Simple TEACCH / Work Task boxes - part two

I hope you're excited for Work Tasks #2! Again, my work task station is one of my favorites in our morning routine, because students are expected to be independent and they shine given the opportunities! I give students three letters on a mini schedule and they find the boxes and then complete them in order, ideally moving from one box to the next on their own.

I like this box for working on fine motor and 1:1 correspondence. The student has to put one eraser on each pencil (and they have to put it on the right end!) When one of my students was having trouble with this task, one of my aides quickly printed this picture off from Google images. Easy, efficient, and does the job!

This is another simple box, sorting pencils from pens. I used different types of pens and pencils to make it just a little more challenging. I started out the year created these visuals for each box...but didn't end up making them for all of the boxes.

For this box, the student counts the items and then puts the clothespin on that number. I think this set came from a health unit created by Kara at Sped-ventures!

When using coins, I typically like to use real coins, because plastic ones just don't seem like coins and they really don't look much like the real thing....however, since I had them I decided to use them for this sorting activity! I taped a coin and wrote on amount on each yogurt cup for students to sort the coins in. (I use yogurt cups for a lot of things in my classroom).

I found these lacing cards at a garage sale for $1 this past summer. I often have some students lace and other un-lace for this task. This seems to be a calming activity for a couple of my students when they are very active, probably because they have to focus so much.

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Work Task boxes A-E. And if you need materials to set up a work task station, check out these materials on TpT.

Also, check out these posts to see tons of more work boxes!

Work Task Boxes Post 1 

Work Tasks Post 3

Work Tasks Post 4 

Work Tasks Post 5

My Work Task/TEACCH Pinterest Board ~ All Breezy Special Ed Pinterest Boards

Printable Schedules, Labels and Data Sheets

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6+ Snowy Art Activities for the month of January

So I'm really good at stealing ideas from Pinterest :) My Fine Arts class does two art projects a week (on Tuesday and Thursdays) so I have lots of opportunities to steal ideas. I decided the month of January was our Snowy/Arctic month so our art activities revolved around that. And I know January has passed...but I'm sharing now so I don't forget and you could still incorporate these now! :) Here's my favorites and their respective pins.

Shredded Paper Polar Bears - Pin here but it didn't pin to directions...however a quick google search of the picture helped me find directions here. I made my students each shred their own paper and color the background of their Polar Bear. It was difficult for most students to color the background instead of the object - something we usually don't do!

Sensory Hot Chocolate activity! I loved this activity. The pin links to a free printable of the mug and marshmallows. And then we added hot chocolate powder and sugar! Pinned here.

Symmetrical penguins! Pinned here.

MLK dove activity. As you can see above, this class was very small the day we did this activity so I added our teachers as well, Great for classes of any size, just adjust how many times each student puts their fingerprint on! Pinned here. If you are looking for academic MLK Jr. activities, check out these MLK lessons for multiple free lesson ideas and download links!

Snowmen names. Pinned here.

I think these Polar Bears were my FAVORITE! Great directions (except for some reason we couldn't get the moon to work). I can't believe I had never thought to make stencils before! Click through the pin to read the step by step directions. 

We also brought snow inside to play with for one of our sensory days.

I don't have pictures, but we made some Arctic Animal landscapes by creating these animals pinned here.

So, pretty much, everyone at school thinks I'm really creative for coming up with these ideas, when the truth is, I'm just obsessed with Pinterest :)

Throwback Thursday! Check out my Velcro Crossword Puzzle!

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Money File Folders

This year my goal for many of my students is for them to be able to recognize the different between different bills. For example, a $20 bill is different than a $1 bill! Even though some of my students can't recognize numbers, I feel like this is something they will be able to grasp, because bills have pictures and even colors to help distinguish them!

I created this set of 7 file folders to help reinforce these concepts. Four of the file folders are simple money identification, for example, sorting $1 bills and not $1 bills. (I am currently using both pictures of the front and the back of bills, but if I notice that confusing any of my students, I will print off more of the pieces and only use the front side of the bills.) Then there are three sorting file folders, sorting $1 and $5, sorting $10 and $20, and then sorting all. I introduced these file folders a week ago, and so far they are going great. I love using file folders to work on skills, because for some reason, my students think they are playing a fun game rather than working. Why? I don't really know, but I'll take it!

Here is an example of an IEP goal for this concept: Given a variety of bills, the student will identify a) one dollar bill, b) five dollar bill, c) ten dollar bill, and d) twenty dollar bill with 80% accuracy, 4 out of 5 trials.

Tabs on the file folders are shaded differently based on the task. Identification file folders are light green and the sorting file folders are a darker green.

Here you can see one of the identification file folders. I have added visuals of the bill being identified at the top to assist with sorting between $1 and not $1.

The sorting file folders are similar, but now the student is encouraged to be aware of two different bills in order to sort the two.

For the last two money file folders, I have all of the bills in one folder.

In the harder level, the student sorts the bills as seen above. The easier level has the pictures of the bills in each sorting area and student will match each bill on top of them same one.

You can get these materials to create your own file folder activities over at my TpT store! 

I hope they will be as helpful in your classroom as they are in mine.

Update: Also available on Etsy, already prepped for you! Check the etsy ones out here!

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Voice Volume 5 point scale Visuals

I have a couple of students who can get very loud when they are excited. This 5 point volume scale has been an extremely helpful tool to help those students regulate their volume. 

I have a large copy on my white board and smaller copies on two of my students' desks. I often redirect then to a level 3 voice.

I found this awesome book on Board Maker Achieve that explains each of the volume levels and when they are appropriate to use. I edited it a little bit to add pictures and just changed a couple of the words. I love the book because it helps explain to the student the purpose of the voice chart. And of course I love the interactive pieces, you all know how much I love my adapted books!

Download the book here and the visual here. Do you use these or similar visuals in your classroom?

Join the conversation on Facebook about your favorite special education curriculum materials and get new ideas from everyone else! I'm trying to figure out what new materials to request for next year already.

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Environmental Print Signs Resource from PCI

Most of the resources that I used in my classroom I have created or received from other teachers - as I don't have a specific curriculum and usually am looking for very specific things. However, I LOVE this Environmental Print resource from PCI. It is appropriate for all my students and works on teaching important environmental print signs as well as reading. 

Each story has 3 signs. We spend 1-2 weeks on each story. I display the sign posters in my room.

 

First, we read the story on the projector (it comes with a PDF on a CD) together as a class to introduce the story and signs. I then store the current story we are reading by our binders, so we can review the story with the students before we do the worksheets during our binder time. Also if we review the story enough, many students are able to tell the story on their own towards the end!

 

Here's a few of the worksheets. There's about 7 for each unit. I have my students just do 1 a day so that we get practice on the symbols every single day.

I checked the PCI website, and you can download a sample and read more about what all is included.

This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share what I think is a really awesome resource! Please share any other resources you have found that you think have been helpful because I am always looking for new things!

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