Welcome to my self-contained classroom! I teach students with multiple disabilities in grades 3-5 at a public intermediate school. Take a look at how a typical day in my self-contained room looks!
Starting the Day
I arrive at work about 15 minutes before my students arrive. I am not a morning person so I like to take my time at home! After setting up my computer and checking email, I ensure that all the materials I need are ready to go. And, I usually find some time to chat with my teacher friends before the day gets going.
Two paraprofessionals work with me in my classroom. When everyone has arrived, we prep student materials and go over any changes to the day’s schedule. Then, the paras meet the class at their buses. If there is a substitute para, I will get them prepped by going over our schedule and important information. Sometimes, subs are new to the self-contained world so it has been super helpful to utilize a paraprofessional binder to give them a rundown on my class!
My students begin arriving at school a little after 8:00. They are all on different buses, so their arrivals are staggered. Plus, some of them have breakfast or go to therapies first thing in the morning. For that reason, I like to ease my class into the day. After unpacking their backpacks, students do table-top activities This gives
Morning Meeting
Morning Meeting is my favorite part of the day! I love having my students gather together, allowing each student to have a voice, and reinforcing skills. Using the Morning Meeting Real Picture Slides on my touchscreen smartboard lets my students participate!
Morning Centers
After morning meeting and a quick snack break, we do our morning rotation of centers, focusing on ELA skills. I do four centers in my room: work with a teacher, work with a paraprofessional, computer work, and independent work. Students spend about 15 minutes at each center.
Lunch and Recess
It’s lunch time! My students eat in the cafeteria with para support, and enjoy eating and having recess with their gen ed peers. I try to keep my own lunch period work-free so I can unwind during the day. If I am not eating with my colleagues, I like to listen to an audiobook while I eat.
Group Activities
After the students’ lunch periods, we spend some time doing whole-group activities while the paraprofessionals take turns going to lunch. Also, many of my students will pulled for OT, PT, or Speech services during this time.
In my classroom, we rotate between science, social studies, and life skills activities. Science and Social Studies lessons are adapted versions of grade-level standards. Cooking in the classroom is a favorite life skills activity for my students!
Prep Period
My class goes to adapted special area classes, with support from paraprofessionals. I use this time to make copies, lesson plan, and do paperwork. Once a week, I meet with my school’s other self-contained teacher for a PLC (Professional Learning Community) period. It is so nice to have that time to collaborate with a teacher who knows what self-contained life is like!
Afternoon Centers
We do a second rotation of centers in the afternoon, this time focusing on math. We follow the same centers structure as we do in the morning. Once a week, I make sure to take data on my students’ goals!
Learn more about IEP goal bins inside Simple Centers System!
Playtime
After afternoon centers, my students pack up their backpacks and then we enjoy some gross-motor play until the end of the day! Most of the time, we play outside. But if the weather is bad, we enjoy online movement videos in the classroom.
End of the Day
When the students have left for the day, the paraprofessionals and I spend some time tidying up the classroom and debrief about the day, noting any concerns or issues that need to be addressed. A few times a week we also take time graph behavior data.
And that’s a day in my life as a self-contained teacher! Have more questions about running a self-contained classroom? Check out the Simple Self-Contained 101 course to learn all about how to set up and run your room!
Leave a Reply