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!