Telling Time Pocket Activity

 My students have been working in centers to review skills for testing next month. I wanted an activity to get them up and moving around the room.

 I created this activity for my telling time center. I made pockets out of construction paper and taped them around the room. I used different sets of clocks for various grade levels. Each student had to cut out their time strips and put their name on each strip. You could also assign a color for each student in small groups. The students walked around the room and put each time strip underneath the correct clock.

The kids really enjoyed this activity! When everyone had finished, we walked to each spot and went over the answers. This activity can also be used as an exit activity or a quick assessment.

To get this FREE activity, click the picture or the link:  Telling Time Pocket Activity

Multiplication Facts: Setting Goals and Making It Fun!!

I haven’t always been keen on timed multiplication tests     for my kiddos. However, I was looking for something that would motivate my kids to learn their facts. So we started taking a 3-minute multiplication facts test every Friday after their weekly assessment. Well, it was a hit!  Once they passed the test, they were able to write their name on the star below that fact.

  To stay organized, I put the fluency fact sheets in sandwich bags for easy access. The students go up and pull out the fact sheet that they want to take a test on that week.  I was really surprised how well it went over with my upper grade students.  They are so excited to start it up again this year.  

Interested in my multiplication facts fluency assessments? Click the link below:

 Multiplication Facts Fluency Assessments 0-10 

Getting Organized in a Resource Room Setting: Tip #1 Student Kits

  Do you ever get tired of kids needing to sharpen pencils, get a glue stick, or a pair of scissors?!?  I started making kits a couple of years ago for every desk in my classroom.  Each kit includes the following items: extra pencils, scissors, a box of crayons, a small ruler, a pencil sharpener, and a dry-erase marker with an eraser. I can’t tell you how much this saves time in my classroom. When you only have students for 40 minutes per period, you have to be efficient.  It also adds to the overall structure of my classroom. Everything they will need to participate in the lesson is right at their desk. 

  Right now is a great time to stock up on these items during Back-to-School sales.  I actually bought the kits and pencil sharpeners on sale at Wal-mart for 10 cents each!!!  The dry-erase markers can be purchased at Office Depot.  They come in a pack of 6 and only cost 5 dollars. I will leave you with a picture of the kits that I use in my resource room.

Back to School: A SPED Resource Teacher's To-Do List

   I am one of two lab teachers in a school with almost 900 kids, 50-plus teachers, and a large SPED population.  It is VERY important to be organized for the beginning of the year.  Today I am going to list some of the things I do during pre-school week (teacher in-service) and the first week of school.

#1: Get an up-to-date list of students that you will be servicing for this year. Review their files and write down the due date for their IEP and 3-year re-evaluation. I know there will always be move-in students. You just add students to your list as they come along.

#2: If you have another SPED teacher that you work with, make sure you divide up the caseload appropriately considering service areas, behavior management, etc.

#3: I always create a SPED binder to organize all of my forms for the year (caseload tracking, meeting notifications, homeroom teacher communications, etc.) You can find some of the forms that I use here: Special Education Tracking Forms

#4:  Make folders for all of the homeroom teachers that will have lab students.  Print off the accommodation and modification page as well as the service page for all of your students. You will put these forms in a two-pocket folder.  I would also add a copy of the BIP for students that have one on their IEP. Once your schedule is completed, you can add this to the folder, too. This keeps all of the important forms in one place for the homeroom teachers to access easily.  Once you give the teachers their folder, they will sign off (name and date) on a checklist. 

This form can be found here: Special Education Tracking Forms 

 #5: Write down contact information for all of your students. I keep a separate binder for this form and a log for parent communications. 

   Well folks, that’s all for now. I will add another post about this topic in a couple of weeks and go over data folders, data walls, and my assessment binder. To be continued….. 

Practicing with Central Tendencies

I saw this cute picture posted by a fellow teacher online. I will definitely be teaching this to my students next week. We will be reviewing central tendencies. This looks like a fun way to engage students during the intro to the lesson.

We will also be working in math centers. We will be using my task cards for central tendencies. You can click the picture to check out these task cards in my TpT store.

Two great websites to visit:  commoncoresheets.com and math-aids.com. They have several different versions of free worksheets to practice central tendencies. 

Spelling with Pipe Cleaners

Okay, I am always trying to find different ways for my kids to practice their spelling words.  Spelling practice can be repetitive and boring. So I try to switch things up and add new activities each week. I decided to buy some pipe cleaners, and I cut them into 3 parts. I gave each student a pile of piper cleaners to spell their words. We went through every word on the list and the students really enjoyed it. They got really creative with how they used the piper cleaners to form letters. They wanted to keep on going and practice some of their old words. So I may add this as a center activity in the future. 

Sensory Numbers

I have a Kg student this year that is really struggling with naming and writing her numbers.  So I have been trying to add more sensory activities to her lessons. This week I made some numbers with fuzzy balls from Dollar Tree. It was super easy. I bought two bags, and it was enough to make numbers 0-9. We practiced naming, touching, and tracing the numbers. She also counted out manipulatives to match the numbers. Any thoughts? Comment if you have any other ideas that work with some of your struggling students.

Fine Motor Activity with Sand and Salt Trays

  Do you have any students struggling with letter/number formation? I have a Kindergarten student this year that really struggles with fine motor skills.
  I decided to make a salt tray for her to practice writing her numbers.  So I went to our local Dollar Tree and picked up the supplies. As I was walking through the craft section, I noticed they had bags of colored sand! OMG! I got every color that they had left.
  So I made a tray with sand and a tray with salt.  She loved it! We practiced our numbers 1-20. She struggles with the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8. She could write them perfectly in the salt/sand tray. I was so proud of her! It definitely helps to switch things up in the classroom and get away from the paper and pencil.

Equivalent Names and Pumpkins!

We do center activities after our weekly assessments on Friday.  Since my 2nd and 3rd graders had worked on equivalent names that week, we made equivalent names on pumpkins.  I gave each student a number and they were able to do the rest on their own. I monitored and made sure that they were using a variety of ways for making the names. Here is one below:

The leaves were done by my upper grade students (5th and 6th). I put review problems on the leaves (number sense, probability, data analysis, etc) and they had to solve the problems. Simple, I know, but the kids enjoyed it over another pencil and paper worksheet.

(Side note: I am in the Kindergarten hallway this year. They are constantly rubbing up against my door. So please excuse the curled leaves and pumpkins!)

Great Math Website for Students

     It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. We have been in school for 4 weeks (yes, that's what I said) and it's definitely time for a break!
    Anyways, back on topic, I found an awesome website for students to work on math skills. It was recommended by spellingcity.com, and I jumped at the chance for a free license for the whole school year! The website is splashmath.com. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Teaching with Task Cards

I have been on a task card frenzy this quarter.  My SPED kids need constant review and these cards are perfect for centers, warm-ups, closing activities, or whole group instruction with a smartboard and document camera.  The kids love working with them! This picture shows some of my students working with my place value task cards.

Task Cards for Place Value Concepts

I love Dry Erase Pockets!!!!

This year I have cut down on a lot of copying due to dry erase pockets. I love using them in my centers.  I usually have 3-4 students per center. I have a checklist with the names of my students and the skill they are working on in the center. I go around to the different groups and will check 4-5 problems to count towards a grade. It has been a time saver and the students enjoy doing their work this way. I bought my pockets at Lakeshore Learning. Here is a pic of my students using the pockets. In this pic we are working on input/output tables.

Uh....Mom???

   I always find amusement in my students when they slip up and call me "mom"......I get a litttttle upset when I get the "grandma"...uh...wtf!?! I am only 35 years old!! Then I remember that a lot of our kids are living with grandparents. So I try not to take it too personally.....I love my kiddos and they always find a way to bring a huge smile to my face every day!

 Well as I sit on my cozy couch in my cozy snuggie, we are getting ice and sleet (along with thunder...which is strange but cool) and I am planning on how I will use my time off tomorrow (ANOTHER day of missed school.) 1. Grade papers (ick!) 2. Work on TpT products (yeah!) 3. Laundry and a Budlight Stawberita (oh yeah!) 

 Okay folks, I am off to watch the Oscars and I am rooting for Lupita and Jordan Catilano...oops...I mean Jared Leto.  :)

Great Website for Spelling!

One of the websites my students looooove using in my classroom is Spellingcity.com. It has various games that students can play using their custom-made spelling words from their teacher.  They can play them on computers, tablets, and smartboards. I use this as one of my centers. I pull up the program on my laptop and put it up on the smartboard for the students to use.  Even my 6th graders love it! (Trust me when I say that 6th graders are notoriously hard to please.....)  Check it out and tell me how you use it in your classroom.

http://www.spellingcity.com

                                         
                                                       

                              

3rd Grade Frustrations in Oklahoma...Many Children Will Be Left Behind...

This year is the first year that 3rd grade students will be held back if they don't pass the spring test in April. Oklahoma's brilliant politicians....and I say this with a heavy dose of sarcasm....thought that this would be a good way to hold schools accountable. ELL and IEP students are NOT exempt. So a student that has been identified with a disability under IDEA can and will be held back if they don't pass their grade level test this year.  My students already have test anxiety due to the amount of assessments that are occurring more and more often every year (weekly assessments, monthly assessments, quarterly assessments, Easy CBM, Gates, etc...etc...etc....)  When will it all stop? I am not saying that assessments are bad. We have to have assessments to document student progress. I feel that we need to look at growth models instead of a one-size fits all assessment. Your thoughts?

Welcome and Hello!

This is my first post for my first blog ever! So excited! I am a special education teacher in Oklahoma (13 years and going) and I have worked with students with SLD, ID, Autism, OHI, TBI, ED, and many others.  Our field is growing but there is an extreme shortage of SPED teachers.  I have had a caseload of 35-40 students the past 5 years.  Although it's hard work, it is extremely rewarding. I love my kids!  Well I am signing off for now. If you happen to drop by my new little blog, please introduce yourself. I would love to hear from you!