Mrs. D's Corner

teaching from the heart, not the books.

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Lamination Hack #6: Laminating Stickers for Classroom Use

Laminating stickers is a game changing hack, especially for token boards and creating personalized math counters from characters students love and respond well to. Plus, stickers can be purchased anywhere… and in just about every topic, subject, and student-beloved character. I first shared this lamination hack in Summer 2019 on IG and you can find that original post here. To get started, you’ll need all of the supplies. Then we can dig deep into the how and, well… how to use them! Supply list: • Stickers – you can purchase them anywhere!• Laminator and pouches• Scissors• Velcro dots | Velcro… Read More

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Determining How Many Trials Per IEP Goal or Objective

Each IEP you write is individualized, that’s the purpose of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for our students with special needs. When you are writing IEP goals, you shouldn’t be using one standard measurement for skill mastery. The IEP goal trials also don’t have to be one specific amount of problems or questions per progress monitoring session. Let me explain. For example, let’s pretend this is your student’s IEP goal: Given 20 flash cards of Dolch Primer sight words, the student will be able to identify and fluently read each sight word with 75% accuracy in 3 of 5 trials…. Read More

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Coping with Teacher Anxiety | Priorities Checklist [Free Download]

As a teacher with anxiety, I often get questions on how I cope with teacher anxiety in the classroom. Besides the obvious “self care”, many of our preferred and most useful tactics for coping with teacher anxiety are things we do outside of the classroom. But as teachers we have a lot of responsibilities and our to do lists never end. The work is always there. There is always something that needs our attention. Things that need done now, things that need done next week, pretty decor ideas we saved from Pinterest… all of these things haunt our thoughts, making… Read More

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Free Parent Communication Binder | Keeping It Organized

All teachers know how important it is to be in contact with parents on the regular. With this free contact log binder setup, you’ll no longer need to worry about who called when, for what, and what you need to do now. Supplies needed: Free download // Here on TpT or Here in Resource Library. Find prep supplies needed here. You can watch this less than two minute video above to learn more about this free resource, how to prep it, how I use it and why you should be documenting parent communication using the Parent Contact Binder. You can… Read More

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Free Bathroom Visuals for the Special Ed Classroom

Visual aids are an effective way to teach students social norms, skills, and routines. This set of step by step visual aid cards are perfect for following 2 very important bathroom routines: using the toilet and washing your hands. With two sizes of the free bathroom visuals, 2 inch and 3.5 inch, you can easily use these in a classroom bathroom for a visual aid or in a life skills center. Supplies needed: Free download // Here on TpT or Here in Resource Library. Find any prep supplies needed here. You can watch the 4 and a half minute video… Read More

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Holiday Gifts for Paras and Classroom Staff

Inexpensive and meaningful gift ideas for paras and classroom support staff… every year I see tons of posts on social media about what to get TA’s for the holidays. Paraprofessionals aren’t paid well enough and we want them to feel appreciated. Buying just any gift isn’t really in the cards… no one wants a junk gift. Below is a curated list from veteran teachers on an Instagram Story post, compiled into one list to help you with your holiday shopping and gift of appreciation. handwritten thank you card (this is ALWAYS appreciated!) Echo Dot baked goods (Chex mix, caramels, homemade… Read More

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Fine Motor Spelling for Days of the Week [Free Download]

Practice fine motor skills with your students each day, as they cut and paste, then trace and write how to spell the days of the week. It is an important skill for students to learn! Print and go, no-prep activities are a great way to accommodate and modify curriculum for a variety of ability levels – and not just in a special needs classroom! This free fine motor spelling activity for the days of the week is great for the special education setting, as well as service provider sessions (Speech and OT), homeschool, outside therapies, or in a regular ed… Read More

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Documenting IEP Service Provider Times |Sign In Sheet [Free Download]

As special educators, we work with a lot of people… therapists, pathologists, counselors. And as the teacher, we are in charge of keeping track of services provided and making sure our students are getting the services outlined in their IEPs.  Use this free resource to create your own IEP Service Provider Sign in Folder. Supplies needed: Free Download // Here on TpT or Here in Resource Library 13″ Laminator Large Lamination Pouches Stick Glue Scissors or Paper Trimmer You can watch the 3 and a half minute video above to learn more about this free resource, how to prep it,… Read More

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Helping Parents Feel More Comfortable at IEP Meetings

IEP meetings can be intimidating for parents… IEP meetings are intimidating. I’ll be honest, I have attended meetings where the parent has cried, and I have attended meetings where I have cried with the parent. IEP meetings are tough. If there’s anything we can do to help, we should be doing just that as the child’s teacher and a fellow advocate who is working with parents with the best interest of the child in mind. Helping parents feel more comfortable during meetings is not only a great way to build rapport and show you care, but it will also ensure… Read More

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Endless Data Sheets for Special Education Teachers

Data sheets are essential to every special education teacher’s arsenal and bag of tricks. Not only have we documented and written an IEP goal for just about everything, but we’ve also got a data sheet to go right along with it. Data collection is a special education teacher’s life, so data sheets are the saving grace to making sure we have a simple, quick way to collect data while teaching, in the midst of a behavior, while on a field trip, when we are out sick… and everything in between. Today I want to share with you not just information… Read More

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10+ Spelling Activities That Feel like Play

Spelling activities in any classroom should feel more like play and less like busy work. Do you agree? Imagine this scenario: The kids get out a pencil. They’re handed half a sheet of paper. The teacher says, “Number your paper from 1-10.” Insert wait time. Now the teacher says, “The first word is “dog”. The dog wagged his tail. “Dog.”” Ahh, the weekly spelling list. The dreaded paper and pencil spelling test. The vanilla, un-differentiated, stagnant paper and pencil spelling test. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. Why do we still test kids like this? It has it’s… Read More

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10 Things College Doesn’t Prepare Teachers For

Special education teacher programs are intense and teach prospective educators so much about teaching in the classroom. However, just like in any profession, the on the job training (i.e., actually teaching in a classroom full of kids) is often more valuable than anything that a teacher studied in school. For teachers, the learning curve can make or break your classroom. I asked veteran teachers to share some of the things that colleges don’t teach special education teachers. Their answers are insightful and provide an excellent reference point for student teachers and/or those who are entering their own classroom for the… Read More

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At Home Lamination Hacks for Teachers

Having a laminator at home is kind of like a right of passage for teachers these days. They are inexpensive and allow us to work from the comfort of our own homes (plus it’s super simple to use!). These lamination hacks for teachers will give you the opportunity to laminate larger items at home and more! Because I know you’re so stinkin’ excited like me, let’s get started with the 5 lamination hacks I want to share with you. Before you can laminate at home, you need a laminator. Now I am partial to the Scotch brand of laminators and… Read More

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Visual Schedules in the Special Education Classroom

Visual schedules help students see what’s coming next in their day. Flip visual schedules give students the visual of checking off a part of their day. Visual schedules are a great way to help students manage their school day and having a print-and-go visual schedule template makes teacher life easier and saves us a bunch of time. Before you can utilize a visual schedule in the classroom for your students (or at home), you need a visual schedule! [ Find all visual schedule resources here. ] You can grab the free flip visual schedule base template in the Resource Library… Read More

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Field Trip Ideas for Special Education Classes

Field trips for special education students take a lot of planning, but they are so worth the effort. We have a lot of options, however, finding field trip locations that work (ie. are accessible, open during school hours, accommodating, inexpensive) can throw our plans for a loop. We asked veteran special education teachers what some of their favorite field trips have been with their students, and here are the top 10 field trip ideas suggested by special education teachers for special education teachers. Top 10 Field Trips for Special Ed 1. Trampoline Park Head to the trampoline park to work… Read More

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Para Classroom Jobs and Expectations

Having paraprofessionals in the classroom is a huge help. We truly could not keep our classrooms running without support staff. The trick is figuring out how to work with our aides effectively as a team. College courses and the majority of professional development provided by school districts never does professionally train us on how to utilize or manage paras in the classroom, yet it is a part of our job expectations. It’s always helpful to sit down with your paras at the beginning of the school year and discuss how you see them participating in the classroom, and also to… Read More

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Helping Regular Ed Teachers Understand a Child’s IEP | IEP Snapshot Brochure

IEP snapshot brochures help build a positive rapport between special education and general education teachers. It’s the tiny things that sometimes hold the biggest value! If there’s anything I have learned from my experience in my years of special education, it’s that a big percentage of the time general education teachers take the newly copied IEP they are legally supposed to read and put it in a drawer. Never to be seen again. Now I get it. They’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s a HUGE document with lots of legal jargon. And most regular education teachers… Read More

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How to Manage + Work Well with Support Staff

Not only is managing support staff important for teachers, but it’s also essential for the relationships they have with your students. Learning how to work well with support staff is not something that’s discussed a lot in teacher preparation classes, so new teachers often struggle to know what their role is in the relationship.  Some relationships take time, understanding, and a lot of communication. Working well with support staff is one of them. Here are the things veteran teachers recommend to help foster supportive, professional relationships with the support staff and paraprofessionals in your classroom: Ask for their input. Making… Read More

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