you provide lots of options for participation and response with the knowledge that the answer will always be correct (at least in the beginning) you are likely to see a faster spike in engagement and learning. Students won’t know the activity is errorless. Most won’t recognize the subtle differences in the worksheets being used by other students in their group. It will feel totally natural to praise and reward students for their participation and you get the added bonus of reinforcing that the answer given was a correct one!

5. Creating review tools

Most of these activities can serve double duty as review tools for an upcoming assessment. Because they were errorless, you know the material they are reviewing is correct. In addition, you know that parents and perhaps other paraprofessionals who may be reviewing the material with the student has the correct information as well. I had one teacher tell me it is great note taking skill. The power of errorless teaching. It is truly worth the effort.

So wondering how to make activities you already have errorless? Click on the link below to download a quick cheat sheet on how to turn various activities into errorless ones quickly and efficiently!

Errorless teaching quick tips (download NO email needed) CLICK HERE

Adding structure to your small group lessons with schedules

March 25, 2019/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Many of use a schedule to help our students navigate through the day. Schedules are so helpful in building independence as well as decreasing problem behaviors. If students know 1) what is coming next, 2) how long it will last, and 3) what the expectations are things ten to run much more smoothly. In addition to class schedules, I also found schedules for how the group lesson was going to run was also incredibly helpful. Here are some tips and some free schedule cards to download that go with many of my activities.

1. Spend some time familiarizing your students with the schedule cards

Before you start using schedules for your actual lessons, you will want to make sure your students are familiar with the pictures, symbols, words, or even objects you will use to indicate what activity is about to occur. You could work these into a social story, or as a daily review in your circle time or morning meeting. Making sure your students understand what activity goes with each schedule card is helpful before jumping in.

2. Be consistent

Since consistency and repetition is the name of the game in many of our classrooms, this is easy to establish. Many of us do the same activities in various lessons. We may read a book, do a worksheet, do a craft, etc. regardless of if we are teaching math, science or social studies. In reality, it is often structured the same. There is just different content.

3. Decide if you want to use one schedule or individualized schedules

So this will depend upon the makeup of your students. I have done it differently over the years. Sometimes you have students that are on such different learning levels that they need a schedule right in front of them. Some have such challenging behaviors that having their own schedule to manipulate can give them some sense of control and lessen anxiety. Even if I had individual schedules going, I still had a master schedule for the group that I could manipulate.

4. Display the relative time of each activity

I never wanted to be held to a stop watch while I was teaching, so I never used exact amounts of time on my schedule. But, I did feel it was important and helpful for students to know if each activity would take a short, medium, or long time. Some years I used colored backgrounds as shown below.

Green was a short activity
Yellow was a medium activity
Red was a long activity

**Example of adding color coding for time frames**

5. Using the schedule

Once the schedule was set up, I would go over the activities we were going to do. As we completed each activity, either I or a designated helper, would remove the card. For some activities, I had several choices, and I wanted the students to decide what we would do. For example, when doing our vocabulary card or board review activity, there are a ton of choices. Once the students were really familiar with all the different games and how to play them, I would let them choose which particular activity they wanted to add to the schedule that day. By the end of the year, I was allowing students to pretty much plan the entire flow of the lesson.

If you read my previous blog post, Awesome Activities to do with Vocabulary Boards (click HERE), I wanted to offer everyone a free download with a picture card you can use with each activity. They are in two sizes as well as being in color and BW You can download them by clicking HERE (no email needed).

Large vocabulary activity cards
Cards for individual student schedules

I know much of this is second nature to many of you. Hopefully, there was one “aha” moment in here for you. Finally, if you need some general schedule cards to go with your lessons, then click the button below for all the other schedule cards (besides the vocabulary ones above) that I found helpful and correspond with most of the activities found in my units on TPT.

Large other activity cards
Cards for individual student schedules

Jump into Spring with these 10 fun activities

March 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

The weather is getting warmer and your students are likely getting antsy. Why not embrace this season and integrate some of these fun activities into your daily lesson plans? Plus download a free activity for your parents to use at home at the end of this post.

1. Taking it outside

With the warmer weather, you can just take your materials and your students outside to teach a lesson. Yes, there will be some distractions. It may be challenging to keep your kiddos contained, but there is a lot to learn from just being outside. Try to set up the area with clear boundaries so students understand where they are supposed to stay. Use either physical items like chairs, carpet squares, or a blanket. You can also use visual cues like drawing chalk lines if you are on a solid surface. Make sure to remember to bring:

any visual schedules or behavioral picture cues you normally use
communication devices
all your materials

Make sure you look in the Free Resource Library (see tab at top of page) for some FREE vocabulary cards you can download and use for a Spring lesson that would be perfect outside.

2. Go on a scavenger hunt

Spring is the perfect time to go on a scavenger hunt. There are so many changes happening in the world and clues that spring is here. I just wrote a blog post about going on a scavenger hunt, including a FREE hunt for spring you can download for spring. Be sure to read all about it HERE.

3. Plant a class garden

This is the perfect time to plant your class garden. If you plant it now, by the time Earth Day comes around, you will have some things already coming up out of the ground. This is a great way to get those sensory needs met. Play in the dirt. Let the seeds run through your fingers. Have a large bucket of water students can plunge small cups into to water the newly planted seeds.

4. Incubate some chicken eggs

This was always one of my favorite spring activities, although it didn’t always go that well. There were years when none of my eggs hatched. That was a bummer. But, for the years it did work, it was great!! I have a companion unit in my store that goes great with this classroom activity. You can check it out HERE.

5. Go on a field trip

It seems like everyone is going on a field trip this time of year. Why should our kids be left out? I wrote a great blog post about making the most of a field trip (with some free downloads of course). Read about it HERE.

6. Make a collage

I love doing arts and crafts even though they may get a little messy at times. Spring is a great time to make a collage. There are several ways to do this so ALL your students can be involved and work at their own level.

Take items you find outside (maybe from your scavenger hunt) and glue them on a sturdy piece of cardboard.
Take some magazines and find pictures of spring things to make a colorful picture.
Using those same magazines, for students who are readers, have them make a collage of all the spring words they can find. They can even spell some words out by cutting out letters.

7. Write a story

There are so many things happening this time of year that students can write about. Writing prompts are one of my favorite tools to give students a chance to express what they like and don’t like on their own. I have a great new product in my store that contains 15 Writing Prompts for Spring. Check it out HERE. If you are not sure how to use writing prompts with your students or don’t think they can do them, read more HERE (and download a free prompt to try.)

8. Take a nature hike/walk

So this is a little different (in my mind) than a scavenger hunt. In one of my schools, we had these great trails behind the building that went through the woods and down to a creek. Taking a hike during each season was a great way for students to see how things in nature changed. We had one particular spot where a student would stand and we would take their picture. We could compare how the colors changed, how the height of the plants changed, how the ground covering changed, etc. with each season. It was such a fun activity! If you want to make it more structured for your students, read how to do that in my blog post on structured walks HERE.

9. From caterpillar to butterfly

Similar to incubating the chicken eggs, creating a habitat for caterpillars and watch them grow, make cocoons and hatch into butterflies is something many students are doing this time of year. I have a unit that has some great supporting activities for this if you plan on doing it in your classroom this year. Check it out HERE.

10. Get your parents involved

I don’t know about you, but I always need a little extra help getting out of my winter rut at home. Your students’ parents are probably feeling the same way. You can download this great family involvement activity below that gives your parents lots of great ways to get outside and enjoy this warmer weather. You can set this up as a contest, a homework assignment, or just a helpful handout to send home. I always did one of these at Christmas time and they worked really well. Click the button below the image to download this free activity.

5 New Ways to use a Scavenger Hunt in special ed

March 11, 2019/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

I love finding more than one way to use the same activity. Not only does it cut down on the amount of activities I need to create, but it also allows students to use the same skills across different settings, with different people, using different stimuli. Generalization. Yep, it is important and can take some time and strategy to implement. Here are 5 ways to use a scavenger hunt to not only build up that generalization of skills, but save you some precious time as well.

Plus, I have a free scavenger hunt you can download for Spring to try it out.

1. Going Outside

This is probably how most of us use scavenger hunts. We give the kids a list of things to find, and off we go. Of course with some of our kiddos, we need to use pictures rather than words. And for some, we may need to even use real photos. I also like to think about HOW kids will mark their list once they find an item. I try to mix it up and find cool or fun ways to mark their boards. You can try:

stickers
post-it notes
dot markers
hole punch

You also need to decide if each student will carry their own list, or will you just take along a class list. Depending on the makeup of my class, I have done it both ways.

2. Watching a Movie

If it is too cold or wet, you can always do a scavenger hunt with a movie. I have found this sometimes increases engagement, as the students are really watching for things on their list. On the other hand, you can have students who become so involved with the movie, they totally forget about the scavenger hunt. I like to use movie related markers to keep them focused on the list as much as possible. You can try:

small candies, like skittles or gummy bears
popcorn
movie tickets (you can a roll really cheaply at the dollar store)

Special note: If you happen to watch a movie following one of my novel units, you can actually use the vocabulary board as your scavenger hunt list. 😉

3. Reading a book

Just like watching a movie, you can create a scavenger hunt for a read aloud you are planning to do. It will not only increase engagement by provided a clear purpose to listening to the story, but will also reinforce and generalize vocabulary you may be working on from that book. For markers, I like to use:

small, novelty erasers
post-it notes
dot markers

Special note: If you happen using one of my literacy units, you can actually use the vocabulary board as your scavenger hunt list. 😉

4. Exploring the School

Just doing a scavenger hunt around the school or even just in the classroom is a great back to school activity. You can work on all types of behaviors and expectations in all different areas of the school. Again, because there is a clear purpose to the exploration, students are more likely to stay engaged and follow the rules.

Special Note: You can check out my blog post on Structured Walks
for a scavenger hunt that is really structured and pre-planned (click HERE). This works really well for students who are new to you or at the beginning of school. The post has a free guide as well as a free walk you can download.

5. Going on a field trip

If you are planning a field trip, why not also included a scavenger hunt? Again, giving an additional layer of purpose to the trip will increase student engagement. Reviewing the list before hand will also front-load your students with information to make the trip more meaningful to them.

Special Note: Check out my blog post on Having a Successful Field Trip (click HERE) for even more tips on making the most of your outings.

There are so many ways to use scavenger hunts in your lesson plans. I know they take some work to put together, but once you have one, you can use it year after year. You can even use the same scavenger hunt multiple times in multiple settings. Finally, just think about all the IEP goals you can likely target while doing this activity. I found them to be one of my most favorite things to do with my students.

Here is a scavenger hunt for Spring you can download and try. Click button below image.

Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for your email to be processed and your scavenger hunt sent to you. Can’t wait? Email me at specialneedsforspecialkids@gmail.com, and I will send it right over it at all possible.

Taking a successful field trip with your special ed class

March 4, 2019/3 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Taking a field trip is never easy. But, if you teach in a special education classroom, then it can be especially challenging. Here are some ways to make sure you not only have a great field trip, but a safe one as well. Plus, I have some free downloads included to help you out.

Before the trip

There are some things you can do before the trip to make the day less stressful for you, the students, and chaperones.

1. Get as much background information as you can about your destination.

So this is the step that many regular education teachers do not have to worry about so much. If you teach students with significant needs, this is the step the will make all the difference. The more you can familiarize yourself and your students with the location, the better your chances for a smooth and pleasant experience. Here are some things to consider:

Do you need to know if it is handicap accessible ?
What is the general layout?
Are there places to take a break or de-stress if needed?
Do the people who work there know you are coming, and what the general make-up of your class is like? (This can be very helpful if you have students with behaviors that may seem disruptive or even rude if people are not aware they have a disability).
Is there are shelter from the sun or rain?
Are snacks and drinks allowed?

The most successful trip I ever took was also the one I took with my most challenging student. I actually went to the park ahead of time and took lots of pictures. We used those photos to familiarize all the students with the location. In addition, they helped the other adults see where the potential issues and triggers could be. It allowed the entire team to come up with a really good plan. Finally, it lessened this one student’s anxiety about visiting an unfamiliar location.

2. Review the rules and expectations with your students.

As always, being very clear in your expectations when it comes to behavior is critical. I would be reviewing these daily for about a week ahead of time. Remember repetition, with some variety, is key for students to begin making those rules part of their own internal dialog. I have a few social stories you may find helpful with this review. Just click on the titles below to check them out.

3. Create and review a detailed schedule of events.

Using whatever learning level is most appropriate for your students, create a schedule of how the day will run. It may be a picture schedule, a simple checklist, or even an object schedule. It is great if you can make multiple copies so that each student has their own. In addition, each chaperone should have a copy as well. I would laminate these or put them in a page protector to minimize wear and tear.

Day of the Trip

1. Make sure your chaperones are prepared physically and mentally.

This cannot be over-emphasized: you need to make sure everyone is on the same page. Keeping in mind confidentiality issues, you want to make sure any adults that are coming are also prepared for any issues that may arise. This includes:

Things that could trigger problem behaviors, like loud sounds, crowds, animals, bright lights, crying children, etc.
Behavior plans that are currently in place. Specifically the de-escalation procedures for students who may be in their group.
Method of preferred communication for each student in their group including how to use any devices.
Any allergies or food restrictions.

2. Gather all your materials.

I have come up with a free checklist you can download to help get organized. Of course there will be some student specific needs you will have to consider, but this is a place to start. Just click the HERE to download it. (no email needed)

3. Have an emergency back-up plan.

We all know the best-laid plans can be undone in a heartbeat. I always had a backup plan in case things just went totally off the rails. If fact, I often had 2 plans. Plan 1 was in case just a few (or one) students were not able to hang with the rest of the group. I wanted a way for the rest of the class to continue on with the trip and get the full experience. Plan 2 was in case something happened which derailed the entire trip in general. Many of our students have so much trouble with change. Having to cancel a trip for something out of my control is always a possibility, so I tried to have some back-up “safe” location. This was never the preferred option, as many of the students were expecting to go to location A, but at least going to location B was better than not going anywhere at all. I usually had a local park or local school playground set up as a back-up. That way I didn’t have to do a lot of prep. It was a safe, known location to me that I felt we could handle with little upfront work.

4. Review the schedule and expectations.

Before heading out, review the big points one more time. It may be reading the social story as part of your morning meeting. Or, it may mean handing out power cards your students made to take with them as portable reminders. Despite the likely chaos of the morning, make sure to review the expectations one more time.

After the Trip

Whew! You made it and hopefully everyone had the best time. Go home and celebrate and re-energize. But, the next day you want to start thinking of what types of activities you can do to extend and build on that experience. Maybe you want your students to write a story about their trip. I have a FREE writing prompt you can download below. Although I do include pictures for students to use, it may be more beneficial to use some material you have that is more specific. If you took a lot of pictures, put together a slide show. You can even create a simple scavenger hunt students can do AFTER the trip. Have them mark all the things they found the day before. Finally, review those expectations one more time. But, this time make sure you point out who did what well. So if the rule was “I will stay with my group,” be sure to praise all the students who did this really well. Reinforcement is such a powerful tool, make sure to use it.

I hope this post had at least one ah-ha moment for you. Hopefully there was something here that will make your next field trip a little less stressful. Let’s face it, most teachers dread field trips. They are A LOT of work and take A LOT of preparation. But for some of our kids, this may be the only way they are able to get out in their community.

Creating Global Connections in your special education classroom

February 25, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

So what do we really mean when we talk about global connections. It boils down to this: Our well-being is linked to others. What we do in our own lives affects not only ourselves and the people around us, but has ripple effects that can be felt around the world. For that reason, it is important to teach students early (and often) that the choices we make can have powerful consequences. Therefore, we need to help them understand what are good choices versus bad when it comes to the overall well-being of the Earth and its people. Be sure to read to the end of this post to get your free download to make an impact on your students and thus around the world.

In 2015, several countries, came together to create a set of goals meant to keep the world healthy and strong. They came up with 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals with a timeline of being realized by the year 2030. They are not easy goals. But they are critically important if we want to continue to live on a planet that is strong and inhabited by healthy people. You can read more about their mission HERE, but these are the goals they came up with:

No poverty
Zero hunger
Good health and well-being
Quality education
Gender equality
Clean water and sanitation
Affordable and clean energy
Decent work and economic growth
Industries, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Reduced Inequalities
Sustainable cities and communities
Responsible consumption and production
Climate action
Life below water
Life on land
Peace, justice, and strong institutions
Partnerships for goals

Those are a lot of goals, so I decided to just choose 8 of them to focus on while creating a unit for students with significant challenges in middle and high school. But the issue still, was how to get them to really understand what a global impact meant, and how they could create one.

1. I started with a book.

I wrote a 64 page book in which I talked about each of the goals in terms I thought students would understand. Then, I gave them a very specific action they could do locally. And a specific action they could do globally.

2. I developed a vocabulary list.

I find that key vocabulary is critical for long-term retention and generalization of the material. For this unit, I was came up with 15 words that I wanted to use in various activities through the unit.

3. I developed some activities.

I love using thinking maps. In particular, I find circle maps to be one of the best tools for teaching our students note taking and seeing the overall picture. I came up with 3 circle maps for this unit. One was a general overview, one was about local impacts, and one covered global impacts.

I also created a sorting activity to assess if the students were really getting the concept of what a good action or choice was versus a bad one. Remember, you can always add color coding if needed for more additional support.

I also made an activity that looked at each goal and had students identify a local and global action they could do for each. Because I wanted students to focus more on matching the change to the goal, I used color coding. All the local actions were outlined in green and global actions were outlined in blue.

4. I created a writing prompt and pledge cards.

I LOVE writing prompts. They are a great way to allow EVERY student to express their own individual thoughts with some support. I make all my prompts errorless. Obviously there are some better answer choices than others, but all the answers will work. The best part is allowing students to then share their finished stories with others. So awesome!!

***Writing Prompt (download free below)***

I also decided to created some pledge cards to go with this unit. I made them similar to how I create power cards. This gave students a way to focus in on one particular goal that was meaningful to them.

5. I made some assessments.

Of course, you need some way to assess if all the work you are putting into teaching this material is actually making an impact on your students. I like to create some close worksheets that are more narrowly focused. I use these as a warm up to determine what sections many need more re-teaching.

Then I also have a standard assessment. I always make 3 versions of the same assessment. Version one allows students to circle the correct answer choice using pictures. Version two requires a little more prep work. I enlarge the answer choices, print them onto card stock and laminated them. I can then ask the student the question and put the answers (field of 2 or 3) in front of them. The student can indicate their answer using the selection method of their choice, which may be pointing, slapping the card, or even eye gaze. The last version is a standard multiple choice assessment for any kiddos who may be good readers.

So, how long will/should it take you to teach your students about global connections and their own individual impact on the world? I broke it all down for you in a 13 day lesson plan. With some reteaching, and inevitable bumps in the road, I can see this lesson lasting at least 3 weeks. But really, when it comes to impacting the world in a lasting and positive way, that seems like hardly any time at all.

Want to try an activity from this unit? There are so many to choose from, but I am including my favorite here, the writing prompt. It would fit well with whatever lesson plans you may already be using, so be sure to click the button below to grab your free copy.

You can also get my complete unit on Global Connections by clicking HERE or the caption below. It was a labor of love that I hope will make an impact around the world.

***Get the complete unit <CLICK HERE>***

Tips for scissor cutting skills using the same activity

February 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Those fine motor skills can be really tricky to work on. Especially when you are also trying to teach content at the same time. We all know that teaching skills in the natural environment is preferred, but it sure isn’t always easy. Here are 5 simple ways to you can take ONE task that requires cutting and quickly differentiate it for all the students in your class.

1. Thicken the lines

Some students have a pretty good grasp of how to use a pair of scissors. They have the dexterity and the strength to cut a piece of paper in half. For these students, they may just need an extra visual cue as to where to cut. For these students, I take a black marker and just thicken the lines a bit. This is a great way to subtly modify the task if the student is in a general education inclusion setting. Hardly anyone will even notice.

2. Highlight the line

This is another visual cue for those students, who can cut on their own but just need more visual support. I use a colored highlighter to trace the lines I want them to cut. It is also a great idea to practice this in isolation, when you are not teaching a lesson. I always try and use the same color, so students get used to seeing that as a cue, “cut here.”

3. Add a physical barrier

I learned this one by watching my OT. She would place Wikki Stix (thin strings covered with a sticky wax substance) on either side of the line she wanted the student to cut on. Well, I didn’t happen to have these fancy little stix in my classroom, but I did have hot glue, and lots of it. So, I just put a bead of hot glue down either side of the cutting line ahead of time. If the student started straying off the cutting line, the hot glue was really hard to cut through. It gave them some sensory feedback that they had fallen off the line.

4. Pre-cut some of the pieces

Prepping materials in a special education classroom is more than half the battle. If needed, I would ALSO sometimes do some of the cutting myself ahead of time. This way, students were not waiting for me to get things ready. Everyone was able to cut out the same activity at the same time. (Having a bin or folder for each student in the group was super helpful in keeping all of this organized.)

5. Free cutting

Ok there are some students who are just not going to be able to attend to the paper long enough to cut on a line. It won’t matter how much hot glue I piled on there. For these students, I often just let them cut wherever they wanted to on the paper. They still had the same activity as all of the other students. But when it came time to actually DO the activity, voila!! I would have some pre-cut pieces for them ready to go. I had prepped these ahead of time. That way, all the students felt they were involved in the same activity.

I think most special education teachers are accustomed to spending their free time prepping materials for the next day. We spend HOURS laminating, cutting things out, and adding Velcro. Taking a little time to add some visual cues to cutting activities can really pay off when it comes to whole group participation. There is nothing worse than students sitting around while the teacher or assistant cuts out the pieces for them. Using one of the above techniques, will help overall participation and increase student engagement.

Presidents’ Day in a Special Ed classroom

February 11, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Presidents’ Day is fast approaching and it is one I kind of dreaded when I first started teaching. I knew all the other classrooms would be putting out their George Washington silhouettes and wearing their Abraham Lincoln top hats. I also knew I wanted my kiddos to learn about these important people as well, but there just were not any great materials out there for them to use. So, of course, like most special education teachers, I made my own.

And I want to share some of them with you for free at the end of this post!!

It takes more than a day

So the first thing I realized that I needed a MUCH longer time to teach this topic than most of the regular classrooms around me. That was fine. If nothing else, we had time. So I typically devoted 2 full weeks to Presidents’ Day. In a nut shell, here is what I did:

Week 1: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln
Week 2: Other past presidents (briefly), our current president, and the general powers of the President

Week 1 : George Washington

Who doesn’t love a good story about a hero who tries to save the country? I found George Washington an easy person to teach about. However, I did not stray into the more controversial areas of his life (like owning slaves). Because I taught K-5th grade I was not ready to go there, but I might have if I had older students. I wrote a book, we reviewed some fact sheets, and I did a circle map. It seemed to work really well, and the kids could make some nice connections to the Revolutionary War unit (click HERE) I had previously taught.

Week 1: Abraham Lincoln

Next, we talked about Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, and a champion for trying to abolish slavery. Since we were mid-February at this point, we had been talking about Black History Month, and this fit in perfectly. I also had taught the Civil War unit (click HERE) earlier in the year, so we could also circle back to those main concepts as well. I love recycling my old materials. It is a great way to check for retention and connections to new material. Again, we did a book, fact sheet, and circle map. Now I could also introduce a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting Washington and Lincoln. Color coding was of course added, and voila, they could successfully see how these two presidents were so alike.

We also ended the week with a fun log cabin replica made from some supplies I had in the classroom and from home.

Week 2: Other Presidents

I felt like it was important for students to at least “meet” some other past presidents, especially those we had talked about in other social studies units. For this purpose I wrote a quick book and actually made a file folder matching activity. (I know I don’t have many of those in my store, but I used them ALL THE TIME in the classroom.)

We also looked at who our current president is and what powers, in general the president has. We had already done the Branches of Government unit (click HERE) where we had really looked at the powers of each branch of government, so this was just meant as a review. Again, super cool to swing back around and revisit material we had previously done, but now presented in a new way.

Of course I had to do a writing prompt (they are my favorite!) This year, I also created some cool Sudoku puzzles to add even more variety. They are super fun, and I give you some great tips so EVERY student in your class can complete these puzzles.

A Free Download for YOU!!

As always, how can I help? I tried to find something in this unit that I thought EVERYONE could use. So I am making the Washington and Lincoln facts sheets, and the cut and paste review sheets free to download here. I know you will be able to incorporate these into any lesson plans you have for Presidents’ Day. Hopefully, it will give you just a little more time to take a breath and enjoy your students.

You can check out my entire unit on Presidents’s Day by clicking HERE. It has over 120 pages of material guaranteed to keep your kiddos engaged and learning for 2 weeks.

Power Cards: an effective behavior management tool

February 4, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Have you ever spent what feels like days teaching a particular social skill? You find the perfect social story, review it daily, send a copy home for parents to read, and even do various activities reinforcing the main concept. It seems, like your student understands and recognizes what behavior is expected. Then it happens. One or two weeks later you find yourself in that precise situation you practiced and talked about. Maybe it is in an assembly or maybe it is waiting in line for pizza in the cafeteria. You feel confident, your student will behave perfectly; just like you practiced. But then it falls apart. It is as if all that work was for nothing. Your student seems to have forgotten all the cues, all the appropriate responses. It is just a mess.

Boy, have I been there. It can be really discouraging. We all know that social stories are an effective tool. We should not just abandon them when it feels like they may not be working. Maybe they just need a little more support. Maybe we need to add some power cards.

What are power cards?

Power cards are small, often 3 x 5 , that summarize in just a few words or pictures what the appropriate behavior is in a given situation. You can easily create a power card for just about any social story. They can be highly effective reminders, especially when it has been a while since you focused on that particular skill. Because they are so small and portable, students can easily carry them and refer to them as needed. In addition, they do not draw a lot of attention from their peers.

How do you make power cards?

There are a lot of tips out there on how to make the perfect power card. The bottom line, is that it depends on your particular student. Here are some things to keep it mind:

Keep them small enough to be portable. How will your kids carry them? In their pocket, on a key chain, in a phone holder? This will determine the best size to make them.
Use materials that will withstand wear and tear. I like printing them on card stock and laminating them. You can also use packing tape as a quick and cheap way to make them really durable.
Make sure they look age appropriate. The front image can be just about anything that is of high interest to your student. Often, they can look like trading cards. I also let my kiddos personalize them with stickers, color, and even glitter. You can always substitute the front image with something else.

How do you use power cards?

Review the power card as part of the daily lesson when you are focused on teaching that skill. Then, make sure there is a designated space either you or your student keeps their card. In some instances, I kept all the cards myself. For example, the cards we made for a field trip, I would keep in my desk. I would pass them out before leaving and collect them again once we returned. On the other hand, cards we made for what to do when the teacher is talking, students kept in a location they could easily access. For some kids that was in their desk, for some it was in a pencil box, and for some it was on a key chain. As long as they could get it out when needed quickly was fine with me.

I found power cards to be a really nice tool to help students quickly review expectations. It allowed me to use less intrusive prompts. I could simply point to the card as a remember to appropriate behavior.

An additional benefit of power cards

One last great thing about power cards is that they are a great cue to other adults what is expected. If you are not present, another adult can look at the power card and implement the same expectations. Having everyone on the same page so quickly and easily is invaluable.

So, consider adding power cards to your social skills strategy. They are a great tool to have in your arsenal. Click the button below to download this one on telling the truth to try today. There is a copy with pictures and one with just words.

Teaching the Scientific Method in a special education setting

January 28, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

We all know there are certain steps, 6 to be exact, to the scientific method. We also know it is something taught to almost every student at some point in their science curriculum. But what about if you teach in a special education setting? What if the students you teach are severely impacted? Can you still teach and practice the steps of the scientific method? Should you teach and practice the steps to the scientific method? Yes and yes. Let’s look at how you can take this abstract concept and provide enough support (and a lot of repetition of course) to allow your students to make real connections to this process. Oh, and there is a FREE download at the end of this post. 😉

Step 1: Ask a good question ❓

This is probably the most difficult step for me because asking questions in general, can be really difficult for our kiddos. The key here is to get your kids to :

Just ask general questions about the material you are studying
Start deciding if their questions contain something that can be measured
Come up with questions that can be measured AND are relevant

So, as you can imagine, this takes a lot of guidance and a lot of practice. I try to validate as many questions as I can. Remember, this is NOT the formation of a hypothesis. That comes in step 3, and we will provide a lot more support for that step. For now, I then help guide them as much as I can, while letting them explore possible questions. In the end, it is okay if you, as the teacher, come up with the best question to base your research and experiment around.

Step 2: Research and gather information 📓

This is the step that is the easiest, in my opinion. If you have a well-structured lesson then you are naturally helping students research and gather information everyday through the stories you use, videos you show, and activities you have students complete. The other part of this step is deciding on what you will need for your experiment and gathering those materials. Here is how I set that up to make it as structured and independent as possible.

Step 3: Make a hypothesis 🤔

This step needs some structure to be sure students truly comprehend what a good hypothesis looks and sounds like. For that reason, I use the format shown below to allow students to formulate their OWN hypothesis. That means I try to provide answer choices that make sense, but I also know might be proven wrong. It is OKAY to have a hypothesis proven wrong. It is important to let students know that, so they do not feel like they have done something “wrong” if things do not turn out as expected.

Step 4: Conduct experiments 🔬

Yep, this is the best part. All kids love to do experiments. Although you may not wade into the territory of independent, dependent, and controlled variables with your students, you, as the teacher, needs to be aware of them to protect the integrity of the results. For that reason, I make the experiment very structured and the directions very visual. Honestly, some experiments go better than others, but my ultimate goal is to allow students to do as many of the steps themselves with only some guidance from me. I try to stay away from the “now watch me” model. I think the kids need to get their hands in there and actually DO the experiment themselves.

Step 5: Analyze the results 🔍

You may think this is the hardest step, but really it is not. With the right amount of support and visual structure, students are able to collect the data on their own AND compare it to their hypothesis.

Step 6: Present your conclusion ✋

The moment of truth. Students get to share what happened in their experiment and how that compared to their hypothesis. Circling back and connecting their results to their predictions is critically important in the process of the scientific method. I also think it is the step that is often glossed over in many regular education settings. But, I have found a great way to help students “see” this connection. This is one of those times, that I try to include only the correct answers. I make this last page as errorless as possible. I want my students paying attention to how their results compared to their hypothesis, NOT trying to figure out what the right answer is. It has worked really well for me.

My hope is you will feel like you have the tools to help your students not only conduct experiments in your classroom, but to do it with validity and respect for the scientific method. I use this exact same set up for every experiment I have included in my science units. If you want to try one out, click the button below to download this experiment from my unit on the Scientific Method: Turning a Penny Green. I think your students will really love it!

Wonder: A novel unit for teaching acceptance with free activities

January 21, 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

I had so many teachers last year begging me to do a novel unit on Wonder by R,J. Palacio. I was deep into a series of science units for high school, so I put it on my to-do list. I knew I wanted to do this novel, but was not sure when. Well, this December while in the car for over 12 hours, I finally found the time. Boy am I glad I did!!

A great read

This is an amazing story of one boy’s struggle to be just another kid despite his very visual differences. The book chronicles his first time in a public school setting at the age of 11, going into 5th grade. As you can imaging, there are some pretty awful experiences, as well as some heartwarming ones. In the end, he comes away the hero, causing us to shed more than a few tears at his triumphs.

A bonus chapter

So, I happened to pick up the book with a bonus chapter that was not included in every version of the novel. It was a chapter, solely from the protagonist’s view point, Julian. Julian is that boy in the book that we all want to dislike. He is a privileged, upper class boy with parents who use their money and power to get what they want. Julian is not kind. He is the stereotypical bully who we wish could just feel a little bit of the hatred he puts out. But, then we learn more.

This chapter looks more deeply into why Julian is the way he is. You get a glimpse at his own hidden disability. It is a good lesson, that you never know what struggles an individual may be dealing with. In the end, you still feel anger and dislike for Julian. His actions were pretty horrible, regardless of his home situation. But, you do understand him more. You may even look differently at those students who do not seem to have enough compassion and kindness for others.

Free activities

I have created some FREE activities to go along with this bonus chapter. As with all my novel units, I created them for students with autism and significant learning challenges. Even if your students struggle with comprehension, they will still be able to do and benefit from these activities. Click the button below this short video to download them.

Julian’s Chapter

The complete unit

I do have the complete unit for Wonder in my store. You can check it out by clicking HERE. I am really glad I finally took the time to read this story. Always choose kind, and you cannot go wrong.

Awesome activities to do with vocabulary boards and cards

January 14, 2019/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by christajoy1765

Have you ever purchased a teaching unit or curriculum and wondered, “What the heck am I supposed to use this for?” I have gotten that question occasionally from some of my friends concerning the vocabulary boards that are included in 99% of my units. I do have this great short video, giving you some ideas, but I wanted to share 10 more awesome ways you can use these vocabulary boards (oh, and it works with those vocabulary cards in some of my units as well!!). At the end of this post, you can download a complete list with a summary of all these activities you can keep for a quick reference. Trust me, your kids will not only LOVE these activities, but learn from them as well.

If you would like to download some FREE schedule cards to go with these awesome activities, check out this blog post on adding structure to small group lessons by clicking HERE.

First, here is the video I made a few years ago about using these boards in case you missed it.

Now let’s add some new and exciting ways you can use these in your classroom. Remember, if you purchased a unit that has vocabulary cards, you can do these same activities with those as well.

NOTE: For many of these activities you will want to enlarge a second copy of your vocabulary board since you will be holding the images up in front of the students. If you are unable to do this, NO PROBLEM!! Just send me an email at specialneedsforspecialkids@gmail.com and tell me which vocabulary board you need enlarged. I will email you an enlarged copy!!