The Ultimate Classroom Behavior Management Toolkit: Strategies and Free Printables for Teachers Classroom behavior management is one of the biggest challenges teachers face. Whether you’re in general education or special education, disruptive behavior can quickly derail learning. The good news? With the right tools in place, you can prevent many issues before they even start and teach students positive strategies for managing their own behavior. Why a Behavior System Works Better Than a Chart Traditional behavior charts often single out students without teaching them replacement skills. A complete system, on the other hand, focuses on: Prevention: Setting clear expectations, routines, and positive incentives Management: Providing calming strategies and reflection tools Instruction: Teaching conflict resolution and self-regulation skills Must-Have Tools for Behavior Success Here are some teacher favorites you can use tomorrow: Calming Corner reflection sheets and mo...

Navigating the Special Education Referral Process: A Step-by-Step Guide Understanding the referral process for special education is crucial for educators, parents, and school staff. This guide provides a clear overview of each step, from identifying concerns to determining eligibility, ensuring that every student receives the support they deserve. 1. Identifying the Need for Referral The journey begins when a teacher or parent observes that a student is struggling academically or behaviorally. It's essential to document specific concerns, such as: Persistent difficulties in reading, writing, or math Challenges in social interactions or communication Emotional or behavioral issues affecting learning Once concerns are identified, it's beneficial to utilize structured tools to document and communicate these observations. The Special Education Pre-Referral Student Assistance Team Forms can assist in this process, providing a standardized approach to recording and sharing...

  The First 30 Days:  A Special Educator’s Back-to-School Survival Guide Back-to-school in special education can feel like juggling IEP meetings, behavior plans, scheduling nightmares, and paperwork… while balancing on a moving school bus. But here’s the truth: the first month doesn’t have to leave you running on coffee fumes by September 15th. With the right plan, you can set up your year for success — without burning out before fall even begins. This survival guide gives you a week-by-week checklist , quick win routines , and a “what can wait” reality check so you can focus on what matters most: your students. Week 1: Build the Foundation Main goal: Get organized and get to know your students. Checklist: Review all student IEPs — focus on accommodations, modifications, and service minutes. An IEP at a Glance would be helpful for this! Create a master caseload tracker (grab my editable Special Education Teacher Binder to save hours). Introduce yourself to ...

Back-to-School Survival Guide for Special Education Teachers: Tools, Tips, and Must-Have Resources Back-to-school season is here! For special education teachers, it’s a whirlwind of IEPs, schedules, student needs, and a classroom that somehow has to run smoothly on day one. The key to starting strong isn’t just hard work - it’s having the right tools and systems in place. In this guide, I’m sharing my ultimate back-to-school toolkit for special education teachers. These are the resources I personally rely on to save time, stay organized, and start the year confident. Plus, I’ll share classroom essentials from Amazon that make teaching easier and help you create a functional, stress-free space. Whether you’re a first-year teacher or a seasoned pro, these tips and resources will set you up for your smoothest school year yet. 1. Start with a Back-to-School To-Do List When everything feels urgent, it’s hard to know where to start. The best thing you can do is focus on what actually...

  Beginning-of-the-Year To-Do List for Special Education Teachers:  What You  Actually  Need to Start Strong The beginning of the school year hits differently when you’re a Special Education teacher. While everyone else is sharpening pencils and arranging flexible seating, you’re juggling IEPs, compliance deadlines, behavior plans, and a hundred tiny details no one sees—but that make all the difference for your students. Sound familiar? Whether you’re brand new to the role or a seasoned SPED pro, the beginning of the year can feel like sprinting a marathon. That’s why I’ve created a clear, actionable  Beginning-of-the-Year To-Do List for Special Education Teachers —so you can stop spinning your wheels and start the year with purpose and confidence. And yes—it’s  totally free . 👇 Grab your free checklist here: 🔗  Beginning of the Year SPED To-Do Checklist (FREE on TPT) Why You Need a Specialized To-Do List as a SPED Teacher Special Education teachers ...

The Best FREE Progress Monitoring Assessments in Reading for Students with Learning Disabilities A curated list of powerful, no-cost tools to help educators track and support reading growth in students with learning disabilities and challenges, including Dyslexia. When it comes to teaching reading to students with learning disabilities, targeted interventions are essential - but targeting just one area of reading isn’t enough . Research consistently shows that an intervention focused solely on a single component (like phonics or fluency) is far less effective than one that addresses all five pillars of reading. So, what does this mean for how we teach reading? It means our approach must be comprehensive . To ensure meaningful growth, interventions and progress monitoring alike must cover all five core areas of reading : Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension This is especially critical for students with reading disabilities. When we monitor only one or two componen...