From Amanda's Class...

Penguins!!!

          We started a penguin unit along with our local zoo. Another teacher and I are working together to modify the curriculum they already have and making it work for special education! I am really excited and we have had a lot of fun so far. I will make sure to post what we do as we do it, so that everyone can see what we have been doing!

         We actually started with sorting animals by bird or not bird. We did it on the SMART board and then made a chart to match. I don't have a picture of this chart, but it was a t-chart with boardmaker icons of different animals. The animals I picked went along with the Eric Carle book "Animals".

         After that we worked on the characteristics of birds with a venn diagram. The picture of that is below. 

         The next week we worked on Penguin facts. We did a pre-test with icons and they sorted them based on penguin or other animals. The pre-test is pictured below. Then we went through a SMARTboard file that I created that showed a video clip or a picture and then the next slide was a question that directly related. We started with where penguins live (southern hemisphere), what colors they can be (black, white, brown, yellow and blue), what they eat (fish), what eat them (leopard seals, whales), if they fly or swim. That was the majority of what we discussed with it being our second week of penguins.

        

            For our third week, we read the book "If You Were A Penguin" by Florence Minor. After that, we used the Build a Penguin Clip Art Bundle by Educlips from TPT. The kids came up and sat at the computer and picked the items they wanted to use to build their own penguin. It was so much fun and so cute! After that we did a penguin activity with feathers (since penguins are covered with feathers!) I made a template and my kiddos glued feathers to the pieces, then we cut them out and added some googly eyes to finish the penguin! They are both so cute, they are posted below. 

We are having so much fun with this unit! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at showmesped@gmail.com

Classroom Before & After

I am finally getting my photos of my classroom uploaded. I was moved to a new school this year and the room I'm in hasn't been used as a classroom for a few years so I had my work cut out for me. I really enjoy getting my room set up each year.

When I first came into my classroom I was overwhelmed and wasn't sure where to start. I spent several hours in my classroom before school started to make it look more like a classroom.

This is my desk area. I do my best to keep it as organized as I can but that can be a challenge. On the end of my desk I have my behavior data clipboard that I have all of my students behavior and bathroom data on. I keep this close by so it is always in reach whenever I need to track something. Behind my chair is a small bookshelf that I have all of the binders I use often (caseload, parent communication, assessments, special education papers, data pages). 

Each of these has a close-pin with a number on it for each of my students so they can hang up the work they are proud of and want to show off. 

Here is my computer station. There are tech cards on the whiteboard by the computer for each student. Along with their log in information is their MobyMax information. I use MobyMax as one of our center rotations. My students really enjoy MobyMax and I really like that it gives me feedback to look at. It is good information for me to see. 

This small table is where my students do independent, partner work, or work with the para. I have a bucket on the table with resources for the students to use. I have their Jolly Phonics charts, 100s charts and multiplication tables in it. On the bookshelf is where I keep our supplies and the center boxes. At the top I have all of my sorted work binders. I will post a blog post on just those binders soon! :) On the wall is where my students keep their folders with their individual work geared towards their goals. 

This is where we do group work and where I take data with students independently.  If you like the alphabet line I got it from Teaching Special Thinkers. She has other great things that I use in my room as well.

I have these hung behind my table. These are all of my cards I use to take data. I like to have them in reach at all times. This is where I also store my color assessment. If you would like to try out my color assessment you can find it here.

These are our writing goals. I have my students pick a goal they would like to focus on for two weeks at a time. This is a great motivation and a reminder for them to work on during our writing times. If you would like to try it in your classroom you can get it here. 

This is my reading area. The books are all leveled and color coded so the students know where to put their books. 

I hope you enjoyed my classroom tour!

Amanda's Room After

Room 106: After

On August 14, I was FINALLY done with my classroom, for now! Below is the final product, I have descriptions below the pictures to describe the different areas in my room. My students are color coded, so any time you see one color in my pictures it will represent the same student in all of the pictures.

 This is where I list my student jobs, we do jobs in the morning at lunch time and in the afternoon. The icons are interchangeable so I can change jobs up as needed. 

These are my to do lists for my Instructional Assistants (Paraprofessionals). I have one in the morning and one in the afternoon of the things that we need done every day.

This is the entryway to my classroom. You can see my threshold icons on my door. In the morning, my students can say "hi", wave, give a high five or a hand shake. You can also see the line up spots for my students on the floor (in their color of course).

Overview of the room. The bulletin boards have spaces for anchor charts to be posted throughout the year!! Easy, cute, effective bulletin board idea!

This is where my students turn in papers for me and this is where I can put papers for them to take home.

This is where my students hang up their backpacks and stuff. They also have their supply buckets. The shelf, hooks and the space for the bucket on the floor all matches. You will notice their is no yellow bucket, it is because he has an entire bookcase, you can see it in the following picture! 

This area is for a student that cannot sit at a table. He has severe autism and a 1:1 aid. He has a bookcase for all of his supplies and materials since he has so many hands on tasks. Like all of my students he has a tape square around his desk. 

This is where we store our work boxes and on top we store our morning work/calendar binders and file folders. As you can see there is tape on the bookcase so students can see where their work boxes are stored.

This is my group work table. I have the table sectioned off so students can see their spaces. I also have the supplies in the pink buckets on the shelf and my lesson plan buckets are on the top that hold all of my needed materials for each day of the week. 

A closer look at the supplies.

An example of my schedule!

An overview from a different angle.

You can see the tape squares around the seats for my kids at the tables.

This is where I keep all of my leisure activities and my sensory items. I also have my music station with a charging station. 

My sensory items. I have random stuff and then sand, rice and beans.

My desk, a little messy.

Another student's space. He has a picture in all of his boxes to show him where the extra stuff on his desk belongs, like his penny chart, DVD player and PECs book. 

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my room!! Let me know if you have any questions!! Comments are appreciated! 

Amanda's Room Before

Room 106: Before

We had renovations done in our building this year, so we had to clean EVERYTHING out of the building and pack EVERYTHING. I came in to start working on August 5. Below are the pictures of my blank slate! I will post the after pictures right after this!!! 

~Amanda