• Home
  • Shop
    • Shop Now
    • Gift Cards
    • Cart
    • Purchase Orders
    • School Licenses
    • My Account
  • Blog
    • Academics
      • Adapted Books
      • Comprehension
      • Cooking
      • Crafts
      • ELA
      • ESY
      • Fine Motor
      • Life Skills
      • Math
      • Occupational Therapy
      • Science
      • Sensory Bins
      • Social Emotional Learning
      • Social Skills
      • Social Studies
      • Speech Therapy
      • Task Boxes
      • Vocabulary
      • Writing
    • At Home Learning
      • Digital
      • Remote Learning
    • Behavior
      • ABA
      • Communication
        • AAC
      • Data
      • Schedules
      • Visuals
    • Simple Classroom
      • Back to School
      • Book Recommendations
      • Classroom Setup
      • Freebies
      • IEP
      • Inclusion
      • Inspiration
      • Organization
      • Paraprofessional
      • Remote Learning
      • Seasonal
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Spring
        • Summer
    • Tot School
  • Classroom Tours
    • Self-Contained
    • Speech
    • Preschool
    • Elementary Autistic Support
    • K-2
    • K-2 (Socially Distanced)
    • K-4 (Tiny Room)
    • 1-4 (Life Skills)
    • 2-3 (ABA)
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • High School (Life Skills)
    • Multiple Disabilities
  • New Teachers
    • Join My Online Course
    • First Year
    • Interviews
    • Job Search
  • Grade Level
    • Preschool
    • Primary
    • Elementary
    • Middle School
    • High School
  • Simple Self-Contained Setup 101®
    • Join Now!
    • Success Stories
    • Log In
  • Free Resources
    • Log In
  • More…
    • Meet Alyssa
    • Meet Our Bloggers
    • Collaborate
    • Guest Blogging
    • Contact Me
    • Disclosures
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Simply Special Ed

Resource Downloads & Teaching Advice

Academics Blog ELA Simple Classroom Vocabulary

Monthly Vocabulary Lessons in Special Education

monthly vocabulary lessons in special education

Teaching vocabulary in special education is crucial, but it can be tough. We work on vocabulary in our setting all day, but it can be overwhelming to know what vocabulary to teach and how. Teaching monthly vocabulary lessons in special education is a great way to cover important vocabulary in a structured, efficient way.

three key points to teaching monthly vocabulary lessons in special education
These are the three key points to remember when teaching monthly vocabulary lessons in special education

3 Key Points for Vocabulary Instruction

There are three key points to teaching monthly vocabulary lessons in special education:

  1. Use vocabulary to drive instruction
  2. Introduce 3 new words per week
  3. Practice words in all environments

Use your monthly vocabulary words to drive your instruction in your special education classroom. The more you use those words in your instruction, then the more your students will learn them and comprehend what they are learning. Focus on 3 words per week. Don’t try to teach all the words for the month in week one. Teach them, use them, build on them. Lastly, practice your monthly vocabulary words across all environments. Your students are more likely to learn and comprehend the vocabulary words when you use them across all environments throughout your day. Use them during morning meeting, at recess, at lunch, during specials, during centers, all the time!

an example of a functional word wall
This is the word wall Alyssa used in her classroom. I love the idea of making a functional word wall with life skills vocabulary and adding the monthly vocabulary words each month.

Word Wall

All teachers love a good word wall, but in special education our word walls need to be functional. Alyssa used a functional life skills word wall in her classroom. A great way to add to a functional word wall is to add your monthly vocabulary words to your word wall. The words are included in each monthly vocabulary unit. You can find the August monthly vocabulary unit here!

example of monthly vocabulary file folders
This is an example of one of the file folders included in a monthly vocabulary unit.

Monthly File Folders

File folders are my favorite for practicing monthly vocabulary words. There are 2 levels of file folders in each monthly unit, so you can meet the needs of your diverse learners. I incorporate these file folders into my independent file folder center each day, then I just switch them out each month. The file folders are a great way for your students to review their words and practice independent work.

monthly vocabulary games and activities
I use the monthly vocabulary activities and games in my ELA centers throughout the month

Center Activities and Games

I love doing centers in my classroom. A great way to teach your monthly vocabulary lessons is through centers. I use the activities and games at my independent and para run centers during our ELA time. There are matching games, clip cards, bingo, flash cards, sentence building, and more. These activities are perfect activities for para run centers! I keep a scrapbook bin with all the games and activities for the month at the center table for easy access. Learn more about setting up classroom centers in this blog post.

All your students can learn vocabulary words and use them throughout the school day. Monthly vocabulary lessons teach vocab in a structured and efficient way. Remember, use the vocabulary to drive instruction, introduce 3 new words per week, and use the vocabulary across all environments.

Monthly Vocabulary Units are available here.

How do you teach vocabulary words to your students?

Read more on teaching vocabulary to students with special needs here.

monthly vocabulary lessons in special education pin

Related Posts:

  • Substitute-Plans-Camping-5
    Camping Lessons for Special Education
  • Substitute-Plans-Ocean-17
    Ocean Lessons for Special Education
  • image
    Why I switched from General Education to Special Education
Share
Pin


« How I Organize Schedule Pieces
My Favorite Professional Development Books »
Hi amazing teachers!
I'm Alyssa Shanahan -- a former Elementary Special Ed & Life Skills teacher. My classroom focus was always to keep things simple, increase communication, and build independence. Simply Special Ed's goal is to help teachers and students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom!

Sign up to receive exclusive tips,
free resources, and more!

Recent Posts

Getting a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy

How to Plan for Para Support in a Self-Contained Classroom

How to Use a Classroom Layout Builder

A Day in the Life of a Self-Contained Teacher

How to Calculate Behavior Data

Using the Life Skills Workbook Bundle

Copyright © Simply Special Ed 2025 · Design by Fancy Girl Design Studio

Copyright © 2025 · Simply Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok