As a student's special education teacher or program manager, it is your job to make sure that an IEP is being followed.  Part of that is ensuring that teachers and staff working with your students are informed about certain applicable aspects of their IEPs.  An IEP is a confidential legal document so there are many things to think about when sharing information. ...

It is really important for teachers to include books that provide mirrors (books where students can really identify with the characters) and windows (books where the students can see into the lives of those that are different from them).  A book that may be a mirror for some, may be a window for others. Books that include characters with disabilities and illnesses are so important to include in our classroom and home libraries.  They provide windows AND mirrors, often at the same time, for ourselves and our children.  Through the magic of reading, our students can learn about others and be more accepting and inclusive. ...

I recently got an email from a newly graduated teacher headed towards the first classroom of her very own.  She wanted to know what were some must-haves for her special education classroom.  I tried to think of some of my favorite items and some less-obvious things.  I came up with 17 things that made my classroom life easier and better. If you're not a special education teacher, that is okay!  Most of the things on this list will apply to you and your classroom too! ...

It seems that as soon as spring hits, teachers start fantasizing about what their classroom will be like in the fall.  We start thinking of all of the ways to improve what we have been doing this year.  We say things like, "Next year, I will always have my attendance in on time" or "I'm going to be so much more organized next year."  You may already know your teaching assignment for next year.  You may be getting excited for a new classroom configuration you want to try out or a whole new grade level you've never taught before.  But, my tired teacher friend, I urge you to slow down and remain present in THIS year. ...

I've never really been a fan of teaching writing, but I always really dreaded when it was time to teach informative writing.  Even as a student, research projects were the worst!  As a teacher, I especially hated when it was time for research projects to begin.   For me, the topic was always too big and I didn't know where to start.  I had a hard time staying on topic.  I never really knew when it was time to be done researching and time to begin writing.  I found that a lot of my students were having the same issues and knew there needed to be a better way. ...

It is a known fact that teachers have stressful jobs.  Many times, we do not know how stressed we are until we get totally overwhelmed.  Depending on your school environment, you may feel overwhelmed more often than not.  The following are some ways to remain positive and calm when feeling overwhelmed at school. ...

As teachers, one of our greatest resources can be the parents of the students we work with.  It takes time and effort to foster strong relationships with parents, but it is often more than worth it in the end. I've worked with parents that are ready to jump right in and become a partner right away and others that needed more coaxing.  There are several things you can do to create a welcoming environment that produces parent allies or even parent partners. ...

Special education teachers are no strangers to the revolving door of students coming and going to various services.  It can be overwhelming and distracting but my team put together some procedures that made the transitions a few years ago that made a huge difference. ...

Teaching kindness is just as important as teaching any academics. Choosing to always show kindness is a life-long challenge.  It takes a lot of practice and maturity to be able to set aside your initial reaction and choose to show kindness instead.  Eventually, kindness WILL be your initial reaction.  Isn't that the goal anyway? There seems to be a lot of negativity around us, but you never need to look far to find kindness around you.  As teachers, we need to focus on that kindness, highlight it, and encourage more of it.  In the classroom, it is important to hold your class to a high standard of kindness. ...

We have all had those meetings that we dread.  The ones that keep us up a night for days leading up to it.  The ones that make your stomach hurt and your head ache.  Whether it is a meeting with a parent, an administrator, or an IEP team, you can survive and here is how.   ...

December is one of my favorite months because there is something electric in the air.  Kids are excited for the upcoming holidays.  And, there are cookies.  So many cookies! Here are a couple of ways that I add Christmas to my classroom.  Stick around to the end because I have a FREEBIE gift tag to go along with an inexpensive and easy gift idea for your students, friends, and neighbors. Christmas Math You can find a bunch of Christmas-themed math resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  The resource below is a fun division review and coloring activity.  You can also find some partner activities and math scoot fun to add a little Christmas cheer to your lessons!   *This post may contain affiliate links.  Using an affiliate link does not cost you any additional money but I will make a small commission from Amazon. ...

My daughter's last day of school is next week and I wanted to throw together a little something for her two teachers.  This time of year is super busy for everybody so I wanted to make it as simple as possible! ...

We are headed into parent conference season and that always is a little extra hard on teachers.  Conferences can take up a lot of time and energy!  But, have you tried student-led conferences?  There are so many ways to implement them in your classroom but I can assure you, that if you do, you will LOVE them! We all know that when students take ownership of their learning, they are more likely to put forth more effort in their daily performance.  You can read more about having your students set and track their own goals in this  blog post .   ...

How many of you have weekly meetings with your team?  I know it is best practice, but it is soooo hard to stick to a consistent schedule, especially when my inclusion team involves 3 general education teachers, 4 paraprofessionals, and myself.  And that is not even including the special area folks and related services providers.   When you have several adults working with the same group of students, it is vital for everybody to be on the same page.  It is especially important to keep the paraprofessionals in the classroom up to speed on student progress and your expectations for continued growth, both academically and behaviorally.   Over the years, I have learned a few things about successful and, more importantly, productive team meetings and I am hoping  to put them into practice before I go on maternity leave in October.  That way, my team can easily continue our schedule.    ...

Homework collection can be such a nightmare, especially when you have several sections of students turning in work at the same time.  This simple trick will make collecting homework so much more manageable. ...

  Yay!  The Bright Ideas Link Up is back!  I hope you all had a restful holiday season.  We had a wonderful time with both kids old enough to understand what was going on.  The excitement was electrifying!   I am super excited to catch up on some bright ideas from my blogger buddies!  I have been inspired by so many wonderful ideas since this link up started last year.  My bright idea this month is all about displaying student work in an easy and attractive way. ...

We're about 6 weeks into school and the newness of the year is starting to wear off.  Our desks are getting messy with papers to grade, parent letters to answer, and post-it reminders to complete.   ...

I have a love-hate relationship with behavior charts.  I LOVE them because I have seen them make a huge difference in the behavior of some kids.  I hate them because I hate clutter.    ...

It's Wednesday afternoon and your team has all gone home for the night.  You have a pile of papers on your desk to be filed.  There is another pile of student work to be posted on the bulletin board.  Homework still needs to be graded.  You opened 3 parent emails during lunch and need to adjust some things for tomorrow's homework.  There are two tests tomorrow and you need to make some more copies of graph paper.  One of your TAs had a few questions about a test that you didn't have time to answer.  Oh, and there have been some changes to the related service schedule.  And it's picture day tomorrow.   Sound familiar?  Um, this was my Wednesday!  It wouldn't be so bad but it seems like every day is just as crazy.  Every. Single. Day.  ...

So, a couple weeks ago a friend of mine called me to ask some advice about handling some issues with a TA working in her classroom.  At the time, there was only a few days left of summer school but she would be working with the same TA in the fall.   ...