All instructional assistants are not made equal. We have so many that are outstanding. Some are even certified teachers or students who are working their way through college. We have some assistants who have a family member with special needs so they bring a valuable perspective to our classrooms. And then there are the assistants who have never worked with children with special needs or the assistants who just took the job […]
Read moreOnce again, I’ve found a little magic that I just have to share! A couple of years ago, one of our SLPs had this magic wand that she brought out here and there to get kids to pay attention and work on their articulation, language or social skills. I’ve wanted one of these ever since. I told one of my friends that I wanted one and one day, it showed up […]
Read moreA sense of urgency, time is of the essence, get ‘er done is the theme of today’s video! We have too many students come in to our schools already at a deficit because they come from an impoverished home environment. Parents who mainly interact with their children for what is called “command and control” which basically means they don’t do much communicating with their children outside of keeping them in line […]
Read moreYou just never know what’s going to work with any given student. For me, sometimes it’s been a bracelet turned into a superpower or a pillbox turned into a reinforcement treasure chest. I think sometimes if you can have on hand something that surprises a student, something that is interesting or novel that he or she actually momentarily forgets why they were not being compliant in the first place! That brings me […]
Read moreI am very aware that once students get into high school, the stakes are high. Traditionally, the focus is on passing classes with graduation as the end goal. All efforts go into helping students meet course requirements, which includes getting homework done, studying for the tests and quizzes. Little time if any is left over for any continuation of closing the gap on any lagging reading skills. I have and will forever […]
Read moreThe mystery of teaching students how read was solved a very long time ago. We know how to do it. We know what it takes. YET we still have students who are lagging behind in their skills. When a child struggles with reading, we must do something different not just more of the same only louder and more of it. I was attending a conference on reading several years ago […]
Read moreDid you ever wish you could have a visual for one of your students that he or she could see at all times instead of needing you there all the time to prompt to not do something? I’ve had several students who needed this. There was the guy in middle school that would zip up your hoodie, jacket or sweater in a hot minute if it was not zipped all […]
Read moreI feel that every conference or training that I go to, if I can get just one new idea, strategy, or tool that I can take back to share with others, then I consider it worth my time. When Sarah Ward came to present, we were all taking part in a fire hydrant turned to WIDE OPEN!!! It will take me weeks to process all of the information I learned […]
Read moreWe’ve been revamping our Early Childhood Classrooms in terms of how we evaluate and monitor our students’ growth like using the Early Start Denver Checklist and the STAR Program that I’ve highlighted before. To continue with that tweaking process, we’ve added some more structure to our classrooms so that students could better understand what they need to do in each of the spaces or centers. I have with me today, my friend and educational […]
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