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A little planning before school begins can pay big dividends throughout the school year. Starting off on the right foot can make all the difference.

Culminating Activity: Creating a Personal Timeline Review the Lincoln timeline that students assembled at the beginning of the lesson. Point out that each event has a date, as well as information and a picture about that date. Remind students that the timeline begins with the earliest date and goes until the most recent date. Explain to students that it is now their turn to make a timeline about their own lives. Ask them to think about two important things that have happened to them in their lives. Ask for some volunteers to share this information. (Some possible answers: the day they were born; going on a fun vacation; learning to play an instrument; getting a special gift; starting school; making a new friend; etc.) Hand out blank sheets of paper to each student. (Hand out 1 sheet of paper for each student creating a timeline online and distribute 3-4 sheets for each student creating a timeline by hand.). Ask each student to write down the two events that they thought of on a sheet of paper. Now ask them to think of 4 more important things that have happened to them in their lives and to write those down, as well. Ask students to create a timeline on which to put these events. Creating timelines by hand: Ask students to draw a line from left to right across the middle of their paper. Then ask them to draw small vertical lines to indicate important years in their lives. To create a longer timeline, students can tape 2-3 pieces of paper end to end and then draw a horizontal line across all the sheets. Creating online timelines: Direct students to the “Timeline Generator” at TeAch-nology.com (Note: Instruct them to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the timeline tool.) Ask students to put their 6 events in chronological order in their timelines, starting with the earliest event and ending with the most recent. If students are using the online timeline tool, ask them to print out their timelines once they have finished. Encourage all students (whether creating a timeline by hand or on the computer) to draw/paste images or photographs to go along with each event. After students have completed their individual timelines, ask for volunteers to explain/ present their timelines to the group.

One of the most common accommodations for students with special needs is preferential seating. This doesn’t always mean in the front row of the classroom right next to the teacher’s desk

Many general education mainstream students cannot perform the following simple tasks: telling time from an analog clock writing a simple letter signing their name in cursive note taking and study skills

Collaborative teaching looks differently depending on what school, level, and setting you are working. I am fortunate enough to work in a school where collaborative teaching is encouraged and celebrated. Teachers have common planning times, and professional development time is often set aside for teachers to plan together.

The survey results can be broken down into three overarching themes: parent engagement along with synchronous and asynchronous strategies. The responses uncovered the following best practices to address the needs of students with learning differences.

Initial remote IEP meeting:

Weekly check-ins:

Inclusion is better for kids with special needs because they can see other ‘typical’ kids and emulate them. They get an opportunity to learn acceptable social behaviors and to learn from their peers.

Kids social and emotional needs also must be considered.

The more kids with special needs are included the more their peers start to see the kids for who they are.

Academics Back to School Behavior Blog Fall Schedules Seasonal Simple Classroom VocabularyThe First 10 Days of School If you are anything like me, the first 10 days are a struggle. You have so many new ideas for the new year, so many things you want to implement, and you feel pressure to start on the very first day. Here’s my number one tip: DON’T. Just don’t. In special education, and more specifically the self contained setting, what our kids really need is STRUCTURE.

First, we walk through the routine.

Vocabulary is HUGE

Visual impairment in the classroom

Visual cues are central to most early childhood education systems.

In a school environment, visual impairments can cause difficulties when it comes to traditional reading and writing activities, reading at a distance, distinguishing colors, recognizing shapes and participating in physical education games which require acute vision, such as softball and kickball.