I am finally TEACHING in the regular education classroom. I don't feel like a glorified para, I don't feel like I am sitting back wasting my skills by just supporting my students, I am finally teaching with my regular education co-teacher and teaching to ALL students, not just my special education students. My administrators have been trying to implement co-teaching but with the best of intentions as the year starts out, we can get pulled in many directions and students get added to our caseloads through out they year, a student is having emotional problems and all that can come to a hal ..read more

He is just lazy.  He is never paying attention in class. She has papers everywhere and is always losing things! Those emotions just don't match the situation. Ever have (or is working with) a child that you thought those exact thing? Chances are they have an executive function disorder (think of those children with sensory needs, autism or adhd). Executive funcitoning in student lives. What are they? 1. Organization 2. Planning 3. Time management 4. Working memory 5. Attention 6. Flexible thinking 7. Emotional regulation 8. Initiation (9. some think self-awareness is one as well ..read more

New school year? New student? Mid year or end of year? Time to take that reading data!! Two reading assessments I give to all my special education students are running records and a sight word test. If your a new teacher with limited resources then I have some great suggestions on how you can do this on a budget. Running Records: If your lucky enough to have a school that already has a reading kit such as Fountas and Pinnell's BAS (Benchmark Assessment System) or Rigby PM Benchmark Kit then you are already in the game. If you are not so lucky (been there, done that ..read more

Whether you are a special education teacher (OT, PT, S/L, Counselor) or a regular education teacher, you will come to encounter some students who have a difficult time regulating their emotions and learning self control.  We work with many students who have self-regulation difficulties (ADHD, Autism, Learning Disability, Behavioral Challenges) that could use explicit teaching in regulating and controlling emotions. The "Zones of Regulation" is a curriculum that I use to teach students to recognize what "zone" they are in by using a diffident color code to help visually match their em ..read more

The end of the school year is fast approaching and that means none other than packing up and cleaning! Here are several tips that help me stay organized and helps me when I return to the classroom for the next school year. 1. PECS organization: I keep all my pecs in a multi-drawer container.This helps putting aways PECS and finding PECS so much faster! For some of my kiddos I keep their picture schedules and put them away for the next school year but for some I need to clean out and will revisit it when school starts back up. Having an easy and functional system that works for you is a ..read more

Spring is in the air and who doesn't love cleaning and getting more organized? Read on to learn more about how I organized my task cards and to grab a freebie! Who doesn't love being organized? Have you seen these wonderful "Task Boxes" that keeps popping up on your news feed? Well I couldn't resist any longer and had to jump on the bandwagon! These task boxers are perfect to hold task cards as well as many other things! You could store your PECS in these or use these as you visual holder for your "Working Towards" reward schedule. completed the task. It is prefect to hold all your extra r ..read more

iPads can be a great motivator in the special education classroom. Many times I have my students work towards having an break in between work sessions and 9 out of 10 times they choose the iPad. They are great way to incorporate technology and fun into learning. Here are a few apps that we like to use. (Note not all these apps are free, these apps are ones I use in my classroom and my are my opinion, not part of anyone else views nor do I get anything from mentioning these apps.) 1. Kids A-Z Kids A-Z is a free app but you do have to purchase yearly subscription but it is totally worth it ..read more

We all have those days where we question what we are doing and why are we still teaching. But to be honest, there is nothing else I would rather do than be a special education teacher. Even though there are times where I come home swamped in paperwork, dealing with "that" parent or when a student had a rough day, I try to stay positive and remember those kids need us. Because if not us then who? Tips to staying positive, even on those rough days 1. Remember why you love teaching!  I remember why I went into teacher; I love working with kids. I love seeing those "ah-ha" moments! I als ..read more

Don't we all want our students to have: better grades, better attendance and homework completions, positive attitudes, higher graduation rates and high rates of college enrollment? Research shows us that when family involvement is increased these things can happen! But how can we do that? Here is a list of ideas to help get your families engaged and be on your team! 1. The first thing I do is create an open line of communication.  This is crucial as a teacher and especially for special ed. I call parents before school has started, to introduce myself, and go over any questions or c ..read more

Sight words! They are so important for our students to learn to become stronger readers. What are some ways to engage your students into learning and reading sight words? Here are some different ways to teach sight words. 1. The student needs to see the word and say. I like to introduce 3-5 words and keep working on those until mastery and introducing new words. Start with one word and have them repeat the word after you and spell it allowed. Tip: have them listen to the word and then say the word, teach through repetition, teach in context, teach with music and with games! 2. Spell ..read more