The Special Educator's Toolkit- Classroom traffic flow and Setting up Boundaries

I am loving this resource for teachers! The Special Educator's Toolkit by Cindy Golden is a wonderful guide to organize your chaos. I feel that I am an organized person, but it takes me FOREVER to actually get it in place. The process that is described in this book really helps to get it together much quicker.

This is the third post regarding this toolkit and I am still in the first half of the book. Previous posts:
Introduction
The Classroom Environment

This is a continuation of the chapter addressing organizing your classroom environment. Traffic flow creates a pathway to follow around the room. When you consider your flow, your student's physical, educational and emotional needs must be considered. Retail Stores use it very effectively. We do the same thing in our classrooms using visual boundaries.

"Classroom flow strengthens the structure of the room's environment".

Cindy Golden

 It helps students to know where and what each part of the classroom is for.  Traffic flow for students with disabilities should be arranged in a manner that makes sense to them. Many students with developmental delays have difficulty reading nonverbal social cues, they need visuals that help structure the unwritten rules of the environment and provide cues to know what is expected from them.

Visual boundaries are created in a classroom by positioning available furniture and shelving.,Students benefit from knowing what the function of the space is, where it begins and ends and the expectations within the space.
The author provides some different ways to create visual boundaries in a classroom. 

Some of the ways we have created boundaries in our classroom:

shelf and a rolling cart

Cardboard! easy to move around, this is a temporary barrier

My husband made these several years ago, he has modified them a couple of times, they are invaluable!

Two file cabinets, back to back.

the other side of the cardboard wall

Classroom Zones and Purposeful Spaces
Each area in your classroom should have a purpose and contain visuals to provide structure for the students. It will make  it easier to find materials. You can go a step further and color code the different areas! The author promises to discuss that later in the book.

 No matter what shape or size your room is, it can function as a classroom when planned and organized to make the most of the space.

"Every classroom will be different and sometimes certain areas may serve double or triple duty. You also need to build on the room's strengths."

Cindy Golden

Suggested areas to consider:

• Individual academic areas
• group area
• coat/ backpack storage area
• data keeping area
• centers or work stations
• leisure area
• transition/waiting area
• cool down area
• staff work area

There is more information and suggestions for each area.

I have been doing this for awhile. I start with a blank piece of paper, draw a basic map of my room minus the furniture, (sketch in the items that are permanent-like the promethean board) I make a list of the areas I want to set up and I make a list of my available furniture. I almost always have to make an area (or 2) have a dual purpose.

Looking at the author's suggestions and applying them to my situation...

• I don't have a waiting area, I would like one.
• My cool down area is also the leisure area which is ALSO the library, is that a good idea? (I think NOT)
• I like my individual stations
• The teacher/staff area works
• ahem....I don't have a data keeping area

This is where we will leave off. Next time, I will share and ponder...creating a waiting area, maybe change my cool down area, organizing the walls, schedule areas, step six, and color coding! 

Paula

The Special Educator's Toolkit- the Classroom Environment

This is the second article about implementing the OMAC (Organization and Management of a Classroom) system outlined in the book, The Special Educator's Toolkit, by Cindy Golden. The first one, the Introduction, can be seen here.

We will begin to review and apply the next chapter- Organization of the Classroom Environment.

STEP ONE: Really LOOK at your classroom. Ms. Golden provides a handy form, "How's My Classroom?" List what's working and what's not working.

 STEP TWO: Next is the Clutter cleaning.  The author suggested: Throw Away, Share with others, and definitely keep.  

STEP THREE: Inventory your materials. The author provides a list of suggested materials. Most of the materials are supplied by school districts. There are some items that would be out of your pocket.

STEP FOUR: Questions to answer....
What will you do with the space?
What kinds of activities will be happening in the space?
Are there specific limitations?
Are there specific needs of people using the space?
What is the overall goal?

In the first chapters of the book, a form that assists you in determining each student's individual needs is provided. This is helpful when you are starting from scratch with a new student.
This form simply has columns labeled, who, what, where, when and how.
Your students' needs, educationally, as well as physically can be sorted out on this form and it will help in answering these questions.

STEP FIVE: At this point, Cindy directs you to look at what information has been gathered, it is a starting point to making a layout for the classroom. It is not completed yet, she shows us a couple of sample layouts. I love layouts, they can provide a new idea on setting up a room. In my case, my classroom is already set up, but there are areas I don't like.  

Before moving on through The Special Educator's Toolkit, let's try this system out on one of my "not working" spots.

This shelf has been our "catch all" place all year. When I wasn't sure where to put something and  didn't want to lose track of it, this was the spot! As the year progressed the use of that area changed, so the materials that were needed on a daily basis got stuffed into the shelf too. 

Everything was removed from the shelf and laid on a table. I sorted into piles for throw away, keep in the shelf,and put away. I had sorted and shared a lot of items at the beginning of the year, but I never miss a chance to give away one more thing.

Out of necessity,  the same containers are used,and each one was uncluttered, they were holding lots of unnecessary junk, especially that clear box on the top shelf!

This shelf is in the area where small groups of students meet with a teacher for instruction in math and reading. At the time of the pictures, there were two different groups, now there are three (groups) meeting here! This is a great use of this area, I'm loving that our classroom can be used by other teachers. I want this shelf to be a neat, clean storage place for the materials required for each group, and because the groups are taught by different teachers,  it  should  be labeled.

In retrospect, I should have taken pictures of the inside of each container because that is where the real changes happened! The clipboards are another suggestion from the author, they have the daily lesson plans and the student's objectives with space to mark  progress.

This makes it easier for teacher assistants to know what students' expectations are and help to keep data.

There's more to do here of course! The bottom shelf needs more work...........

Until next time,

Paula

Five for Friday.....January 31, 2014

It is time to link with doodle bugs teaching!

1. Everything is melting! Ahhh! We Alaskans like our snow so we are a bit upset! The good news is that it is getting colder again so maybe we will get more snow soon.

  

2. This week we celebrated the 100th day of school! This is a little project we did that turned out pretty cute!

This is a free item from Melanie Schwartz from teacher pay teachers.

3. Some VERY nice parents sent me flowers, they are beauuuutiful! I set them out where we can all enjoy them. I love flowers!

4. Turtle Crossing.....

5. Positive thought...

and that's my week. I hope yours went well!

Paula

Five for Friday...Saturday..Sunday!...January 26, 2014

I am a bit late for the Doodle Bugs linking party...but arriving none the less!

ONE

The BIG event of the week was we got a new car! It is still amazing to me...we used to keep a car until the wheels fell off and this time we traded it in after three years.

The 2014 Ford Escape!

TWO - FOUR

The objective: Use yes and no switches to indicate continuing an activity.

The activity: kick the pyramid of cups.

Before requesting we knew that kicking the cups is a favorite activity. Before I asked him to answer yes or no, I modeled it: "___, want to kick the cups?" and pushed the "yes" switch. Then we kicked the cups.

Next time I asked and expected him to do the answer on his own. He kicked his legs for a bit, but I repeated the question  until he hit the yes switch. 

Then we proceeded. I push his chair close enough for him to reach the cups with a little kicking effort. After repeating it a couple of times, he would pull his leg back to get ready for the kick as we approached the stack.

Success! We repeated three times.

FIVE

Our weather has been ridiculous! All the snow and ice is melting, temperatures have gotten as high as 50 F ! I'm sure the real winter is hiding around the corner, ready to pounce on us. We are trying to enjoy it while it is here, it makes our parking lots and driveways a mess.

 Have a wonderful week,

Paula

Five for Friday....January 10, 2014

Finally Friday! This was our first week back after the holiday break and it felt very very long.
I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly party.

Here we go.....

1. This week was my birthday. I'm not all that excited about my birthday but it beats the alternative. I was reminded that I have lots of family and friends in my life and I feel honored.

a couple of my gifts..

2. My quest to reduce stress in my life has begun! One of the actions I'm doing is cutting down my hours at school. Our contract time to leave is 4:15 pm (ha!), I usually leave somewhere in the neighborhood of 5:30-6:00, so my goal is 4:30. I left at that time one day this week (my birthday).

a lonely car when the owner is the last one leaving!

3. I began to teach a small group learning letters and sounds. I really enjoy them! We are using the Zoo Phonics program which is one of my favorites.

Zoo Phonics

4.The sledding hill is in full swing!

5.  The moose are back hanging around the yard!

Have a great week!

Paula

A Toolkit for Special Education Teachers-Introduction

Introduction
I am reading The Special Educator's Toolkit by Cindy Golden. It was on my wishlist forever and one day, I impulsively ordered it. I was so excited to receive it, but then...it just sat next to my chair, I would browse through it and notice something interesting, but lay it down again. Initially, I thought that I would pick one section and apply it, but as I browsed the realization came that the whole system should be utilized to be truly effective.  So I decided to start writing about it on my blog. I know myself and I won't ever get around to it if I don't make it an assignment.  My goal is to summarize some of the high points and give my interpretation of the information.
Ultimately,  I  will report on my progress in applying  the OMAC system in my special education classroom/program and how it turns out.

 Research Basis for the OMAC system

OMAC is the acronym for the Organization and Management of a Classroom system. The author explains that it is nothing new, but a compilation of all the research based techniques and interventions organized  into one book for teachers. When I read this line, I was relieved! Today's world has so much information that it is overwhelming, I end up giving up and not wanting to think about it anymore!
The author shares information about Autism and some best practices when working with students with this diagnosis. She does an overview of ABA and the teaching methods associated with it.  I hadn't really made the connection that some very familiar systems are ABA based!  
The OMAC system is for students with all types of disabilities. This system is a summary of the best practice in the field of special education and organized in such a way to be easily implemented in all types of educational settings by experienced teachers, as well as new ones.

 Getting started

Who can implement this system? Anyone! This book is for veterans, mid-career folks and rookies. It can provide a start and it can give you fresh ideas.

What is the OMAC system?  It is made up of six layers, the author says think of it as a recipe, the end product is to create a model program or classroom that is organized and easier to manage that is based on research based best practice.

Where can it be implemented? Anywhere!

When should you start it? Anytime and with all grade levels. The author recommends that a layer be completed before going to the next. 

Why do this? Reduce stress for yourself, improve parent and staff communication, increase student achievement in behavior and academics.

How? The author provides some forms to assist in looking at your current structure and getting a handle on what you and your students need.

Okay! Now I am going to work on those forms, take a good hard look at my classroom organization before beginning! 

Paula

January Currently!

It is time to link up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade! I cannot believe it is already January 2014, I completely missed the December Currently, but no more!

Listening: We have quite a lot of cats now (Five!), so your odds of one of them purring next to you are good at our house! My husband has the remote control....I don't care because I'm doing this!

Loving:  The tree is put away along with all the trimmings for another year. My husband helped a lot, including handing down all the boxes to me in the crawl space. I don't mind that because it is such a big space to store things and I don't have to be tripping over it the rest of the year. I also volunteered to be the one in the space because it has a low ceiling and I'm shorter! It is not such a problem for me.

Thinking: The time has gone too fast!

Wanting: more time!

Needing: I brought home a stack of stuff to do to get ready for that first week back to school...ugh...

New tradition: We had a BAKEFEST and it was fun! I'm hoping to do it before Christmas next year!

I am considering changing the name of my blog, I share and want to continue to share more then "educating children with disabilities". However, I also have a severe delay in technology. My address would remain the same, but the name would be different, would that be a problem? Anyone out there who has advice please comment! 

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Positive Paula