Classroom setup can be DAUNTING. But if you know me well, you know I like to keep it simple. (You can see my former classroom setup blog post here with lots of pictures)
I truly believe that making your classroom student centered, whether you are a veteran or a new teacher… will change the way you see back to school! Instead of cute posters and themes… focus on the 6 things you really need to have in place for Back to School season. Visual Schedules
- Visual Schedules
In most self contained classrooms, visual schedules are not optional… they are a MUST have.
You can read more about getting started with visual schedules here.
2. Morning Meeting
Having a solid morning meeting routine will change your life in self contained. It’s a solid period of expected routine in your classroom.
You can read more about my morning meeting routine here.
3. Morning Message
Morning message is something that most general ed classrooms do, so why don’t we mimic this in special ed… but adapt it for our students!
You can read more about morning message here.
4. Token Boards
Token boards are next favorite visual, besides visual schedules that it. Token boards are a HUGELY important behavior tool that can reduce problem behavior by using them proactively.
You can grab the token boards here.
5. Parent Communication Sheets
Communicating with parents is a huge part of our job as special ed teachers! These sheets take all the pressure off of you and are virtually prep free for the year. Print a big stack in black and white and grab and go!
You can read more about communicating with parents here.
6. The First 10 Days
The First 10 Days of school are the hardest! There is students and staff to get to know, new routines to teach, and expectations of the classroom to learn… it’s a lot for the students and teachers both! The First 10 Days give you 10 days of lesson plans ready to go… by the end of the first 2 weeks of school your students will know their routines and be ready to start new curriculum!
You can read more about The First 10 Days here.
GOOD NEWS! I’ve combined all of the must haves into one classroom setup bundle! You can grab the bundle at a discount here.
The bundle includes The First 10 Days, Morning Message, Morning Meeting, Token Boards, Home Communication Sheets, and Visual Schedules! It is always a discount to purchase bundles!