Christmas Freebie

Spreading some Holiday cheer everyone's way with this new freebie!  Teach and review Christmas nouns and verbs with this packet. Head on over to my TPT store for this freebie!  This is a great addition to your independent/TEACCH center!

It's the small things that count

We all need a reminder every now and then to celebrate the small accomplishments!  As an Intervention Specialist we not only manage our students, but paraprofessionals, administrators, general education teachers, specials teachers, and parents too.  We need to not only remind ourselves, but everyone around us, to celebrate the small accomplishments that we and our students continue to make.  If we constantly look at the skills that our students lack we will drive our selves mad.  We need to celebrate the small things, like our students responding to a greeting, our most severe ED students spending time in the general education setting (even if it is only a minute longer than what they normally tolerate), a student asking a question, us taking extra data for the day, or getting to eat lunch with a friend.  When we focus on the skill deficits that our students have or the loads of paper work left for us to conquer, we lose sight on what truly matters.  So my positive message that I hope to spread to you...Celebrate the little victories!  Celebrate the little victories with those that you work with and help others feel like they are making a difference in our sometimes difficult and depressing field.  When you celebrate the little victories you begin to see the big picture!

Math Fluency Packet

Here is a new product for math fact fluency.  The packet includes addition and subtraction fact fluency assessments, file folders, data collection sheet, worksheets, and "I can" badges.  I have created the file folders for students to practice +0, +1, +2, +3, etc through +10 and doubles; this is the same for subtraction.  When students complete a fact fluency assessment with 80%+ they receive and "I can" badge which allows them to be proud and show what they know for the fact family which they have mastered!  Head over to my TpT store or Teacher's Notebook to get your copy now!

Welcome Back

Welcome back everyone!  This year brings yet another change...I've said good-bye to the building that I have taught at since my first day of teaching, I am now at a new building, teaching first grade Autism and Severe Behavior/ED!  I have actually been back to teaching, but I feel as if I haven't been able to catch my breath.  Now; however, we are making it work and it is getting easier day by day.  Working with 3 new aides and a student teacher, a first and third year general education teacher and a new principal...WOW!

Here is what has helped me survive....
Schedules for EVERYONE! XCEL spreadsheets for adults and Visual Schedules for the kiddos!

Constant Lesson Plans!  Why do I feel like have never lesson-planned to this level before, but at least it helps to keep my head above water! 

CAPS Reports - Comprehensive Autism Planning System

Sample CAPS report

These are a life saver, not only for the staff working with the students, but for the parents to understand what and how their children are learning.  These are great for your parents whose needs are difficult to meet.  The CAPS reports addresses 9 areas: Activity, When it is taught, Target Skills to Teach, Structures and Modifications, Reinforcement, Sensory Activities, Communication/Social Skills, Data Collection, Skill Generalization.  In years past I have used the daily CAPS report; a CAPS report is completed for each day of the week for each student (I try to update each of these once a quarter).  This year I am using the CAPS report by activity; a CAPS report is completed for each student, activities are listed and days the activities are addressed are then highlighted.  The paraprofessionals are able to cross-reference the daily schedule with each students' CAPS report.

Click here to download the CAPS report by activity.

Click here to download the daily CAPS report.

Also, don't forget to check out my TpT store for a new math fact fluency product for addition and subtraction.  The packet includes fluency tests, data sheets, file folders, worksheets and "I can" badges!

New Product, New Shop

A new product has been uploaded on my TpT store.

About the Product:
Practice following the rules of words ending in -s, -ed, and -ing. 
Word Work Activity
Practice making words
For Regular Ed and Special ED
TEACCH Tasks included

In other news...I finally have a Teachers Notebook Shop!  Swing on over and check it out!  A special sale will be running this Monday through Friday in celebration!

Don't forget to swing over to my tpt store and check out the Cyber Monday and Tuesday sales! 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Au-Guys-A-Productive-Autism-Classroom

Things I learn in Second Grade: Acrostic and Array

I would like to remind you that I know of these things, however did not know it had a name.


According to Wikipedia, "An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message."

Here is a sample of an Acrostic Poem:

Siesta Key
Ukulele
Nirvana
No worries
Yes 

An Array is a math term used to define a set of columns/rows. 

Picture borrowed from eisforexplore.blogspot.com

Where was I in school?  How did I not learn the terminology for all of this?