Self-Assessment

The ability to self-reflect is one of the most important quality humans have. Without it we cannot learn from our mistakes. For many people, self-reflection is a tough thing. They either don't want to, or don't know how to reflect on previous experiences. But it is crucial to growth we do.

Students with exceptionalities may have a particularly difficult time reflecting. I find doing a "self-assessment" at the end of each period helps build there skills. It also creates the opportunity for grading system that isn't skills based (should you chose to implement it).

Here's my self-assessment document:

At the end of each period (last couple minutes), each student grabs their self-assessment. They score themselves on how "respectful", "responsible", and "safe" they have been that period. They can get up to 10 points. To avoid students who mark 10 each time, an adult must initial it before it's turned in. This also give you a chance to touch bases with your students if their behavior was below (or above) expectations.

I also used this as a non-skills based way to grade my students. The data is easily inputted into any grading system.

E-mail me (sara.kerbs.r@gmail.com) if you'd like to use my document as a template.

First Day of School

As a teacher, you know that the first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. Obviously, lessons about school rules and classroom expectations are your first priority. But also showing the kiddos your fun side and getting to know your students is critically important. Here are a couple of activities I've used in the past for the first day of school. "Getting to Know You" Questionnaire

If you have a classroom full of students who are able to write, giving them this questionnaire to fill out will give you a good sense of who they are. If at all possible, I like to pull students aside one at a time and go through it with them. This gives you a little one-on-one time with the student, establishing a relationship with them. Pulling students out individually will be necessary if you work with an especially young population or any group of students who have little to no writing skills.

Time Capsule

One of the funnest activities I like to do is a time capsule. Not a 30 year time capsule mind you, but a year long one. It's so amazing to see how much your students change in the course of one year. Both you and your students will enjoy seeing the growth.

Instructions for this one are simple. First, you'll need a box (not too big, because you'll have to store it ALL year). Then on the first day of school, take a picture of each of your students (Polaroid works best, unless you're so tech savvy you can print your picture instantly). Have your students put their picture in the box as well as some crafty item they've made that day. I also like to have my students put in a copy of their "Getting to Know You" questionnaire, so we can see how much their personality has grown/changed. Of course, there are endless items you can put in your capsule, depending on how big you want to make it. Be creative!!

When your class has put everything in the capsule, seal it up tight and have them decorate the outside. Store it in a safe place and don't forget to open it on the last day of school!

Surfers

I love having photos of my students up around the classroom. On the first day, I like to have them color a little surfer guy, then we paste their photo on the top. I usually have set up some type of board with waves on it. We put the surfer guys up and it's a great classroom decoration!

Autism vs. Communication

Below is video about a girl named Carly. She has severe autism but learned to express herself through her computer. Check it out!

Morning Calendar

Every morning my class starts off the day by doing what we call "Morning Calendar". It's a chance for us all to sit and discuss what day it is, what the weather is like, and learn some basic daily facts like how many minutes there are in an hour. Originally, I did Morning Calendar on a whiteboard, but since the addition of an ActivBoard in my classroom, it's grown into a whole big activity. Whether you have an ActivBoard, a whiteboard, or a chalkboard, you can still take the general principles and use them for a fun lesson each day. At the top, we discuss the date, then we move onto the season. After that we circle what the weather looks like outside, then make guesses on what temperature we think it is. We write out guess next to our initials and click on the hyperlink that goes to a website with our temperature readout. Next we decide what the appropriate clothing would be for the weather outside, and dress this poor guy accordingly.

Next is money. For students who are just starting off with money, we do basic facts (quarter=$0.25, etc.). For students with a better understanding of money, we practice adding the money on the screen, then reveal the answer underneath it.Fractions are next. We count how many piece are total and put that number on the bottom. Then how many are shaded and that number goes on top. Every day I change the location and number of the shaded pieces.

Moving on to time. We discuss basic time facts and then read the exact time on clock.

Then we discuss facts about the calendar. How many days in a week, etc.

Next we answer some simple questions about ourselves (address, date of birth) and some questions about our location (zip code, coast). Afterward we click on the hyperlink to Google Earth and continue with our geography. We go through and list our planet, country, state, county, city, and school.

It took years for my students to be able to answer all these questions. If you implement a lesson such as this, start simple. Then move on to more complex questions.

Teaching Appropriate Reactions to Situations

Ever had a student explode with profanity (or tears) over a minor situation? Seems to happen every day in special ed, so I made this lesson for my kiddos. It's a visual that shows the strength of our reaction to various situations. The meter starts at "Flatlands" (every day nothing occurances) and goes all the way up to "Volcano" (the worst possible situation). During the lesson, we discuss various situations and what the proper reaction may be. Maybe a person accidentally bumps me in the hall. That's a tiny anthill of a situation and I can handle that myself. Perhaps someone is hurting my friend. If that's the case it's a mountain situation and I need to see the school counselor.

Click on the picture below for a larger view.

Given this starting lesson, there are countless lessons that can follow. You can take situations that have really happened and place them on the meter; then see how the situation should have been handled. For students that have daily issues with improper reactions, it can be useful to give them a copy of the meter to carry around as a reference when needed. It's very important to first use the meter when a student HAS acted appropriately, so they are able to understand it clearly, without the clouded judgement that behavior brings. Then, once they know how to use it, introduce it during a time when they've had an inappropriate reaction.

E-mail me at sara.kerbs.r@gmail.com if you would like the ActivInspire lesson that accompanies this.