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Organizing Your Classroom: What to Save and What to Throw Away
So as a special education teacher, I feel like I am constantly surrounded by paperwork and junk. I have piles and piles of paperwork waiting to be filed, manipulatives that I’ve never used, and enough pens and pencils to supply a small army. This year I am trying to be better about de-cluttering my house and my office. Maybe I’ll share an article about de-cluttering my house another time. Here are some tips for what to save and what to part ways with. Save: Testing Information For this category, it is important to know your state laws and your district’s procedures. But personally, I save my testing protocols for 7…
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How to Make Money From Blogging
As a blogger, we all start because we have something that we want to share. But typically we all have the same ultimate goal, to make our blogs profitable. I have compiled a list of ways that you can take your blog and make it profitable. Affiliate Marketing The most common way that I have come across to make money blogging is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you are paid a commission to sell a product for another company. Common affiliate marketing websites are Amazon Affiliates and Share a Sale. These two websites, among others, provide you with links to different companies and products. The link they provide…
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Ways to Differentiate Homework
Homework is a hot topic in my district right now. Parents complain because we give too much, or not enough, or its too hard. Homework can be difficult for students who struggle. They think that they understand what is going on when they are in class, but when they get home, they have no idea what they’re doing. Don’t Give Homework Just to Give Homework Make sure that all of the homework that you give is meaningful. Think to yourself, what is the educational purpose of this homework. And if you’re not happy with your answer, maybe that isn’t something you should be giving for homework. I am not arguing…
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September 2018 Book Reviews
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman This novel starts with an attention-grabbing scene. The main character starts the book in the prologue, burying a body that you quickly find out is her husband’s. After that we flashback to find out why. The story is about a young couple who stumble upon a mysterious package while diving on their honeymoon. What they then do with the package is where the action comes in. This novel is supposed to be a thriller but I felt as though it felt short. It was odd, the storylines were unbelievable at times, and not in a good way. I would have to give this book 2…
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Get Control Back in Your Classroom!
We all have those days where no matter what we do or say, the students just don’t cooperate. Sometimes those days get so bad that we sit back and wonder if we’re really cut out for this job! I know that I have had those days, more towards the beginning of my teaching career but they still happen. When you have that classroom that is just defeating you, here are some tips to regain control of your classroom. Stay Calm Letting the students get you worked up and get the best of you is not going to help anyone. This is the hardest of all of my tips, but it…
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What’s in My Teacher Bag
I am a special education teacher and I teach eighth-grade inclusion. Which means I co-teach five classes with three different teachers. Because of this, I am very rarely in my classroom and have to travel with a lot of belongings. I thought I would share with you a glimpse into what I keep in my teacher bag and why I travel with it! My Planner I am obsessed with my Erin Condren teacher planner. I use it to keep my life organized. Since I am not the content area teacher, I don’t keep a curriculum plan in my planner because each teacher I co-teach with has it in theirs. What…
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Positive Reinforcements for Middle School Students
Often, I have a difficult student that results in me and my team creating a behavior plan for that student. More often than not we work towards using positive incentives for students to earn with the behavior chart rather than consequences or taking things away. But, with middle school students, sometimes it is hard to find age-appropriate rewards. Get the Parents Involved I try to get the parents involved with the behavior plans. Sometimes the most appropriate rewards for the students involve things that are more appropriate to happen at home. I have had students whose parents determined that the best reward was some screen time after dinner or a…
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August 2018 Book Reviews
Real Murders by Charlaine Harris Alright, I am not going to lie to you, I read this book because I love the Hallmark series with Candace Cameron Bure. The story is about a woman who lives in a small town and is a part of a club where they research and discuss murder cases from history. In this novel, the members of her club begin to be targetted, and all of the crimes match historical murders. The main character, Aurora Teagarden, is a charming and quirky single woman who maintains a strong relationship with her mother who lives in the same town. If you are a fan of the movies, Aurora…
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Tips for a New Inclusion Teacher
Teaching inclusion can be overwhelming for someone who is new to the job, or maybe you are just in a new co-teaching relationship. There are so many things to worry about, from the needs of your students, to your co-teaching relationship, to working with parents. Here are some tips for someone who is new to inclusion. Treat all of the students the same It is easy to go into the classroom and focus on only the students on your caseload. It is your job to help these students and ensure that they are receiving all of their necessary accommodations and modifications. But, you need to remember that for optimal co-teaching,…
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Tips for a Successful IEP Meeting
Start with something positive An IEP meeting can be stressful for parents. You are determining whether or not their child has a disability, or you have already decided on this and you are meeting to make sure that they are still making progress. This can be upsetting and uncomfortable for parents as a lot of the information that is going to be shared may not be positive. Always start your IEP meeting by telling the parents the good things that you think about their child and how much you enjoy working with them. This sets a positive tone at the beginning and lets the parent know that you are on the…
