Welcome to my classroom! I teach a self-contained class for students with multiple disabilities. I work at a public intermediate school, which is grades 3 – 5, and this year I have three students in each grade level. Let me tell you a little bit about our schedule and how the day goes!
Arrival and Morning Work
Students start arriving at school around 8:10. My classroom paraprofessionals meet the students at their buses, while I wait outside to greet students and help with hallway monitoring. As students arrive, they unpack their backpacks and check their personal schedules.
Next, students complete morning work in their Hello Binders. I love having students practice important personal information each day, like their name, birthdate, and phone number.
As students finish their morning work, they can choose a game to play with an adult or peer. Uno and board games from Peaceable Kingdom (affiliate links) are some of our favorites!
Morning Meeting
Next up is my favorite part of the day – morning meeting! I incorporate math, literacy, and social skills into our morning meeting to make it both meaningful and a chance for connection. We start by reviewing the date, weather, and the number of days we have been in school. I present information to my students using both the Real Picture Morning Meeting slides and the Daily Math Calendar (affiliate link) pictured above. Then, each student gets a chance to answer the Question of the Day. I love letting each student have a chance to be heard! I usually end the meeting with a GoNoodle or Jack Hartmann dance video to help students get their wiggles out before we get to work.
Reading Centers
After morning meeting, we start our first subject of the day: reading. I run my reading block using centers. In my room, students rotate centers through four centers. They work with me on their academic goals, work with a paraprofessional on comprehension activities, do independent tasks, and complete computer-based work.
Between reading centers and our next activity, I give students a short play break. This helps them get ready to focus for their next subject!
Writing Groups
Our next subject is writing. I spilt my students into groups based on abilities, and a paraprofessional and I rotate between the groups. Each day we work on Daily Calendar Worksheets, and then move into individualized goals. Students may work on writing their names and personal info, writing sentences, and responding to prompts.
Lunch and Recess
After writing, students clean up and prepare for lunch and recess. My students go to the cafeteria and playground with their gen ed peers, and are accompanied by paraprofessionals.
Science, Social Studies, and Life Skills
Throughout the school year, I rotate through science, social studies, and life skills lessons. For science and social studies. I use adapted versions of our school’s gen ed curricula. This allows students to have exposure to grade-level content.
For life skills, we practice a different skill each month, with lots of practice throughout the week. This free folding facecloths resource is one of our favorite life skills activities to practice! And, we always do a cooking activity on Fridays!
Adapted Specials
Next on the schedule we have our adapted special area class. Our school has a five day schedule, and the students rotate through gym, art, library, computers, and music. Paraprofessionals go with the students to support them. When we return from specials, students have a quick snack break before math.
Math Centers
After snack, our next subject is math. Like reading, I run math using center rotations. We often start math class as a whole-group to go over a concept related to the math unit we are working on. Then during centers, students work on individualized goals based on the unit. I use Simple Math Workbooks help me to target my students’ needs!
Pack Up and Playtime
When math is done, we get packed up and have some playtime until the end of the day. When the weather is nice, I love to take my class outside. There are usually other classes outside, too, so it is a great way for us to work on social skills with peers!
Dismissal
The last part of our schedule is dismissal time. The classroom paras and I walk the kids out to their buses. Afterwards, we take a bit of time to reset the classroom for the next day. We also go over training topics as needed so that we are all on the same page!
Designing a schedule that is effective for your classroom can definitely be a labor of love. With some trial and error, I was able to create a daily routine that works for my crew! Looking for more schedule ideas? Check out this post!
