July 2019 instagram SPED q + a – part 1
Happy Wednesday! You all asked so many incredible questions! I am trying my hardest to answer all of them 🙂 Because there are so many– it’s going to be broken down to a 3 different blog posts during the next couple of days!
A little background to frame the context of my answers: I just finished my 4th year teaching special education in the Seattle area. I work primarily with students who qualify under emotional-behavioral disorders or learning disabilities in a resource room setting, at a title 1 school, dual language school. My educational background is in (undergrad) sociology and disability studies and (graduate) high-incidence disabilities- EBD focus. I’ve taught at both the elementary and middle school level!
Any resources that are downloadable, I created. Feel free to use or make adjustments to fit your needs. I am still learning and growing in all these areas (and some way more than others) so my answers are just based off my experience and background 🙂 If you guys have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me! teacherdresscode@hotmail.com
Q: What are some resources you recommend on Tpt?
A: Reading: Glitter and Glue’s Decoding Strategy Task Boxes were game changing in my classroom this year!
Writing: Erin Hagley’s paragraph journal for beginning writing + Rachel Lynette’s Paragraph of the week + Create Teach Share’s word work graphic organizers are my go-to’s for writing every year.
Math: Any of Create Teach Shares math products! THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. I have almost all of them for 4th and 5th grade. Way better than any boxed curriculum.
SEL: Anything from Counselor Keri… I love her SEL products so much! If you teach SEL… her Resiliency Skills Group kit is AWESOME!
Q: Besides reading over IEPS, how else can I prepare for my students while I still have time?
A: To me, preparing for our students also means preparing ourselves for when school starts. I’m in the process of working on a blog post that explains this in more detail, but a couple ideas:
1) Create personalized IEP-at-a-glance for yourself and their teachers. I love doing this because it forces me to really dive into their IEPS and synthesis the information to make sense (especially if I didn’t write their previous plan) click here for the one I use!
2) Create a skeletal frame for a guest/substitute teacher! This will relieve soooo much stress the first time you have a guest/substitute teacher. Here is what I use!
Q: What resources should I put on my walls (6th grade sped teacher)
A: It depends on what subjects you’re teaching, but anything that provides a consistent strategy to help students access the curriculum during instruction and/or independent work. If you’re teaching reading, I would put reading comprehension vocabulary with visuals + examples. For math, if we were learning multiplying decimals, I would have step-by-step visuals for each strategy on the wall and would use it to re-teach and/or have students analyze the steps to build their independent skills.
My absolute favorite thing to put on the walls though is students dream boards or personal flags. This depends on the context of your classroom though! Anything to make the classroom feel like their own space 🙂
Q: What screening and evaluation tools do you use and do you like them?
A: I actually don’t participate in the screening or evaluation process. I will attend the multidisciplinary team meetings but all the screening is done by the classroom teacher and evaluation testing done by our school psychologist. I am not a fan of the tools we do use though– WISC, KTEA, BASC… they aren’t culturally relevant and engaging… it’s so hard to get a good measure based off those assessments.
Q: Tips for setting up classroom?
A: This is an area of growth I am focusing on this year. I’m in the process of trying to figure this out myself. So far, I have a sketch of my classroom and a list of the subjects I’m going to be teaching (behavior, social-emotional, social-skills, reading, writing). From there, I’m plotting the “focus” area of each subject. For each focus area I’m brainstorming visuals, materials, if I need a small group space, whole-group space, mindfulness area), then placing each “subject” in a spot. In my resource room I currently have 1 whole group instruction area, 2 small groups, 1 reading lounge, 1 computer lounge, and 1 mindfulness corner. I didn’t have a teacher’s desk last year but will adding it back this year. Once I spend more time on this myself, I will post about it 🙂 It’s SO HARD.
Q: How do you intergrade SPED students into the class without disruption?
A: I try (this doesn’t always work or happen) to keep group times and return times consistent and then lots of teaching the first couple weeks. I teach students how to re-enter their classroom quietly, what to do if their teacher is busy (or whatever the expectation is for that classroom), then they practice, practice, and are on their own. Having clear expectations on entering/leaving for students with disabilities is super helpful in minimizing the disruptions–they just have to be taught and receive feedback and more opportunity for practice… then the behaviors usually stick 🙂
Q: Did you start off as a TA? do you think it would be helpful for someone unsure about sped?
A: In high school I centered my senior project around TAing in the special education setting. My poor little brother– I was a senior and he was in 7th grade… I was TAing in his resource room class for half the year. Anyways- it was really, really helpful. In college I did something similar. If there is a way to get experience or have conversations with someone who casemanages students, that would be really invaluable experience in helping you decide. So much of special education teachers work is behind the scenes. If you want to chat further, e-mail me 🙂 teacherdresscode@hotmail.com
Q: Just starting to set up my classroom! Any must haves you can think of? It’s overwhelming!
A: Girl– it’s totally overwhelming. Classroom set up is an area of growth for me. The must-have’s I have may be slightly strange, ha! A set of timers you actually like, a set of smelly markers to use as incentives with students (aka they get to use… I’m not going to let them ruin my tips, lol), a plastic toolbox thing (I thought this was just a “cute teacher trend” no way… it’s so practical and helpful), and a student created wall. The student created wall in my classroom either has their dreamboards or positive notes/pictures that they want on it. It helps build a sense of community and belonging!
Q: Best calm down techniques?
A: I don’t know if they have names, but my go-to sounds like this:
*screaming child who starts to cry the moment I walk up to them and/or speak*
1) me: *makes strange but quiet sound* “I am looking for something red, can you point and find something red?” *student screams* “something blue? Oh! There is something blue. Can you find anything blue?” (usually this breaks their fixation on whatever is causing them to be upset) “Find 3 things that are gray… find 2 things that are red” This strategy usually works– It must be because of the distraction?
Q: What should I buy for my classroom?
A: It all depends what you need! Some of my favorite classroom purchases have been:
Shaving cream and fly swatters for spelling and other writing activities 🙂
Q: Any advice or ideas on how to manage IEPS?
A: It depends what you mean by “manage.” At the beginning of each month, I look at my IEP dates and plot which IEPs I need to be working on during the week. This helps me time manage and prevent any “oops, I forgot about that… scramble time! from happening.” In the beginning of the year I will create personalized IEP-at-a-glances, create a tentative meeting schedule (this upcoming school year I’m going to actually send the invites out in my work calendar), and send casemanager letters home to families.
Here are some of the documents I use! Download!
Q: What resources are essential for you? Where do you go when you need to find new information?
A: The casemanaging and data-collection binders I put together at the beginning of each year are life saving for me. I did a post about them a while back, click here to read it!
Teaching books I actually look at/use during the school year are
It depends on what type of information I am looking for. For laws, rules, and all that jazz, the first place I go to is my state’s office of special education at OSPI. For best practices or new strategies, I usually look on pinterest or reach out to other special education teachers in my district 🙂
Q: Any advice managing time when it comes to preparing for IEPS and progress reports?
A: Build a routine + resources that will help you work efficiently! For IEPS, I have all my IEP resources electronically in one place (agenda template, related services, continuum of services print out, IEP collaboration forms, IEP checklist). At the beginning of each month, I plot out which meetings I have and devote time to work on those IEPS (I usually start working on them about 2 weeks out). Progress reports I do the same. I usually start progress monitoring two weeks before they are due. Spend 1 week making sure/progress monitoring all the goals, the following week inputting the data and collecting any data that wasn’t collected the following week. Click here to see some of the resources I use!
Q: How do you ensure clear and friendly communication with general education teachers?
A: This is a tough one and changes depending on the relationship and it’s hard to ensure because our actions and intent aren’t always going to be received the way we intended them to (and vis versa). I think the key is consistency and follow-through on our ends. The more predictable we can be in our partnership, the clearer and friendlier our communication will be. I think investing time getting to know the general education teachers and building relationships with them is incredibly helpful. As struggles arise, taking initiative to resolve any possible issues before they grow– this is something I’m going to really be working on this year. Lastly, one thing I do is take notes during every meeting. Depending on the teacher, I will make a copy of the notes for them after. That way there is no question we are on the same page 🙂
Q: It’s going to be my first year as a teachers aide for a sped teacher this year. Any advice?
A: Congratulations! That is so exciting : ) I was hired as an aid during my practicum internship– it was a valuable experience. Advice… If your lead teacher hasn’t already, ask the best way to communicate with her about student needs/concerns, ask questions, etc… Would e-mails, a communication notebook, during a certain time, work best. Also, look at the students IEPS (especially the accommodations and modifications) and ask any implementation questions if you have them. Remember every day is a new day and some days are going to be much harder than others– but teaching aids are one of the most important people in the students lives… so even if it seems like they all hate you on some days, they really don’t! and always try to teach, then take a step back… that way the students don’t get dependent on you and can show you what they know and you’ve been teaching them 🙂
Q: Anything you wish you would have known your first year teaching?
A: I am currently working on a post with this question… it’s a loaded one. The biggest thing I wish I would have known… The details and depth of what special education law (IDEA – – office of civil rights) and my rights as an advocate and special education teacher. Except, there is a downside when you have this knowledge, people don’t like being held accountable, but I do think it’s important. Secondly, don’t let anyone tell you that you work for your district/building/school… You work for the IDEA and your students and families. As a first year teacher, I wouldn’t spend much time acting on that, but it’s a concept that can help guide and build your career 🙂 but the systems for special education aren’t exactly there yet… I did a post on technical tips for first year teachers a while back. Click here to read it!
Q: Advice for switching from older to younger kids?
A: Go into an upper classroom and look at work samples from all students in all subject areas. It will help so much with understanding academic expectations and what students are capable of. Also– talk with the teachers and ask questions. It will strengthen your relationship with them and help develop a sense of how to interact with the youngins. When I went from middle to elementary, I was terrified and those two things really helped.
Q: How do you manage your time when it comes to lesson planning and writing IEPS?
A: That’s a great question… I try my best to focus on lesson planning first, IEPs second… When I get to work, I devote the first 15 minutes to e-mails, next 30 minutes to lesson planning, and any time left over to IEPs. Usually IEP writing is something I will do during any free time I have during the day or after school. This concept is so hard. Especially when you have a large caseload.
Q: Any must have resources or supplies we might not normally think of?
A: Smelly markers to use as a student incentive for making good choices (aka they can choose one to use during a specific time of the day/assignment), shaving cream (for spelling or sentence writing), and chalk (for writing all things all over the ground and walls outside, ha! kids love it)
Q: Tips for first year teacher preparing for student with IEP coming into class.
A: Look at the students accommodations and modifications and think of ways you can build those into your universal design of instruction. Always give the student the work (maybe not the same work, but the work) as all the students in the class. If you have questions, ask your special education teacher. We love when teachers seek to better support kiddos with IEPS 🙂 Read books about inclusion and/or how sometimes we learn differently and respond in different ways.
Q: Teacher planner recommendations?
A: My FAVORITE are from 4 Love of Pi! Click here to browse them!
Q: teacher book recommendations?
A: Here are some of my favorites!