Adapted Work Binders® (AWBs) have long been a staple in the way I work with my students. They address the skills my students are working on and give me a great indication of how they are progressing. I can even individualize student AWBs, which is great for IEP work and making sure students are working on skill mastery.
One of my favorite and most-used tools is the Morning Adapted Work Binder. This interactive binder was something I created and designed specifically for my students.
My students were in grades 1-4, but working on PreK-2 grade level skills. And no two students were working on the same skill level. I needed something I could easily individualize that didn’t take too much time to prep, as well as something students could easily pull out and work on throughout the school day.
It is truly the most comprehensive Adapted Work Binder for PreK through 3rd grade. Today I want to share it with you!
What is in the Morning Adapted Work Binder
When I say that this Morning Adapted Work Binder is comprehensive, I’m not exaggerating. With over 400+ pages, there are skills to help address the needs of all of your elementary students.
One question I get often is, “My child doesn’t have special needs. Do you have another binder for my child?” The great thing about the Morning AWB is that it can be used with any child who does or does not have special needs.
The Morning AWB also includes a huge array of basic skills students need to master at the elementary level, including:
- Personalized Workpages (Name Spelling and Writing, Birthday and Age, Address, and Phone Number)
- Calendar Skills (Spelling and Writing the Month, Days of the Week, Calendar counting)
- Weather + Monthly Weather Graphing
- Seasons and Seasonal Clothing
- Temperature Writing and Thermometer Fill-in
- Money (matching, naming and counting coins)
- Counting 0-20, sequencing numbers, + skip counting
- Build a clock
- 50+ pages of tracing (lines, shapes, alphabet, numbers)
- Colors + Shapes (2D and 3D)
- Alphabet (matching, writing/tracing, sequencing)
- Patterns (AB, ABB, AAB)
Setting Up the Morning Adapted Work Binder
Many teachers get overwhelmed when setting up their students’ binders because they try to do all of the pages at one time. Since I don’t put an entire set in a binder at once, I only create the pages and pieces that are needed at that time.
For example, I don’t worry about the April calendar work in May or December. I also don’t print the skills we’re not working on yet, because it would take way too long to set up and they’re just not needed at that time. Consider the set-up of the binders to be a work in progress and something that you’ll be adding to throughout the school year.
If you’re just starting out and have no idea what skills to start with, my first recommendations are always:
- personalized workpages
- alphabet
- shapes
- colors
- numbers
As your student masters those skills, you can add more workpages to the child’s binder – or change out the skill difficulty.
To assemble your Adapted Work Binder®, I suggest the following supplies:
- copy paper or cardstock
- a printer
- a laminator and lamination pouches
- Velcro dots
- strips of Velcro
- scissors, and
- a three-hole punch.
Gather the supplies that you’ll need and print out the pages that you’ll be starting with. If you’re using a Morning Adapted Work Binder with more than one student, you could also batch assemble and do multiples of the same pages at one time. It’s really about what works best for you and how you prefer to do it.
How to Use the Morning Adapted Work Binder
Since each binder is specific to each child, it can be differentiated so that students are working on the same material at a level that’s appropriate for them.
I like to use the binders as both an introduction and review of the skills that my students are working on.
You can see videos of the binder in action here and here!
What Others Are Saying About the Morning Adapted Work Binder
I love this resource so much, but I think it’s important to hear what other teachers say about it and how they use it with their students. You can see over 7,700 reviews here, but some of my favorites are below:
“My students love the activities and are engaged in the work. I love this resource and would recommend it to anyone who is working with students that have special needs.” – Jana F.
“I love adding these into our morning routine, and after a while the students were independent with them and could assist each other.” – Lauren K.
“Great hands-on materials so I can practice key skills in my ECSE classroom. My students love having their own copy. Lots of variety of materials so I could select exactly what suited my classroom best.” – Allison B.
“I needed some hands-on learning materials to send home for a student with Autism. This resource did not disappoint! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! There is a bit of prep, but it is totally worth it! Buy this!!” – Tiffany T.
“Finding differentiated programing can be challenging for students on the spectrum. This is an amazing resource once it’s all prepared and quick to pull out and complete with the students.” – Juliana M.
“My students are engaged using their work binders! It was easy to print and place into their morning binders, (although laminating the sheets does take time of course) many of my students are at different levels and I love that differentiated tasks are proved in the resource. Thus, students are working on the same task, essentially, but geared towards their own learning needs. Thanks for creating this awesome resource! Everything in your store has been a life changer for me during this year!” – Marie C.
Whether you use the Morning Adapted Word Binder with one student or all of the students in your class, it’s a resource that works for everyone.