Help...first year teaching 1st-2nd special ed

[Melissa]

This is my first year in the 1st 2nd special ed class. These kids can say there numbers and letters days of the week and colors realy bright but Im not sure of activities to do with them any ideas thanks.

[Unregistered]

Several ideas:
Determine the units of study for the grade level.
Develop webbing units that will encompass hands on activities, sensory activities, music movement, and of course drawing and writing.
RElate your units to the regular grade curriculum.
Develop a picture schedule for each student and the students in general.
Data collection is critical.

[Misty Wiggins]

I work with adults with Developmental Disabilities, I find that anything hands-on is great. You can do a trick with salt and sidewalk chalk, you grind the sidewalk chalk into the salt to create colored sand for sand art. You can ask your students to use certain colors in specific order to see how well they understand the colors. This is a relaxed activity and it is tons of fun too, just a little messy..

[Liz2250]

Check out this website: www.cpcway.com

If you have computers or a vcr available make a note of it and send in some comments on the comment page. You may be able to get some sample materials for the kids.

[Mark]

I find just using daily songs to work on colors, letters, and numbers to be best. I'm sure if you search the web, you'll find hundreds of different songs.

[Kerri 283Jt]

I find songs work the best too!

[Unregistered]

imhave been a teacher for speacial ed kids for 4 years.you need to have fun.try having them get points for eing good and if the get 10 then let them get a prize.do something with you lesson.maybe read a book and havbe them put in groups and let them play it out.something like that

[labooks]

I agree that the repetition and fun offered by music helps learning. You might enjoy the lesson plan on my site for using music to improve vocabulary (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPvocabulary.html).

Spelling with memory cues (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPspelling.html) has helped many special education and regular education children.
I've seen special education kids really get enthused about this. I'd like to hear from you if you have additional cues to share. My email address is on the lesson plan's page.

On my website (Learning Abilities Books), I also have lessons to correct digit reversals (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPdigitreversal.html), to correct letter and word reversals (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLP-sdt-letterwordreversal.html), to remember left from right (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPright-left.html), and to recognize similarities and differences (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLP-sdt-program.html) to develop reading readiness and basic reading skills.

The site has many resources including a lot of help for
learning Dolch sight words (http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPDolch.html). Many of the resouces have been used from pre-K through adult literacy.

Good luck.

[Unregistered]

This is my first year in the 1st 2nd special ed class. These kids can say there numbers and letters days of the week and colors realy bright but Im not sure of activities to do with them any ideas thanks.

Hi Melissa: My name is gina mother of four and my mothers specialises in your field shes been top notch for the past 10-13 yrs and she could give you enough ideas and share her daily activieties with you if you like.Email me at
j0es.baby@juno.com if youd like me to set you up with her help shes awsome and loving and a great help to many teachers and schools.
Yours truly: Mrs Deithorn of Philadelphia pa

[Unregistered]

Every week I introduce five new words from the dolch sight word list with my resource room first graders. We sing songs to help us remember them, and work with the words in a variety of different ways... and of course everyday we review our old words. Each week our new words are added to our old words to make more complex sentences.

[shaz]

i think teaching children is very important and these children need us to support them and bring them up to be decent humans

[Unregistered]

For first and second grade special needs students, I would first create some interesting centers within the classroom. Then try to thematically instruct within those centers. A lady bug lesson is a good idea for the spring. You can purchase lady bugs at a garden store and keep them in your refrigerator until the lesson. They hybernate while in the fridge. I kept mine for about a week. I used a ten gallon fish tank, placed some soil and plants inside, and then brought in the lady bugs. They like to eat aphids but instead, break open a few raisins. They love the inside of raisins. Students like observing them and you can tie it in with a lady bug story; lady bug art work; lady bug life cycle; lady bug math; lady bug journal; etc. Next lesson to follow: butterflies. I had a cricket habitat once too. They made so much noise that I placed them on a desk out in the hallway with a journal notebook for all students to make observation notes who passed through to observe them. Education-world.com has great lessons that can be adapted for your students. I wish you the best! Jeannie

[Unregistered]

I have been teaching special ed. for 24 years. My current class is K-2 with mixed disabilities. I find that you need to be very structured, have a set schedule (and follow it daily - as much as the school schedule and outside classroom activities allow), have firm and consistent rules and expectations, know your students' IEP goals and individual needs, have your lesson plans done so you know what you are teaching/doing throughout your day, and be prepared. Don't be wishy-washy in your daily expectations with your kids, because they will use that against you. Be firm, be tough, but let your kids know that you love them and care for them. If you need more suggestions, email me at pp32525@yahoo.com.

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=shaz]i think teaching children is very important and these children need us to support them and bring them up to be decent humans and i have work with them as a peer and i thought that is was fun they are so cool you can learn a hole lot from them

[Unregistered]

I am in my first year also, I am in a self contained class with nine children and a full time assistant, but every other week I am receiving a new student which changes the dynamics of the class. I teach K-3 and I do my best to keep it like general ed. all I do is give it to them a little slower. Because they are ESE does not mean they are to be left out. I teach in Jacksonville Florida. To me I am the only advocate they have in order for them to obtain a decent education or a faxcimili of one. My advice is to stay out of the teachers lounge and tune out the negative talk about your students and form your own opinion of them. This has helped me tremendously, listen you are all they have and yes it is hard and sometimes you want to give up, but you CAN'T. I don't know if this has helped you, but writing this has made me realize that I can't quit on them either, that what most of them are use to, people giving up on them, and casting them to the side (ese classrooms). Come lets be honest, these kids are there because most General ed. teachers are not equipped or are overwhelmed with their classroom size to have children like ours in there; so what happens, they are staffed and then they become our students; I digress. Please don't give up on them, and make having them do as well as the general ed students your motivation when you feel like giving up. The CEO of Kinkos was labeled ESE!!!!! please email me rmcgill@drew.edu I like to keep in touch with other teachers and we can exchange ideas.