Showing posts with label Linking Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linking Party. Show all posts
October Pinterest Linky Party
The last couple of months have been crazy. One thing that teachers have been hitting me up for is Sound and Letter Identification ideas. A couple of activities that my small group students love are below.
This is great for large groups. I love to open with this song before working on sound and letter cards. I have used this song two different way using the first letter in names and using an order that matches my reading problem. Either way they learn the letter names.
This one is designed for fall but in my world seasons don't really mater if the task matches the needs of my students. This be expanded beyond letters in a name to match a reading program or even targeted to specific letter name needs.
Have a great weekend!
LaberLess Giveaway--Work Smarter not Harder
Hello everyone!
ARE YOU REAAADDDY!!!
It is Finally here!
All of us have been thinking about good ways in which to treat our readers and followers. We thought hard, and I mean it! Really, really hard… and decided that we can treat you to our best ideas to work smarter rather than harder… at school and home!
I know what it takes to be a great teacher, the stress, the time, the energy… I could go on and on! I also know that we crave time to ourselves and our families.
So here I go!
This year I'm at a new building in a new district. Everyone on the team is new as well-some of us have elementary experience. How to make a new special education team work smart???
Goggle--Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Google everything. The team uses it to communicate with each other because we are going in like 20 different directions at one time. No team has that problem! Our weekly business meeting have had a habit of becoming a two hour event-I don't have that kind of time. The previous team started with these things but we have made changes to them so we are more efficient-like a structured agenda with new and old business. Last week we were done in an hour and everyone knew what they needed to get done by next week.
Many of my students have problems break apart a word and then blend it back together. To them I created these nonsense words practice cards to target two skills at once-saying the sounds and then blend it to say it. My students DIBELS scores have increased both their PSF (phoneme segmentation fluency) and NWF (nonsense word fluency). Click on the picture to go to my Teachers pay Teachers page.
Have a great week.
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September Pinterest Linkly
Its been a very bust weeks of school. All the special education staff in my building are either new to the district or to teaching. I have spent most of my time finding ways to support the classroom teachers. Not know what kind of support they have had in the past-most seem very thankful to the support and sharing of knowledge. With that in mind I would like the share three of the pins that I have past on to them. Finding easy to understand information that doesn't require a special education degree is hard.
Dyslexia goes back to a students ability to read. In Colorado, we don't have an educational label for dyslexia. But that doesn't stop teachers for looking to new ideas to help student out. This pin has several great ideas that my K-2 teachers very excited to try out once they get up and running small groups.
The teachers I work with are always looking for information about ADHD and how best to work with these students. This pin gives teachers ideas on how to work with these kidoos. In most cases it boils down to classroom management and building in brain breaks for the whole classroom. FYI: Best practices are brain breaks are great for all students!
Like every where else, my building has seen an increase in students with an educational label of autism. My teachers have said they are one of the most difficult students to work with because what works for one may not work of another in the same class. This is difficult but do able. This pin has some great ideas. For more great ideas to support classroom teachers or find special education resources visit me on Pinterest at click here.
Have a great week.
My Teaching Beliefs
The funny thing about looking for a new position, is listening to others beliefs about their students, program, and building--it focused my own beliefs about the students I work with.
I believe in my students--they can do anything. I think this is why love doing student data folders. It is the singularly most important thing that I do with them each year. They take at SMART goal and create their goal and then charge for it. Are the goals always reasonable-no but the important fact is the ownership of their learning.
Others always find it weird to party of other little things like making a goal or finishing a book. These are the things that make my day.
I think one of the hardest things the do in small group is getting them to take risk. They now the other members and sharing is hard but setting up the group rules and not judging them for speaking up and sharing. They in turn get to the point where they understand it's OK to talk and share.
In sum way this Dr. Who quote tells all about my teaching.
Until next time,
Be sure to hop by Rissa's Teaching in the Heart of Florida to learn about her beliefs for her students.
BTS with #SPEDChatSaturday
Its funny to think about going Back to School. I'm hoping to have a new position in the school district that I grew up in. But everyone in Parker is getting ready to go back.
My room is in storage. Well everything I own is in storage. Last year I moved, got half way to buying a house and then lost my FTE, so everything is still in storage:(. I keep all my students in binders--the IEPs, contact notes from parents, teachers, and outside therapists. I also create student data binders, so they can keep track of their own data. I have found it to be very powerful with motivation.One thing that I do add to my student binders is specific materials that they are working on mastering that are tied directly to their IEP goals. One in particular students always struggle with is reading non-sense words without segmenting. I created it so students could go from segmenting to reading the whole word with each word on the ring. Plus, I love how I have been able to move students basic reading skills with this product.
For the first time last year I used GoogleDocs to create all my collaborating documents with classroom teachers. It was one less thing I had to keep track of and everyone could add information to. I kept SMART goals, progress monitoring notes, and who was taking care of what. No losing anything.
Because the size of my caseload, I put all IEP dates on my calendar--meeting, call parents about set up date and time, testing dates. Anything and everything that has to do with meeting compliance I have there for the whole year. Missing dates should NEVER happen. This is my may to make sure that it doesn't.
I drive my team mates crazy with how organized I happen to be. But I try very hard to leave school at school. My life is so much better when I don't bring it home-besides I anything I bring home says in my bag.I put everything in binders both my students and my lesson plans. Plus, I do everything on everything online.
What I wouldn't do for more time--there never is enough time to move students. I would wish that by the end of the year students find themselves and realize that they have a voice and they can use it!
I love my timer. I always use it. Be it for warm ups or for the whole group time. Its the only way I can find to stay on time Teachers hate it when students come back late.Yes, lesson planning take time. (I use planbook.com. I plan on my laptop and keep my iPad on my teaching table. I can print it out when asked to I need too. Its not free but for 12 dollars I can set it up to meet the needs of those in the groups.)I find that the more time I put into a lesson plan and really think it through from beginning to end the more bang for my buck I get each day. I try to sketch out the whole week even if it changes I know where the group is going. Knowing the group or student scope and sequence and where they are headed each week is time well spent.
When I think of authors in my classroom Dr. Seuss takes up more room than any other author. My promise-I'll make you work hard because you can and it will take you places you never dreamed you could go.
"Must Haves" Monday Link Up
It's funny thinking about going back to school. Thank you to Mrs. McDonald's Creative Teaching for the challenge. Working with students from preschool to 6th grade with a variety a needs. Many things that I put in place at the beginning of the year I put in place for everyone.
Boardmarker
Late in the last school year I bought Boardmarker's online access for hundred dollars because I used it for everything. Boardmarker has helped my students who need visuals as a accommodation. Last year, I had a 5th grade student who I created pictures for all the vocabulary words each week from Storytown. (Some weeks I had to add from Google.) The one thing I love about the online program is that they are always adding to the library--very cool! They even have sign language. Over the summer I found a copy of their Sigh Language clip art to target more specific language needs. I'm hoping to build a student's expressive language--at least to give her some way to communicate with students and others.
Data Folders/Data Binders
All my students keep and collect their own data. Because they come and go I keep them in their group bucket but once a week when I do progress monitoring they keep track of their score and progress. At the beginning of the year, they set and write a SMART goal on what they want to keep track of. (In many cases I encourage them to pick something attached to their IEP.) Folders are easy to hand off to paraprofressionals and take to meeting with teachers and parents. A bonus is that principles are always impressed that they can do it. I set goal lines and talk to them about what they need to work on over the week to go up but they do ALL the work. For some I put their graphs in either Google or Excel. I like Excel better because I can add trendlines-which for some kidoos is a great way to show teachers and parents their student is making progress.
Last year I used the idea from The Organized Classroom Blog-it held up for the whole year plus I could store student specific materials up front in the folder. Adding papers was a pain. I have been thinking about putting these in binders for next year. Click on the picture to get her directions.
Teacher Notebook
Be it a spiraled lined notebook to a binder, I keep all the year student/teacher/parent communication and notes in it. I have tried adding staff meetings and professional learning to the same notebook and can't do it-it just to much. The thing I love about this is that all the information is in one spot not on the stickies on my desk that don't stick any more (we don't have any of these). My building has late start once a week for team collaboration-I take this notebook with me. This is easier than bring 20 student binders or those notes on my desk to meetings. Plus is makes it easier to keep track of parent concerns about a student or tracking classroom teacher concerns of RTI.
Thank you for checking out my "Must Haves" for Back to School 2015! Click on the Freebielicious Icon to check out others' ideas. Store by my store from a freebie (click on the picture)
Top Ten Favorite Shows Linky
One thing that drives my family crazy is the TV is always on when I'm working on the blog or store or just grading and planing. Today I'm linking up with The Third Grade Nest this week for her Top Ten Favorite Shows. Some have come and gone while others are still on and other yet I watch the re-runs. Sometime I let it run the background while I try to get things down.
I also look for story lines that make sense from week to week. I hate it when they totally jump off the rails and go down a rabbit hole that makes no sense whats so ever.
One thing that I also gravitate towards is SyFy-I get
that from my mom. It has to be in the realm of possible.
These are my go to shows when I need to get work done. What are your favorites?
I also look for story lines that make sense from week to week. I hate it when they totally jump off the rails and go down a rabbit hole that makes no sense whats so ever.
One thing that I also gravitate towards is SyFy-I get
that from my mom. It has to be in the realm of possible.
These are my go to shows when I need to get work done. What are your favorites?
Pinterst Pick 3: July Link-Up
I can't believe that summer is a third of the way over. The crazy thing is that I still have my list of things to do to get done. Where did June go. I'm currently dog sitting my sister's dogs this weekend.
My first pick is an idea that I love. I have done many different things to get students to learn sounds and make words. Taping squares on the floor has raised eyebrows.
This idea of lunchroom trays is the best I have seen. This would be perfect for three sound words. I think they would fit in a guided reading basket.
Each year I work on make my data collection easier. Last year I created folders for students to keep their data in--my principle was floored that my first graders were able to track their own data. Plus, parents loved it. This pin has a link to free student data sheets--I plan on adding them to my student data folders int he fall.
Every summer I have this pile of books. I try to get through them all-sometimes it happens but not always. This summer I started the pile about Spring break and its been growing ever since. Sometimes I think I need a 12 Step for Amazon with all the money I spend there.Since, it's Friday I have a freebie for you. Be sure to sop by my store to grab it. My Kindergarten Tic Tac Toe is great for literacy centers and Daily 5 for students work on to help learn their sight words.
Have an awesome Forth of July.
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