Life Skills Archives - Check in with Mrs G

What is a Student IEP?

What is a student IEP? I am so glad you asked! A student IEP is an Individualized Education Program. Each program is unique and created for an individual student by an IEP team. Parents, Teachers, Special Education Teachers, and other specialists make up the team who will support the student.

An IEP outlines the present level of student performance. It also identifies goals that are at an appropriate level for the student. The IEP outlines the supports and services that will be put into place. Additionally, the frequency of support a student will require to meet their goals is listed. Annual team meetings are held to review and revise the student’s program.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students who have a disability are entitled to a free and appropriate public education. The student IEP is a map that ensures they receive it!

Student Involvement

When appropriate, students should be involved in the IEP process. This can be both valuable and empowering for the student. Teach students to understand their own abilities. Becoming a self advocate is a skill that will serve them throughout their adult lives. Make sure students understand that they are an important part of their own education. Allow students to access their own IEPs, goals, and accommodation information.

3 Strategies for Teaching Students about IEPs

Tackling a conversation about special education with a student who is not ready can be a challenging task. Here are four ways to help students transition into members of the IEP team:

Allow students to monitor and chart their own progress towards their IEP goals.
Give students a printed schedule of their IEP services. Have them take the lead on following it.
Teach students to think about what helps them be successful at school (setting, volume of noise, breaks, etc.). Then, have them practice asking for it.
Teach vocabulary that specifically relates to the special education process. Even better if you can teach this concept in a social skills group so it does not feel personal for any one student.

IEP Basics Training

IEP Basics Student Workbook

Student Goal Setting Flip Book

by admin

Teacher in Special Education, Thank You

Teacher in special education, I see you for the unbothered, unwavering, total legend that you are.

Special Education Teacher, Thank You

Thank you for the times you break your heart reading the case file of one of your students. In those early morning hours before the school comes alive, I know you have cried for them. I know about the clothes you buy for your students with your own money only to rip the tags off and claim that they were donated. I have seen the way you hold parents together so they can hold their kids.

Thank you for giving a snack to every single hungry face that crosses through your doorway. And yes, I know you buy those with your own money. I see the worry in your face when you send some of your students off for a holiday break and your joy when they return to the warmth of your classroom. You are unwavering in your resolve to love your students in good and in hard times.

Just in case no one has told you, let me be the first to say, I am sorry

I am sorry for all that gets dropped on your lap. The IEPs you agonize over, the parents who don’t understand what you are working towards and the times your hands are tied by policy. Sorry for the times the general education teacher population unknowingly excludes you and for the times you sit at a “team meeting” alone.

I am sorry dear teacher in special education that you are both observed and evaluated by people who sometimes know nothing about special education law. I see the way you are unbothered by throwing a rando learning target on your wall to check a box and then working fiercely towards IEP goals with your students.

You change the trajectories of lives. Guide parents through a journey that can be so scary to a destination unknown. You create a safe haven for your students. A hub of kindness and understanding within a school system that standardizes kids.

Thank you. I see the unbothered, unwavering, total legend that you are. I stand with you, and I cheer for you. My heart will always be in the Special Education Classroom.

Run your Special Education Classroom Smoothly

As Special Education Teachers we have the best and one of the hardest jobs in the school. I have many, many, many systems in place that free up my time so I can be more present with my students. Here are five ways you can keep your classroom running smoothly!

Create a daily check in system with your students and get general education teachers involved
Make time for Social Skills everyday
Implement a Behavior Reflection system
Celebrate your students
Teach real world skills to increase student buy in and prepare them for life beyond your classroom

FREE Resources for Special Education Teachers

Daily Check In Form FREE

Middle School Social Skills Lesson FREE

FREE Problem Solving Lesson

Behavior Writing Assignment for Elementary FREE

by admin

Check In Check Out Intervention

The check in check out intervention has been the backbone of my teaching career. I think every classroom would benefit from a check in system! The goal is to build relationships with students that you can leverage to help students develop an interest in education. Building these relationships is my teaching super power and my favorite thing about teaching.

A surprising benefit of this check in check out intervention has been the structure and format it has provided to help my students form relationships with other adults in the building. Students who feel supported by the whole school community thrive.

The Original Check In Intervention

I began with a standard check in check out system. I saw my students two times a day. Originally, I only saw my students with behavior concerns for check in. Then, during one particularly high stress testing week I opened my check in to any student on my caseload who thought they would benefit from it and never looked back. In my experience the check in is a positive for everyone.

Involving Other Teachers

I transitioned some of my students who were doing well in social skills group to a Friday check in with another teacher. Not their own, but a teacher from a different grade level. The results were incredible!

My students reported an increased sense of community, belonging, acceptance. They reflected this in their good attitudes and enthusiasm. Students wanted to leave my room to check in with their special person. In some cases, the students were paired with teachers who they would likely have as their classroom teacher in the future. As a result, students developed a positive relationship with the teacher before entering their classroom.

Teachers taking more of a personal interest in a student that was not in their classroom created a noticeable sense of community throughout the building.

The students were not dependent on me. Instead, they had an entire community, a safety net, that would not let them go unnoticed. Students could not fly under the radar because I was absent or preoccupied with another student. Seems like including more teachers in the check in intervention shifted the message to the student from “I am on your side” to “we are a team”.

Start a Check In with your Students

Read all about how I implemented my check in check out intervention. I have linked FREE resources below to help you get started!

FREE Resources to support your Check In Check Out Intervention

Check In Check Out Student Journal FREE

Primary Daily Check In Card FREE

Upper Elementary Daily Check In Card FREE

by admin

Jobs in Special Education

Jobs in special education are simply the best! Before I was a Special Education Teacher, I worked for a non-profit. We ran social skills groups, lead community based outings, and taught vocational skills. I have spent most of my adult life working in the special education field. I can promise you will not meet a cooler, more fun, more endearing set of people in any other field.

The Special Education Teacher

If you are a Teacher in Special Education the students stay with you year after year. This gives you an opportunity to watch them develop overtime. With more time, you can change the trajectory of their lives. Also, because you are with them for more than one year, you get to know the parents. Teaming up with parents to support students is where the magic happens!

In the special education classroom, you have more freedom over the curriculum. You are teaching, progress monitoring, and working towards IEP goals. This allows you to scaffold a curriculum that works for the individual in front of you. You can take into account the student’s personal interests and abilities. You can even work in opportunities for them to be the experts and lead the group! If your students are like mine, then as a bonus, you will learn about Sonic, Legos, Tik Tok and so much more!

Special Education Classrooms

Since the IEP is written based on the needs of each individual student, your workday may look different from day to day. The topics you teach can be academic but, might also other skills. My students have goals in the areas of life skills, vocational skills, community based instruction, independent living skills, and friendship skills among others. I love that Special Education Teachers have so much flexibility! Here are some common teaching jobs in special education:

Self Contained Classroom: Students and teacher are in one classroom most of the day
Co-teaching: The Special Education Teacher is working in the same classroom with the General Education Teacher
Push In: A Special Education Teacher or Paraprofessional enters a general education classroom to provide modifications and support
Resource/Learning Support/Study Skills: Students come to your room for small group instruction in a specific area for a short period of time

The Special Education Paraprofessional

One of the best things about the Special Education classroom is the team of paraprofessionals who work in it. They are absolute angels. Paraprofessionals support the Special Education Teacher and love the students. Paraprofessionals are masters in teaching small groups. They keep the classroom running! Often times, Paras spend their time preparing materials for lessons, taking data on student progress. They remind the Special Education Teacher to breathe, and laugh!

In the special education classroom, Paraprofessionals are the glue that holds a program together. Paraprofessionals get to work with the students without managing the paperwork of the IEP. We Special Education Teachers are eternally appreciative of all they do.

Other Jobs in Special Education

The special education field is full of opportunities! If working in the classroom is not a job for you, not to worry. Here are some other professions that work in special education:

Special Education Advocates: Help people with disabilities and their families navigate systems to secure supports within them
Counselors: Work with students at schools and clinics to learn skills to support mental and physical health
School psychologist: Participate in the IEP team, test students to determine whether or not disabilities are present, make recommendations for services
Speech Language Pathologist: Work with students who need support in the area of communication
Occupational Therapist: Works towards wellness and increased independence with fine motor tasks
Physical Therapist: Works to improve range of movement and develop gross motor skills
Skills Trainer: Teaches social skills, life skills, community skills, independent living skills, and vocational skills

Resources for Professionals in Special Education

Special Education Basics: A 30 Minute Training

Workbook: Getting Students Involved in the IEP Process

Paraprofessional Training: Behavior Management

Progress Monitoring: A 30 Minute Training

by admin

What is scaffolding in teaching?

Scaffolding in teaching means supporting students by breaking a concept or task into small pieces. Teach each step. Allow students to practice the skill and then build on that knowledge. Picture the scaffolding on a building that allows a painter to safely access heights not otherwise possible. The concept is the same!

Teachers are masters in this area! Providing support at multiple levels to meet the differentiated needs of the learners in front of us is our super power.

How is scaffolding useful in teaching a skill?

Scaffolding helps level the playing field for students who need and deserve lessons that are written in a way that is accessible to them. While students are developing their executive functioning and problem solving skills, they will need support with breaking apart tasks. Scaffolding allows students to access to grade level content.

Think about your student who listens to all instructions. He nods along and verbally responds that he is ready to start a task. Then, when it is time to work he raises his hand and says, “I don’t know what to do”. This student who we all know and love will thrive once he has some scaffolding around this assignment.

Scaffolding Examples

Below are two assignments that have the scaffolding built into the lesson! You can download them for free for a good example of two different ways you can use scaffolding in your classroom.

This Memorial Day activity comes with three levels. Each student is practicing the same skill and learning about the same topic. You can download it for FREE! A wonderful example of scaffolding to accommodate the abilities of the individual students you serve.

This Writing Intervention Journal has the scaffolding built into each page. Rather than requiring students to jump directly into writing a full sentence from a prompt, students are lead through the process one step at a time. You can download it for FREE!