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
Making sure our students have enough math practice is vital. Thankfully, there are math websites that are great for special ed!
In this article, I outline survival tips for first-year special education teachers. My survival guide includes advice about planning, IEPs, networking, prioritizing, and more with lots of resources.
I was in a heated IEP meeting one time, and a teacher angrily blurted out, 'What do you want from me? Do you want me
Making sure our students have enough math practice is vital. Thankfully, there are math websites that are great for special ed!
You landed the job and you're a brand new teacher! Check out these tips for first year special education teachers in this blog post!
We can use switches for communication (like recordable switches) and we can use them to access items with wired or wireless switches.
Learn which strategies to use with students who are engaging in escape or task avoidance behaviors in special education classes.
Finding resources to support middle school special education students is difficult, here are the best reading resources that I have found.
Being a new special education teacher can be overwhelming and stressful. Check out The FIRST thing to do as a new special ed teacher.
Overwhelmed and understaffed my first year as a special education teacher in the self-contained classroom, I discovered that implementing an effective independent workstation helped my students become more successful and independent. Click to learn how I got control using task boxes and independent workstations in my special education classroom. My students loved the differentiated math, language arts, science, and social studies curriculum with age appropriate clip art and real photographs.
Classroom hacks that actually work in a special education classroom setting. Tried and true methods from actual teachers. Read to learn more.
What do you do as a special ed. teacher when a student with autism refuses to work? It depends on the function of the behavior! Learn the 12 Best Strategies!
It's one thing to do worksheets that have word problems involving money, but being able to transfer money skills in the community is another skill to master. Here are some ideas to prepare your students for the community and beyond!
Do you want to work on life skills in your classroom? Are you looking for hands-on special education life skills activities that your students will love? If so, you've come to the right place. Because today, I'm sharing my top 10 life skills activities that you can do in your classroom. 1. Washing Hands One
Enhance classroom organization, teaching strategies, and student engagement with these innovative tips. Unlock the power of office supplies to create an inclusive and efficient learning environment.
Make lesson planning easier by repeating activities. Keep reading to find out how each life skills activity is different each day.
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YES! I am going to give you 10 of my favorite IEP goals in this blog post! I LOVE using adapted books in the classroom, and one of the number one questions I get about them is… “what are your IEP goals for them?”…. here’s the answer! The goals I will be sharing below are […]
You know that saying: "There's a lesson to be learned in everything.", well, it's true! If you're a teacher, there are many tedious little tasks you do on a daily basis that students can help with while learning job skills!
Interview prep questions for new special education teachers and teachers who are interviewing this year! Download the list!
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of Behavior supports there are available out there! Are you looking for that particular one you need to help you manage behaviors and maintain structure in your cl…
Challenges with focus and attention can become a huge roadblock to learning for kids and young adults. Simply put, attention is critical to learning. If students can't focus on the lesson, they are going to struggle with understanding the new content. If students can't focus on the directions, they
As a special education teacher, there are a lot of things we need. But this is a list of 25 things that we MUST have to help us manage the classroom and survive. List of special ed must haves blog post at Mrs. D's Corner.
Accommodations to support students in your classroom who have Dyscalculia or other math disabilities be successful in school.
Supporting kids with special needs works best when both regular education and special education staff work together. That's why it is helpful for all teachers to understand how they can modify and accommodate for students in their classrooms. For newer teachers, learning that you need to modify work
You aren't making these teacher mistakes in your special education class, are you? Here's 6 mistakes teachers and paras in SpEd make PLUS 5 easy fixes too!
How does slow processing speed affect students? Slow processing speed can create anxiety as the struggle with processing verbal or visual information.
**This post contains affiliate links, which means that I collect a commission, at no additional cost to you, should you choose to make a purchase.** Building social skills is essential in the special education classroom. I know that direct teaching of basic social skills is imperative, but when we get ready for generalization I’m a ... Read More about 15 Must Have Board Games for Special Education
College. There are the courses that prepare you for the "textbook stuff", but nothing in the world prepares you for teaching quite like actually teaching does. Learn the special ed secrets, that things you don't learn in college, only at Mrs. D's Corner.
Prompting Hierarchy- How I got duped! What you need to know about the prompting hierarchy. Snag the infographic and info perfect for working with your staff!
How to set up calm down heavy work stations in the self-contained special education classroom to help kids with sensory, autism, or behavior issues with items you already have
So you’ve taught your students to write sentences. Now what? In the beginning of my career, we worked HARD on writing sentences. When it came time to take the next step into writing paragraphs, I found this was even harder for my students. We were able to write 2-3 sentences about a topic or picture, ... Read More about How to Scaffold Paragraph Writing for Special Education
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
We live in a digital world... technology is all around us! Our kiddos with disabilities should have the same opportunity to learn to use technology as students who are "typically developing." As special education teachers, it can be difficult to find ways that our kiddos can access technology. I've always loved switch activated cause and effect toys and games, but switch toys are expensive and my kids get bored of them after a few weeks of playing with them. When it comes to technology, I often prefer using a computer over an iPad because the computer screen is larger and I have many kiddos with vision impairments. So I've been on the hunt lately for FREE websites that my students can use with switches for simple games and cause and effect activities. First, before you even think of attaching a switch to your computer, you will need a switch interface. My district will loan out switch interfaces, but it's a NIGHTMARE to check stuff out and turn it back in, so I bought my own interface. I bought this X-keys interface for $53 and it works like magic! Better Living Through Technology has a great post explaining switch interfaces and what you'll need to get started using a switch with your computer. After you have the interface, you'll have to download the software and get it all hooked up (whatever interface you buy should explain this process). Shinylearning is amazing! The website is made specifically for kiddos with disabilities who use assistive tech (specifically switches and touch screen). The website has simple cause and effect games and also simple single switch games and the website words on computers and tablets. The website has some free games but you can purchase a subscription to get access to more games. SpecialBites is also awesome! The website has a variety of free switch games/ software that you can download to your computer and also free online games that don't require any download. The website also has a variety of levels of games (some are simply single switch cause and effect, some require timing, and some require multiple switches!). We love the free online games- just go to the website and click "free online games" on the left tabs and then you have a ton of options like sports games, angry pigs, sensory games and so much more! Our favorites are the soccer games, all of the easy fireworks sensory games, and angry pigs. Although FisherPrice is geared towards infants, toddlers and preschool age students, some of their free online games are perfect for switch toys and are really motivating to my kiddos. From the link, you can click on "online games" and then pick an age range and explore. Two games that work great with switches and that my kids LOVE are the Laugh & Learn Peek-a-Boo Game and the Rainforest Peek-a-Boo Game. They're perfect for single switches/ cause and effect! If you know other websites that are great for switch toys, PLEASE share them in the comments! I would love more ideas and I know others reading this would too!
How to plan for, modify, and implement successful Guided Reading in SPED. TIps and tricks with full lesson plan ideas at Mrs. D's Corner.
As special education teachers, there are a few red flags to avoid during an IEP meeting. Here are 10 things not to say in an IEP meeting.
Popular posts from Heather Greutman, therapy and hands-on activities blogger at Growing Hands-On Kids.
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
Our Literacy Specialist, Veronica Schneider, recalls her experience teaching in a nonverbal autistic classroom, and reflects upon what she has learned from her special education experience.
A list of job options you have as a special education teacher (outside of the traditional classroom setting), given the skills you possess as an educator.
Encourage language development, while fostering fine motor skills, following directions and other functional life skills. Cooking in the classroom with visual recipes, step by step recipes to foster those super important life skills, and work on those IEP goals and objectives... all at the same time!
Classroom hacks that actually work in a special education classroom setting. Tried and true methods from actual teachers. Read to learn more.
Learn how one educator uses G Suite for Education to help students overcome their negative self-images and embrace learning.
