Structured Work Systems

 

Structured work systems are HUGE in Autism classrooms and classrooms for students with all types of disabilities. It teaches so much more than the skill, keeps kids engaged, builds independence, teaches schedule following, generalizes matching skills, and helps to teach classroom behavior!

I literally could not live without this center in my classroom, especially at times when we are understaffed! Read on to find out how I use my structured work system in my classroom and be sure to catch our BLAB at the end for more info!

You can grab my workbox labels here!

First things first, this center in your classroom teaches INDEPENDENCE not the SKILL. The skill should be a skill that is already mastered and independent, otherwise it does not work as an independent work station.

I get this question a lot, “How do you introduce a new skill to the workboxes” and I just want to clarify- there are NO new skills in my workboxes. All the skills have been mastered and practiced independently for quite some time before they make it into the workbox.

Yes, you can change up materials, use new seasonal materials ( Target dollar section erasers!), use materials the child is interested in to keep them engaged, and switch from coins to clothespins, but do NOT introduce new skills in this setting! It is a big cause for behavior, it will take staff to run it, the students will not be as confident and engaged, and they most definitely will not be independent.

I separate my bins by type of label as you can see below! This helps students know what they are working on, and where to put it away!

This center is a great spot in your classroom to generalize schedule following. Sure your kid can complete their daily schedule by April in the school year, but can they generalize that skill to workboxes? Here is the perfect spot to practice! Students follow their schedule and match the card to the box!

Check out how I make my own workboxes HERE!

I have a few students that are trying to generalize behaviors to the general education classroom during inclusion time. This is a great place to integrate those expected classroom behaviors, because they are working so independently! I use this spot to teach hand raising behavior, a skill that is often lost in the small setting of a substantially separate classroom. They raise their hands for questions, and to let us know they are all done, and to pick a reward. We ignore all speaking out behavior and only respond when the student is appropriate! Practicing this every day will really help the skill carry over across settings!

 

I just want to reiterate this one more time. It is so important that staff knows that all of the boxes on the students schedule are MASTERED SKILLS. You may want to keep a log with each students name and what boxes they are able to complete during independent work time, so tougher boxes are not mistakenly given to students! It is so important to stay consistent in this station. My students learn this station from TOP to BOTTOM in a week as it is one of this first things I teach!

If you think your students have not mastered any skills yet, THEY CAN. Even put in tasks and matching tasks can be used in a task box system. Sometimes they made need help with set up, but you can always walk away to take time with another student and check back in!

 

If you are down staff in your classroom, and who isn’t????, then this is the center for you! Once your students are taught how to run the system, they do the entire system on their own, freeing up an extra staff member! 🙂

 

Check out how I run my workbox center HERE!

This past week Let’s Talk Sped blabbed about Structured Work Systems! If you missed it check out the replay below! And join us every Thursday at 8pm Eastern!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHIMqPMD2Y0]

& make sure you grab my workbox labels!