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Your First Week Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect
If you’ve spent any time on teacher Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen classrooms that look like they belong in a magazine. Every bulletin board is perfect. Every lesson is color-coded. Every desk is labeled. Every supply has a matching basket. It’s exhausting. Meanwhile, you’re standing in your classroom wondering why your copier jammed five minutes before students arrived and where you put your coffee. Welcome back to school. Here’s the truth that every veteran teacher knows but somehow forgets every August: your first week does not have to be perfect. In fact, it probably won’t be, and that’s completely okay. Especially if you’re a special education teacher, the first week…
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10 Things Every Inclusion Teacher Should Do Before August
10 Things Every Middle School Inclusion Teacher Should Do Before August Summer break has a funny way of making us believe we’ll have endless time to organize our classrooms, create the perfect lesson plans, color-code every binder, and finally drink our coffee while it’s still hot. Then suddenly it’s the last week of July. If you’re a middle school inclusion teacher, the start of the school year comes fast, and it can feel like you’re trying to jump onto a moving train. The good news? You don’t need to spend your entire summer working to have a successful school year. Here are 10 things worth doing before August rolls around…
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Progress Monitoring Made Simple: Systems That Actually Work
Let’s be honest. Progress monitoring sounds simple in theory… until you’re staring at 17 IEP goals, three different curriculums, and a stack of sticky notes that were supposed to become data. If you’ve ever thought: “I’ll enter it later.” “I swear I took data somewhere.” “Is this even meaningful?” You’re not alone. The good news? Progress monitoring does not have to take over your life. You just need a system that works with your schedule, not against it. Let’s simplify this. First: What Progress Monitoring Is (And What It Isn’t) Progress monitoring is simply collecting consistent data to determine whether a student is making progress toward their IEP goals. That’s…
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How to Prepare for an IEP Meeting Without Stress
Let’s be honest: IEP meetings can feel like one of the most stressful parts of teaching. There’s paperwork. Data. Scheduling. More paperwork. And the quiet fear that someone will ask you a very specific question and your brain will immediately forget everything you’ve ever known. But here’s the truth, IEP meetings don’t have to be stressful. When you have a simple system in place, you can walk into the meeting feeling calm, confident, and fully prepared… instead of internally panicking while pretending to shuffle papers with purpose. Here’s exactly how to prepare for an IEP meeting without stress (or at least without unnecessary stress). Why Preparation Matters (Yes, It’s Worth…
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The Secret Sauce: How to Create a Positive Vibe in Your Inclusion Class
(Hint: It’s way more than just lesson plans!) If you’re co-teaching an inclusion class, you know the drill. You spend hours meticulously co-planning, differentiating, and modifying, but sometimes, the vibe just isn’t right. The truth is, even the most perfect lesson plan can fall flat if the classroom culture is lukewarm. For our students—especially those navigating learning differences—culture is the oxygen. When they feel safe, seen, and valued, the math clicks and the writing flows. So, ditch the dry manual! Here’s a super practical, fun-focused guide to building a vibrant, positive culture in your ELA and Math inclusion classroom. Part 1: The Foundation—Setting Up for Success Your first step is…
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5 Must-Have Organizational Tools for a Co-Taught Classroom (And How to Use Them!)
Co-teaching is a rewarding but often complex dance. With two teachers, two teaching styles, and double the materials, organization is the bedrock of a successful co-taught classroom. When you and your partner teacher have a shared system, you spend less time searching and more time teaching. Here are five essential organizational tools that will help you and your co-teacher streamline your shared space, materials, and lesson plans, along with practical tips on how to put them to work! 1. Rolling Storage Cart with 10 Large Drawers A Rolling Storage Cart with Drawers and a Wooden TableTop is the ultimate mobile command center. Its utility can’t be overstated in a shared…
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Summer Self-Care Ideas for Special Education Teachers
Summer Self-Care Ideas for Special Education Teachers Special education teachers—you made it! After months of juggling IEPs, differentiating lessons, managing behaviors, collaborating with teams, and supporting your students in a hundred different ways… summer is finally here. But here’s the thing: just because school is out doesn’t mean the stress magically disappears. A lot of us carry the emotional weight of the year into our summers. That’s why this time is more than just a vacation—it’s a time to reset so that you can be your best self come the new school year. Here are realistic, meaningful summer self-care ideas specifically for special education teachers (because bubble baths and green…
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Strategies for Differentiating Instruction in Inclusive Classes
Inclusive classrooms are places where all students with different learning styles and abilities are given access to an education. As an inclusion teacher, it is your job to ensure that all students, regardless of their background or ability, have access to meaningful learning opportunities. Differentiating instruction isn’t just a helpful strategy—it’s the cornerstone of success in an inclusive setting. Here are practical, effective strategies to help you differentiate instruction and support all learners in your classroom: 1. Know Your Learners Start with a deep understanding of each student’s strengths, challenges, interests, and learning preferences. Use tools like: Interest inventories Learning style surveys IEPs and 504 plans Ongoing formative assessments The…
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Co-Teaching Models to Use in Inclusion Settings
I have been co-teaching for over 10 years now, and I have tried many different co-teaching models with several different colleagues. Here are some of the most common co-teaching models, what they are, and why they work (and sometimes don’t). One Teach – One Assist What it looks like: This is the most common co-teaching model that I see in practice in my experience. Typically you see the general education, or content teacher, standing in front of the class providing instruction as they would in their non-inclusion sections, and the special education teacher is circulating the room providing assistance to the students who need it. Benefits: This is a great…
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Accommodations to Support Reading Comprehension
Many of the students on my caseload have goals in reading comprehension. When a student gets to eighth grade and still is below grade level in reading comprehension, it feels super overwhelming to try to keep them progressing with their academics because reading comprehension is one area that affects them in every class. When you think of reading comprehension, you think of ELA; but think of all the reading that is required in social studies and science. Even being able to comprehend word problems in math class. Reading Comprehension is a skill that follows students into all of their classes. Here are some accommodations and modification ideas for you to…
