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Three Tips to Prep Your Caseload
I am fortunate enough that I leave for the summer with a tentative caseload for the following year. Obviously, kids move in and out over the summer, or parents request specific teams, but I usually know what to expect. This gives me the ability to do some preparations over the summer to get ready. The stipulation is, I only do as much work as I am in the mood for that day. Most days I do very little, but occasionally I will want to get a head start and I will invest a couple hours. Many teachers don’t like to do work for school over the summer because that is…
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Tips for Tracking Data
Tracking data is one of the things that I have struggled the most with. I have tried digital tracking methods, Google Forms, keeping massive work sample binders, just notes, word documents with information, and each method has had its pros and cons. This year I have finally settled into a method that I think is sustainable for me. Here is what I have learned through this journey: Track often The worst feeling is when you realize that you’re approaching progress notes and your data is not neatly tracked. I hate having to sort through and track word samples at the end of the term because I have let it pile…
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How to Organize the IEP Background Section
Filling out the history section on an IEP can get cumbersome, especially as students get older. I have students in eighth grade who come to me with information about their gestation. If there is nothing of note in the gestation that is relevant to the current educational profile of the student, leave it out! This advice is how I write an IEP, your school district may have other expectations and requirements so put their priorities first. I am not an expert, I’ve just been doing this for a while and have seen hundreds and hundreds of IEPs written by different people. History: Use this section to include all relevant information…
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Accommodations for Students who Struggle with Reading Comprehension
What some teachers I work with don’t realize is that students who have deficits in reading comprehension are affected in all of their classes, not just ELA. Most classes, especially as you get into middle school and high school, require you to do independent reading of some kind. Often reading out of a text book in social studies or science, reading novels in ELA, and even comprehending word problems in math. Here are some tips that you can use to help support your students: Read Aloud Whether you read the passage or text out loud to them yourself, find an audio book, or use text to speech software; students who…
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November 2020 Book Reviews
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens I really put off reading this book. I am not sure why. I got it from the library several times and each time it sat unread until it was time to return it. I feel like I get nervous to read books that have great critical acclaim. I just worry that they’re not going to live up to the hype. Well this one did. This is the novel of a young girl who grows up in a quiet fishing village. She is left by her mother at a young age, her father later, and in the meantime all of her siblings leave as…
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Distance Learning: Supporting Math Students
Distance Learning has provided me with so many new challenges that I feel like everyday is a new adventure. I am in my seventh year of teaching, sixth year with the same co-teachers, and I really was beginning to feel like I knew what I was doing, and then BAM! Coronavirus… Here are some tips as to how I support my inclusion students in math during this period of hybrid learning. Reference Sheets I use reference sheets in math all the time. But I feel like they are a great tool to keep posted on Google Classroom, or other online platform for the students to keep referring to. Reference sheets…
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September 2020 Book Reviews
Clare was orphaned as a child, when she met her husband Dan she thought she finally found the family that she always wanted. When her husband’s brother surprises everyone on their family vacation by telling them that he eloped and introducing his new wife, Clare worries that this is going to blow up every thing she loves. Elle, Clare’s new sister in law, is gorgeous. She is a model, instagram influencer, and has everything that Clare doesn’t. But she seems to be out to get Clare.. what is the secret that she is holding over Clare’s head. This story was engaging and easy to read. I felt all of Clare’s…
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October 2020 Book Reviews
Well this month I definitely fell short of my goal of one book per week. In the entire month of October I only finished… one book! It wasn’t even an awesome one. Hopefully in November I’ll be back on track. Although this school year is really getting the best of me. So here goes! Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan If you’ve read the rest of my reviews, I LOVED the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. When I saw that Kwan had written a new novel, I HAD to read it! This book was decent. I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. This is the story of a…
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Ideas for Your Online Drama Club
This year has been a learning experience for all of us. If you have been reading my blog, you may know that I run my school’s drama club. In March, when everything shut down, I had to give up on my dream of Beauty and the Beast this year. But, with students missing out on so many things, I still wanted drama club to exist in some manner. So, to the drawing board! I created a Google Classroom for my drama club and tried to connect with them weekly. We created challenges and I compiled the good ones and shared them with my principal. As a former drama club director…
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Teaching with Google Forms
Transitioning to teaching from home was a tough change for all of us. Some teachers were probably more equipped than others, teachers who already use a lot of technology in their lessons. But then there are the rest of us who have to figure everything out on the fly! Personally, I have spend a lot of the summer learning how to do this better so that if we do have to go online again, I will be prepared! Here are some ways you can use Google Forms in your classroom. Surveys Google Forms is a great way of providing your students in school, or at home, with a questionnaire. Are…
