Primary SpEd teachers

[morecoffeeplease]

Hi everyone!

I'm moving from preschool SpEd to primary (k-2). I'm in the process of using board maker to make visuals for my classroom. My classroom needs to be HEAVY visuals. So far I've made the follow

Visual Morning Schedule (for each individual student)
Visual keychain for expected behaviors to travel with TA and student (example: quiet, safe hands, calm body, sit on floor, sit at table, look, listen, hold hand)
First, Then board
First, Next, Then board
1 2 3 board 
A ton of single 1.5inch by 1.5inch visuals for student binders/clip boards
Basic visual hallway reminder to take with
I feel, I choose board with visuals
Task box visuals
Token boards with visuals

I will be making 

visual daily 5 schedule for my students who will be doing daily 5
end of the day schedule visual 
individual student schedules
expected behaviors for assemblies
expected behaviors for cafeteria
quick reference visual for fire drills
quick reference visual for lockdowns


What visuals do you use in your classroom that I'm missing that you think would be helpful. I pretty much need every routine to be visually represented. 

Thanks!

[UMaineTeach]

Getting dressed for winter. I suggest 1. Snow pants, 2 Boots, 3 coat, 4 hat, 5 mittens. Might have to do a getting undressed.

Lunch routine -cafeteria expectations

Keeping all schedules and routine visuals flexible. Don’t write out something and laminate the whole thing. Small pieces.

I find I never have the right first/then type boards in my bin of past pieces. I always end up making a custom one for individual kids.

Be consistent with which Velcro piece you stick on the board and which ones on the pictures. I remember to ‘lay the rug down’ and always put the fuzzy side on the board.

Keep things streamlined and easy to use. Don’t clutter the walls with things you find you are not using. Don’t make it look like Pinterest threw up in there.

[morecoffeeplease]

Aug 2, 2019 17:26:47 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Getting dressed for winter. I suggest 1. Snow pants, 2 Boots, 3 coat, 4 hat, 5 mittens. Might have to do a getting undressed.

Lunch routine -cafeteria expectations

Keeping all schedules and routine visuals flexible. Don’t write out something and laminate the whole thing. Small pieces.

I find I never have the right first/then type boards in my bin of past pieces. I always end up making a custom one for individual kids.

Be consistent with which Velcro piece you stick on the board and which ones on the pictures. I remember to ‘lay the rug down’ and always put the fuzzy side on the board.

Keep things streamlined and easy to use. Don’t clutter the walls with things you find you are not using. Don’t make it look like Pinterest threw up in there.

I'm using velcro for pretty much everything. The inside of my cabinets will hold all of the visual cards to replace in and out of the templates I'm making. Thankfully I have a ton of cabinets that I'm going to hang everything on the inside with velcro for easy access.

Thanks for the tips. It was actually pretty hard to find an alphabet, tens frame posters, etc that weren't so LOUD and bright. I'm replacing a teacher from last year and I want to keep the room the same (calm, neutral, etc)

We are in an area where we won't have snow and if we do, school will be canceled but I did think ahead and I have winter hat, jacket, and mittens for visual cards.

[morecoffeeplease]

I will have 3 students with assistive technology devices.

I will have 2 students that, from reading their IEP from preschool, will probably be approved for a device. Before they are approved, I obviously need to give them access to their most frequent needs on a choice board type thing. Do you like putting it on clipboards or binders better? (velcro with visual cards) I have seen both.

Edit to add: I needed one last year in my class and used a binder. 

[UMaineTeach]

I prefer a binder. I hate binders for most everything else in life. That way you have more ‘unlimited’ space to add more choices shrink choices to a couple on the cover. Although, being mindful about ‘taking words away’ vs allowing them to say it and you indicate no or put on a ‘no’ page.

Also, binders have more drag, when thrown at you, than a clipboard.

I would go with ones the size of the large or small PECS binders or get real PECS ones.

pecsusa.com/shop/communication-book/

[nellgirl]

Toileting routine (depending on your kids)

Putting away stuff in the am/gathering in pm routines.

Put the scratchy side of the Velcro on the symbols since you can often stick them to other things (like felt boards, dividers, etc). We found this really handy.

Ditto keeping everything flexible.

[morecoffeeplease]

Aug 3, 2019 16:39:32 GMT -5 nellgirl said:

Toileting routine (depending on your kids)

Putting away stuff in the am/gathering in pm routines.

Put the scratchy side of the Velcro on the symbols since you can often stick them to other things (like felt boards, dividers, etc). We found this really handy.

Ditto keeping everything flexible.

Thank you for the tips! I totally forgot the toileting routine and will definitely need one

[psychmom]

Free time/choice time board with options they can choose from. Great practice for decision making.

I do the same thing for lunch options as well.

I would make a few 'stop' signs to put by the doors, closets, or anywhere else you don't want the kids to go.

'closed' signs for computers and stations that are not open to the students.

Labels for everything on shelves so they know where it goes.

Work station indicators (Table 1, 2, 3; Reading station, math station, science station; however you have your room set up)

[morecoffeeplease]

Thanks everyone!

I have pretty much set up my classroom. I think I planned ahead as hardcore as I could when it comes to visuals and schedules. I just have to get the master schedule for the school to figure out how my class puzzle will work. I have to plan around staff members going to K, 1, 2, and 3 lunch, recess, and specials classes. I also have to plan around a staff member going to 30 minutes of K, 1, and 2 math and language arts. This is the next big challenge.

[UMaineTeach]

Aug 23, 2019 6:16:12 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

Thanks everyone!

I have pretty much set up my classroom. I think I planned ahead as hardcore as I could when it comes to visuals and schedules. I just have to get the master schedule for the school to figure out how my class puzzle will work. I have to plan around staff members going to K, 1, 2, and 3 lunch, recess, and specials classes. I also have to plan around a staff member going to 30 minutes of K, 1, and 2 math and language arts. This is the next big challenge.

Schedule is the absolute worst part of my job. It would be the first thing I would outsource. It’s like playing jenga with a toddler.

[morecoffeeplease]

Aug 23, 2019 14:58:05 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Aug 23, 2019 6:16:12 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

Thanks everyone!

I have pretty much set up my classroom. I think I planned ahead as hardcore as I could when it comes to visuals and schedules. I just have to get the master schedule for the school to figure out how my class puzzle will work. I have to plan around staff members going to K, 1, 2, and 3 lunch, recess, and specials classes. I also have to plan around a staff member going to 30 minutes of K, 1, and 2 math and language arts. This is the next big challenge.

Schedule is the absolute worst part of my job. It would be the first thing I would outsource. It’s like playing jenga with a toddler.

I don’t think I can outsource it.

[UMaineTeach]

Aug 23, 2019 16:39:17 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

Aug 23, 2019 14:58:05 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Schedule is the absolute worst part of my job. It would be the first thing I would outsource. It’s like playing jenga with a toddler.

I don’t think I can outsource it.

I meant it in more of a ‘If I could get rid of parts of the job description, schedule is the first thing to go’’ rather than literally telling someone else to do it.

[morecoffeeplease]

Aug 23, 2019 18:27:15 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Aug 23, 2019 16:39:17 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

I don’t think I can outsource it.

I meant it in more of a ‘If I could get rid of parts of the job description, schedule is the first thing to go’’ rather than literally telling someone else to do it.

Oh! Lol I agree!