SPED Tricks and Treats Blog Hop


Welcome to the SPED Tricks and Treats Blog Hop. I am so excited to share my tricks and treat with you!


Introduce technology into your T.E.A.C.C.H work tasks. Take pictures of various building or pattern tasks. I like doing these because it allows our students to use technology as a tool rather than a choice time activity. I also like this because it is super easy and quick to make changes for future tasks or on the fly. I store the iPad in the drawer with the task itself.



Use Wiki Stixs to engage your readers in the lesson. I have some students who struggle to do paper pencil tasks. I do this to allow him to show me he knows the answer. If I need to have documentation of his work I simply snap a picture, print it, date it and put it in his file.



Ever have students who are doing everything they can to get your attention? Do you struggle to ignore them because all you can think about is how difficult it will be to clean up their mess? Well...if you take the time to label EVERYTHING in your classroom, your students can clean up all of their mess themselves (or with little prompting). Here is a mess that was made in my classroom while a student was wanting nothing more than my attention.


Yes those are all little pieces from 5 different file folder activities. Instead of having to give in and give the attention the student needed I didn't sweat it. I know that cleaning up what could be a daunting task won't be that difficult (for me :)). I label the backs of every piece in my file folders. I put a code (usually an abbreviation) on the backs of the little pieces. I put that same code on the file folder and baggie that holds the pieces. That way, if something like this was to happen everyone knows where the pieces go. It is also good practice because sometimes those darn little pieces just fall out! (I forgot to take pictures of the little icons to show you can example :( )

That was it for my tricks now it's time to grab your treat!


The treat I have shared with you is an Interactive Reading Comprehension File Folder.....Don't forget to label the pieces :). Grab the full product here!




Hop on over to see what Kate from Fun in ECSE has to share!
Fun in ECSE


post signature Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Independent Writing Ideas

Image
A few years ago the thought of having to teach writing to students with complex communication needs was overwhelming. I didn't know where to start and every curriculum out there was way too involved to support the basic needs of my students. However, after a few years of researching and testing out different things in my classroom I can now say writing is one of my favorite things to do with students. I see the most progress and it is easily implemented into my day. Keep reading to see how I am able to have all of my students participate in independent writing. The first thing to know is that all of my students do independent writing every single day. We incorporate our writing routine into our emergent and conventional literacy blocks. You can read about those here and here .  The students in my class all have complex communication needs and use some form of AAC. Word Wall The word wall is a vital part of our independent writing routine. Students need to have access to an abundan...
Read more

Phonics Activities

Image
Being a special education teacher means you probably teach multiple grade levels, have students for multiple years and teach multiple academic levels. The last thing we want is for a student to be doing the same activities from K-3 grade because they are in our classroom all 4 years. So it is very important for us to a have a large bank of activities to pull from to keep students engaged. Today I am sharing with you some of the ways I teach phonics in my classroom. This isn't everything I do but these are some fun and simple ways to change it up! GO FISHING This is one of our favorite activities. I write words, letters, diagraphs etc. on note cards, attach a paper clip and use our magnetic "fishing pole" wands to retrieve words. I scatter the note cards around the room and then tell the kids to go and get them. This is where the differentiation can come into play. For some students I may say, go find 2 words that start with s. For another I might say, go find 4 words. Ano...
Read more

Teaching Functional/Sight Words

Image
The reading process is very challenging. You have to rely on your vision, hearing, memory and judgement skills to gain a true understanding of the process. Students with disabilities struggle with this and don't really get the chance to read and write for meaning on a daily basis. Because of this, it is our job as educators to make sure our students have access to the words that are the most meaningful to them. Teaching functional words to students with disabilities should be at the top of our list. Increasing a students vocabulary, increases their communication and in return should decrease those negative and unwanted behaviors. So here are 5 easy steps to teaching functional and sight words to your students. Before you begin teaching it is essential to get a baseline on your students. Gathering data before you start teaching will do 2 things. First it will let you know exactly what area(s) your student needs direct teaching in and second it gives you a baseline so you can compare...
Read more