Special educators need a pretty large toolbox of strategies and resources to support our learners. So often, our students can have significantly diverse needs and levels. On any given day, special education teachers might need to take student reading data, modify a math assessment, teach science wit
Differentiation and scaffolding can help students better understand and learn. Here are teaching ideas and tips to use in class.
From literature and history to science and mathematics, we’ve included questions on a variety of subjects to see if we can guess your education level.
15 Educational YouTube channels for kids that take the guilt out of screen time! The perfect Mom hack to help your kids learn while being entertained!
From literature and history to science and mathematics, we’ve included questions on a variety of subjects to see if we can guess your education level.
Fear, not quiz-masters, this quiz is challenging but fun. See how your general knowledge stacks up against our trivia!
Learn about the three levels of autism with this easy to understand guide. Understanding repetitive behaviors and social communication levels. #autism #asd #autismparenting #levelsofautism
From literature and history to science and mathematics, we’ve included questions on a variety of subjects to see if we can guess your education level.
A cheat sheet of education theorists and their research based teaching practices.
Learn about the three levels of autism with this easy to understand guide. Understanding repetitive behaviors and social communication levels. #autism #asd #autismparenting #levelsofautism
Let me set the stage for you, it’s high stakes testing time. You have four evaluation conferences coming up, yet you have NO time to work because, well, testing. You get an email from your secretary. New kid. Has IEP. No records from previous school. UGH! How will you ever assess your students who are […]
Explore eight signs you are a high level thinker who thinks on a more critical and complex scale & has an incredible knack for thinking and problem-solving.
Informal math assessments for special education for K-8. Assessments are aligned with Common Core Standards. Find your students average level/abilities.
Here are a few simple 'low prep' activity for subtraction in the K-3 classroom! 1. Two Dice Roll a thirty or twenty sided number die and a standard six sided die. Students write a subtraction problem using the numbers thrown. They can 'touch count' backwards using the dots on the standard die if they need to. Roll again if the numeral die number is smaller than the dot die. 2. Towers Students take one tower of ten connecting cubes. They break the tower into two pieces and write down a number sentence to explain what they have done - e.g. 10-5 = 5. 3. 100 Club Each student has 100 cubes, a standard die and a small tub. They simply 'roll and take' to move the cubes from their pile to the tub. This is great for students new to subtraction that simply need an abundance of practice 'acting out' the process of 'taking away' to make changes to a group. It will also reinforce counting and subitizing. I have added a low-prep worksheet activity packet to my resource collection. Number Snake Worksheets will help your students model the process of subtraction and record their answers on the one page. I have included cut-and-glue numbers, but if this is not suitable for your students, simply ask them to write the answer instead. The snake becomes a count-back number line to give your students support. They can finger-point to count back, or you can ask them to make each number with cubes and place them over the numbered dots on the snake. For example, with 9-2, students would place nine cubes on the snake to begin. They then model subtraction by removing two of the cubes and taking them away from the snake. Students can count up how many cubes remain and check the number line to see their answer. This will also reinforce the concept that the last number covered is the answer - and it represents the number of objects left. With subtraction on a number line, initially students may find it confusing to know if it is the last number pointed to or the next number. With actual objects, they can see the connection clearly. Students then record their answer (either cut and glue, or simply write). My subtraction snake worksheet packet is in my TpT store today! I also have this little freebie for you today which works very well as an assessment or speed check! Find it in google drive HERE Want more like this? Check out this value pack in my TpT store for addition AND subtraction! Have a wonderful day friends!
Check out these different ideas on how to create an engaging group lesson for your lower level special education students!
HI — I no longer update this page ~ but “MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES in COMICS ED” is available at my NEW COMICS WORKSHOP site HERE >>… ~ Marek … AND ALSO: Psst! Tea…
Google for Education just announced some AH-mazing updates!In this podcast series, Kasey explains the important updates teachers need to know.In this episode (Part 1), we explore Smart Canvas, Building Blocks, Chrome Reading Mode, Cast Moderator, Slides and Meet integrations, and more!Teachers, there are some powerful tools coming your way this year.
Informal assessments for special education in the areas of Reading, Writing, and Math. Two versions: one printable and one digital.
If we know what works to motivate students, why are so many students still unmotivated? These five questions will help you determine if your practice is really in line with research.
Looking to learn more about Google Certifications? Check out these posts and resources about all the different types of Google Certifications for Educators: Google Certified Trainer, Google Certified Educator, Google Certified Innovator and Google Certified Administrator.
Something new we've learned this year is that TED has some really interesting math videos. Here are a few TED Talks for middle school kids who hate math, for those days when you really need to do something different, or need a bit of a break from the norm.
Looking for some good iPad apps to teach STEAM in your classroom? This collection created by We Are Teachers is definitely a must see. It provides about 60 iPad apps categorized under different subject areas, all of which are geared towards enhancing your kids' STEAM knowledge. The app recommendations are also arranged in such a way that you will be able to access apps for different grade levels (k-12). I have spent sometime going through this collection and find it really worth sharing with you here. Have a look and share with us what you think of it.
50 Educators You Should Follow on Pinterest! (Part 3 of The Teacher's Guide to Pinterest!) One of the most popular posts EVER to appear on Shake Up Learning was 35 Educators You Should Follow
Looking to improve your English language level? Our comprehensive guide will help you identify where you are & how to reach a higher CEFR level.
Like other taxonomies, Bloom’s is hierarchical, meaning that learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels. You will see Bloom’s Taxonomy often displayed as a pyramid graphic to help demonstrate this hierarchy. We have updated this pyramid into a “cake-style” hierarchy to emphasize that each level is built on a foundation of the previous levels.
This simple, affordable method offers so many possibilities for deep learning and creativity across all grade levels and subject areas, even in remote learning.
I have really enjoyed chatting with teachers on Twitter lately about DOK (Depth of Knowledge) levels. Part of what I teach in my college class to
A digital curation project is a fast way to engage critical thinking in any content area. Here's how it works.
A change in a prompt can influence how a student responds thinks. A study found that using a problem-based curriculum can help students develop their own hypotheses and take risks — all signs of deeper-level learning.
Looking to improve your English language level? Our comprehensive guide will help you identify where you are & how to reach a higher CEFR level.
Here are a few games for kids with Autism suggestions to use in your classroom. There are also many ways you can play these games...
👆 Make sure to check out the Arcade for awesome video content. I used to have a love/hate relationship with Four Square. I loved it because virtually every age group could play to
You probably already know that I LOVE literacy in the classroom! I love everything about it- from helping students grow a love for books, to seeing the connection between literacy & communication, to doing read alouds with kids, and watching students sound out their first word! Something I've always believed (and have seen to be true over my years in the classroom) is that even if students aren't "conventional readers," they can still do a lot during literacy instruction! We often have students who can't read (yet) in self-contained classrooms, but that doesn't mean we can't teach the five core components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics & word study, reading comprehension, vocabulary and reading fluency. We can (and should) teach our students more than just letter identification, letter sounds, sight words identification, and basic functional reading skills. There are SO many ways to work on students' IEP goals while exposing students to the common core and/or adapted curriculum content! It just takes some creativity and of course, differentiation. I'm going to share some ideas for focusing on writing, comprehension and vocabulary when working with students with intensive needs. First let me say, I don't think there is one "right way" to run reading groups in special ed classrooms. It's important to hit all 5 core components of reading across the day, but boxed guided reading curricula often just don't work in our classrooms. If you want to read more about how we structure/ set up reading groups, check out this post. So let's jump in... this is how we do it: Each group reads the same book for the entire week, similar to a repeated reading during traditional guided reading and shared reading lessons! Some students verbally read the books, while other students listen to a teacher read the book. Students are provided with a way to engage with the book during the reading. I use these communication/ answer boards during reading. Students can use the boards to match pictures, answer yes/ no questions, sequence the story, etc. Every day we finish reading the book, we answer differentiated comprehension questions. One level has pictures/ visuals to support students with answering questions and the other level has only words. Again, some students will read the question and answer options and other students will have a teacher read the question/ answer options to them. We do a different activity related to the repeated story each day. One day, we review vocabulary words from the book. We will read/ repeat the words, find the words in the book, define them, find them on our communication boards, etc. The main focus is for students to learn the vocabulary words, have exposure to the content and also work on their fine motor/ writing IEP goals. We practice writing the vocabulary words. Depending on needs, students are: tracing words copying words with boxes copying from a word bank with boxes or copying from a word bank. We also spend a day answering comprehension questions about the book. This is also highly differentiated so that all students can participate. A few of the concepts the comprehension worksheets include are: filling in the blank/ completing sentences identifying the main idea & key details answering direct recall questions identifying unfamiliar vocabulary making inferences As we read the questions to students, we will prompt students to go back and reference the book or communication boards to find the answers, if needed. Depending on needs, students are: tracing the answers picking the answer from a field of 2 writing or copying the answer We also spend a day to work on using the vocabulary words in sentences. This is a great way to work on communication skills, grammar, fine motor/ writing, and comprehension/ vocabulary. Depending on needs, students are: tracing 2 sentences using the vocabulary words dictating 2 sentences to a teacher and then copying the sentences writing 2 sentences with a word bank These activities only fill 3 days of instruction. The other 2 days of reading groups, I typically use other comprehension activities I can find on TpT. They might be sequencing/ cut and paste activities or other writing prompts I can find. I like to give our students the structure and predictability of using similar worksheets 3 days a week and then mixing it up 2 days a week. I hope this helps to give you ideas for working on comprehension & writing in your classroom! You can email me ([email protected]) or DM me on social media with any questions or ideas you have! If you want a freebie/ sample of my book & writing/ comprehension extension pack, you can grab my Life Cycle of a Frog and extension pack for FREE here. If you want to grab the entire bundle of 37 books and writing/ comprehension activities, click here! Note: if you already own my Circle Time/ Morning Meeting curriculum, then you already own the books! You can get the extension packs separately here.
Here's a little diagram I put together to highlight the differences in the creative process between divergent and convergent thinking. Like all models, it's not comprehensive, but meant to serve as a general guideline. (Convergence and Divergence are used in...
There’s not only one way to write a lesson plan. Here’s a simple guide along with a special education lesson plan template to get you started.
