What is Your Disability?

What is your disability? That is a question I asked of my students. In my first period class, I have 10 students. Of those 10, only one student knew that he was diagnosed with ADHD. The other ones had no idea what their disability was. So I gave them the assignment that I sussed out over the break. Since I introduced them to jigsawing, I printed articles for the three disabilities in my class- Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Autism.

Here’s the breakdown. Of my 26 students, 1 has Language & Speech Services (LAS), 2 don’t have the lab with me, 4 have autism, and 2 have ADHD, with 16 having SLD. I split them into groups, gave them the articles and the link for the Google sheet to answer the questions they would later transfer to their ppt. or Google slides presentation. I then explained their roles and let them tear apart the article and answer the questions. They were free to research any questions that were not answered by the article. I’ll discuss the outcome in another post. Just color me impressed!

Bye for now!

Techy Me! or Challenge Accepted!

Dear Readers,

I work at a Blended Learning School. It’s a format that combines technology with traditional learning. When I took the job I was so out of my league. However I issued myself a challenge to get into that league. CHALLENGE: Learn and incorporate as much technology into the classroom as possible within the next couple of months. At the time I was hired, I hadn’t used much technology in the classroom except my classroom blog and iFilm.

However, I knew at this school I had to step up my game. So, I did! I accepted the challenge. Not only that, I saw the challenge and upped the ante a bit.

Usually, I can’t see my progress as it’s happening. However, in an earlier post, I briefly wrote about my Quickening process (click here). I also wrote about some of the programs I was using (click here). If I can think of anything else, I’ll post it. For now, here are the programs I’ve learned.

• Kahoot! online quiz program that automatically compiles correct & incorrect answers for me,
• Edmodo to post my power points, make quizzes, and display instructions,
• Haiku, used by our SpEd. department,
• Pinnacle to take roll & track grades,
• Class Dojo for behavior management,
• my school website to upload digital agendas,
• my other school website to download important documents & answer PD surveys,
• Google docs,
• Google sheets,
• Google forms,
• Google slides
• Online stopwatch for tracking time,
• Weebly website to post links and work from core classes.

Not sure, but I think that’s all. One last thing I’m very proud of is how I’m using Google sheets to make my exit slips for the month. I was using Google forms to send them daily, but discovered it was quickly filling up my Google drive and causing too much work for me. I knew I needed to find an easier and more efficient way to get the job done. I played around with Google sheets and figured out how to do it. Happy to say that I’m no longer creating daily exit slips; I’m now creating them monthly. If you’d like to know how, shoot me an email @ specialedandme@gmail.com.

 

 

So Much To Write About!

Dear Readers,

Usually at the end of the year I have what I call The Quickening. For those of you who are not Syfy fans, that’s a reference to the movie Highlander. In the movie there are beings- Immortals- who are fighting for the right to be “The Only One.” In order to be the only one, the Immortals hunt each other down, fight to the death with swords and chop off the other Immortal’s head in order to claim their knowledge (usually hundreds of years), which comes out in the form of violent lightning that engulfs the victor & literally deposits the knowledge in the victor’s head. Well, I said all that to say that’s how I feel. The only thing is that I usually feel this at the end of the year when I’ve had time to process and sort through everything I’ve learned up until that point. My new job is so intense and so all encompassing that I feel The Quickening now. What’s even stranger is that I felt it as it was happening. I even helped encouraged the process.

At the beginning of the school year I could tell that I was in for quite an experience; I could feel it. There seemed to be magic and a sense of the possibilities in the air. I could feel that this job could be what I needed and more. I have my church’s breakfast banquet to attend, so I will write more later about my Quickening.

 

Knocked it Out the Park!!!

Dear Readers,

I’m not sure why I’m surprised that I knocked the ball out the park with my latest PD that I presented with my co-teacher. Presentations are my strong suit. So, it should have come as no surprise.

The purpose of the PD was to explain what Passports are and how they’re related to the IEP. Let me explain what Passports are. They’re documents created by my charter school organization that include the student’s lexile level, present level of performance, and goals for the GenEd teachers to use in their planning.

Well, the Passports were updated and given out during the first month of school. However, when they were given out, only 3/4 of the SpEd staff was present. The 11th/12th grade teacher was absent because his son was having medical complications, my assistant was on her honeymoon, and I had a PD to attend at the home office. I said all of that to say that we were unavailable to explain to the GenEd teachers how to use them. Needless to say, some of the teachers weren’t using them because they didn’t know how.

To help the GenEd teachers, we (the SpEd staff) created an AT-A-GLANCE spreadsheet for 9th-12th grade that listed important accommodations across the top, students names down the left hand side of the spread sheet, and then checked off which students received which accommodation. I, along with my co-teacher, explained all of this to the teachers. They were very grateful. They asked many questions and received clarification on questions they had.

My A.P. even sent me the results of the PD survey. The results were overwhelmingly positive. I have to say that the best thing to come out of presenting the PD was the teachers’ understanding that the IEP is a legal document because I kept hammering it home. Whenever someone asked a question about accommodations, I related it back to the IEP being a legal document. They got it!

I’ll keep you updated on further PDs. Bye for now!

Evil Stepmother?!?!

Dear Readers,

I’ve discovered the answer to why one of my students, who I’ll call Maduka, has been treating me bad since Day 1 at my new job. How, you may ask? Well, I had a conference with his mother and she did a double take. She told me that I look just like my student’s stepmother, who’s about to have a baby. It wouldn’t be so bad if he liked the stepmother or if this baby would make him not be the baby anymore! Did you get that? I know it came out kinda’ weird, but I couldn’t think of another way to put it.

According to him and his mother, this lady is my twin. So, I talked to him and told him that although I remind him of his stepmother, that I am NOT her and to give me a chance.

“Let’s start with a clean slate,” I told him.

“Ok,” he said.

Although I’m not sure how much he really means it, he’s off to a good start. Only time will tell. I’ll keep you updated. Bye for now!

Protected Me!

Dear Readers,

As promised, I’m back to tell you the story of how one of my students surprised me. I was really shocked when it happened. I actually thought he was trying to hurt me, but as it turned  out, it was actually the opposite. He was protecting me. Imagine the shock on my face!

This is what happened. My homeroom class was @ P.E. in the gym when two of them started fighting (a common occurence, btw). They  were coming dangerously close to me when one of my other students stepped in between the them and me and shielded me with his own body. You really could have knocked me over with a feather because just 3 weeks earlier this particular student threatened me. Now, only a couple weeks later, he’s my protector.

So, I’ll be back tomorrow with more tales from an NPS! Bye for now!

I Can Talk About Her, But You Can’t!

Dear Readers,

I have a funny story to tell. Like to hear it, here it goes. I’m not sure if I posted this before, but I am now teaching Middle School in a Non Public School (NPS). Am I crazy? The answer is no. I feel as if I am where I belong. I definitely would not have taken this job if I didn’t. I love the people at the job. I have so much support from the counselors, the administration, and other teachers. The only problem is the support of my assistant. When he’s there (Key word being when!), he’s fantastic. However, he misses at least 2 days/week. When he does comes, he sometimes disappears. He will say he’s going to the bathroom and return an hour later. (I’m really not exaggerating on this.)

When he’s gone, I am alone with 10-12 Emotionally  Disturbed (ED) middle school students. And let me tell that they are jerks! Now, I recall why I never bothered with middle school. But, I digress!

So, when my assistant “goes to the bathroom” I am left alone with the students. Of course, without the threat of being slammed, should they become a danger to themselves or others, they act plum loco. So, my assistant “went to the bathroom” and it started. One of the students from another class began talking about me. That’s when my student, who’s been giving me the blues lately, looked at him and went in on him. He was really protective of me. I tell you what, that other student didn’t bother me again.

I have another story about one of my students protecting me when two other students were fighting near me. Working in the environment that I work in has its ups and down. As a result, I’ve had some good days and some bad days. Yesterday was a mixture of both! I know one of the reasons is that I’ve stopped doing things that I love, including blogging. I spoke with one of the counselors at my school and he advised me to do something I really like, everyday, for at least 20 minutes. Challenge accepted!

So, I’ll be writing more. You’ll get a peek inside the life of a Non Public School Teacher!

Making Much Progress

Dear Readers,
I really feel as if I’m making a big difference in my student’s lives. One student, in particular, has been struggling since he was younger. He’s in 8th grade now and will graduate in June so he will soon be out of my reach. So, I have to reach him while I can. Thankfully my school has given me the opportunity to do just that.
His problem wasn’t major, just enough to cause him to be frustrated. After speaking with him, his teachers, and after performing some small assessments, I determined that his main problem was multi-syllabic words and knowing how to properly break them down syllable by syllable. More specifically some words patterns that he either never learned or some how just never internalized because they were causing him stress.
What I did to help him: I took out my tried and true Elkonin boxes and showed him how to use them. One thing about older students is how easily they embarrass. Even though I showed him how to use it I knew that he wouldn’t because the copy of the Elkonin boxes that I use are a little babyish. So, since I knew that the best tool, no matter how good, will never work if it’s not used, I showed him how to “tap it” on either his leg or under the table where no one could see him.
During the session he began “tapping it”. I was so proud!

The Key?

Keys, or rather losing them, has been a repeating theme in my life. When I started working at my new job, I had no keys. Seriously, I mean I literally didn’t have keys. Not even to my classroom since the former teacher lost them. Add to that, the fact that I thought I lost the key to my van (of which there is only one). This was a great inconvenience because if it had not been found, I would have had to have another one made to the tune of $160. I’m not sure if $160 is expensive to you, but it is to me.

Well, I relate this to finding the key. I feel like I’ve finally almost found the key to this teaching “thing”. I know that I still have much to learn, but these are my specialties- teaching metacognitive strategies, assessment & analysis of students’ Present Level of Performance (PLOP), writing realistic goals.

Lastly, but certainly not least, is development of the whole child. How some teachers neglect to educate the whole child totally confuses me.  I’ve found that a hungry cannot concentrate, nor can a cold child concentrate. Picking up spare jackets from the thrift store or the local discount stores for students to wear in school, or having snacks handy for a hungry child does wonders.

Teachers, what “keys” have you discovered? Let me know!