Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday: Back for the New Year (with a Link Up!) & Running Records

Oh Happy Day, friends!! Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday is back for the new school year!  I had several comments and people telling me that they enjoyed this series, so this school year not only will I be sharing my favorite apps and other "techy" type posts on Tuesdays, but you will be able to as well!  Every Tuesday link up with me and get "Appy!"  

The beginning of the year always brings collecting baseline data to this special ed teacher's life!  :)

For my reading assessments over the years I have tried different types of assessments--sight word assessments, Fry assessments, comprehension checks...but I always seem to go back to the same assessment...Running Records.  As many of you know from reading this blog, I {heart} Reading A-Z.  Reading A-Z provides me with all of the passages I need for every reading level I need through 5th grade.  Each level has two fiction and two non fiction passages to take a running record along with the recording sheets that are needed to document errors, self corrections, etc.  Here is the downside to running records...more paperwork.  This special ed teacher does not need anymore paperwork!  (Can I get an amen?!)

Here's where my new fave app comes in...Running Records Calculator ($3.99)

5  5 +1 Reasons I love this app:

1.  So simple to use.  To use this app...just hit start!  How much easier could it get?!  The app records the student's voice as he/she reads whatever passage you have available.  

2.  Record errors or self corrections by tapping!  So easy, seriously!  When the student makes a mistake or self correction, simply tap error or self correction.  Easy!

3.  When the reading is finished, tap done and get instant results.  Time, words per minute, accuracy, and self correction rate is all recorded and easy to view right at the top of the screen.

4.  Use on iPhone or iPad!

5.  Email the results to yourself automatically!  You can have (paper or digital) documentation of the running record by tapping email and then typing straight into your email the information needed to document the passage your student read.  

6. There is a lite version of this app that you can try for free! :)

Ok, friends!  It's your turn!  Link up your technology posts below.  It can be an app, tech tutorial, computer program, anything that has to do with technology is a go!

An InLinkz Link-up

Blast Off! Back to School Sale!!

It's that time of year again!! I can't believe school starts on Wednesday!  You know what else that means though...a SALE at TPT!  Hurry over to my store and get your wishlist items today (or tomorrow)! ;)  Click the picture below to head on over to my store!

Setting Up the Resource Classroom: Small Group Area

Today's Setup: The Small Group Area

The Small Group Area may be one of the easiest places to get setup.  In my room this consists of a kidney shaped tables and chairs. 

Told you it was easy!

Okay, okay…I know what you are thinking!  It really isn’t that simple—well it sort of is—but I know you didn’t come here just to read get a table and chairs!  Honestly, yes the majority of my small group teaching is done at the kidney table.  Last year, I didn’t get the kidney table until the end of the year and I am so thankful to start this year out with one.  Most of last year, I used tables grouped in fours, but that took up so much room in my small space and I also didn’t like that I could be with all of my kids at once.  I felt like I spent a lot of time standing in front of them teaching instead of being “right in there with them.”  Hence the reason I love a kidney or U-shaped table.  I can be within arms reach of all of my kids at one time and feel like I am right in the middle of their learning (and well literally I am!)   Many times at the small group area, I am teaching some sort of scripted intervention, leading a guided reading group or leading a math intervention group and for these reasons there are certain tools I like to have very near to me.

Here is a picture of the table.  Please keep in mind I just got back in my room today, so what you are seeing is a work in progress.  

The table is only one area of small group learning in my small space.  I also like to have another space used to small group instruction.  This gives my kids an opportunity for movement, allows for natural transition from one part of a lesson to another, and helps with engagement.  My second small group area centers around the pocket chart/stand.  This is where our vocabulary instruction takes place.  I haven't decided on whether or not to move this stand to another spot in the room yet.  I would like to have it near some carpet for some comfy seating, but the room size doesn't really allow for that at this point.  

Speaking of where things go, here's a tip! I like to use PowerPoint to come up with a model of my room and the furniture in my room.  I can manipulate and move the pieces around without actually lifting any furniture!  So perfect! :)

Key:

Blue: Permanent/Cannot be Moved

Gray:  Desks or shelves that can be moved

I hope you find something here that inspires you or you get a good idea!

Tomorrow I will be back with more classroom setup idea!

2014 Classroom Setup: Setting Up The Resource Classroom (A Series)

This week is the week I move back into my classroom. If you have been following my blog very long, you know that I moved to a new school last year. It is a beautiful school, a brand new building, but it wasn’t complete at the beginning of last year. Our school was built in two phases. Each phase of the building has classroom (communities) for grades K-5. Phase one was completed last year and our school district went through a redistricting process to direct students to our building. Students and teachers filled up Phase 1 and throughout the course of the year Phase 2 was completed. The school district redistricted students again to fill up our school for the coming year. The end of our school year brought new excitement as we watched the new phase undergo the transformation from nothing to amazing! It also brought a lot of questions. Everyone wondered if they would be the one to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Recently, after hiring several new teachers, we found out who gets to move. Guess who is moving?! That’s right! This girl! I am excited about heading to the new phase. It is just like Phase 1, so my classroom is practically the same as the one I was in, but how many teachers can say that they have moved into a brand new classroom two years in a row? Before last year, I never had a classroom of my very own, so although I had a great time planning and decorating my previous room, I have a better idea of space planning and organization. (Or at least I think I do!)  Here is last year's classroom:

So, as this coming week goes I will be sharing with you how I am setting up my resource classroom. I will be focusing on five separate areas (perfect for Monday-Friday blog planning) ;)! Read this week to find out all about the 5 areas I think make a special education/resource room work!  I even made a new bloggy button, just for fun, and so you can Pin/Share and follow my process.

Special Ed Blog Hop! :)

I am linking up with Jamie from Tales of a Carolina Girl for her Special Education Blog Hop!  Head over to her blog to check out some great special education bloggers and welcome Jaime to the field of special ed.  I love finding other special ed. bloggers and creating a community to share ideas!

Kim :)

July Currently

Hello Bloggy Friends!

I figured there is no time better to get back into regular blogging than starting off July 1 with the new Currently from Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade!

Listening:  I have a love/hate relationship with the local news!  I love to watch the news so I feel like I am in the know, but I hate to watch the news because it is always bad news.  I can't even watch it when the kids are in the room, because some of the things reported on are inappropriate for little ears.  I think this love/hate thing stems from my childhood. :)  My dad had to watch the news every night...I mean every episode of the news...5:00 Local News, World News at 5:30, 6:00 Local News, and 10:00 Local News.  It's a habit, I guess, that can't be broken.  Plus...I only really get to watch the news in the summer...I don't have time for it during the school year.  :)  I digress...

Loving:  I love summer!  I love the pool, vacations, hanging out with my kids, exercising, blogging and creating on my schedule.  It is a wonderful time of year!!  BTW...speaking of creating...I have bundled all of my special education related products together in my TPT store.  ($15 value for $10!!!)  

Thinking: I should be cleaning or working on something.  It's hard to sit still and relax!  Do you have that problem?  The kids have their "creations" all over the place and there are piles of laundry to fold and put away, but here I am blogging to you! :)  Blogging is work...right? :)

Wanting:  Did you know that McDonald's ice coffees are only $1 right now?  I love the iced caramel mocha!  I want one so bad...but I know better!  I'm trying hard to resist temptation.  I'll have to wait until "cheat day!"

Needing:  Lunch: I'm hungry!  Lunchtime right after this post!

4th of July Plans:  We don't really go all out for the 4th.  We will probably grill some burgers, watch some fireworks, and maybe make these adorable cookies I found here:

Source: Our Best Bites
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/06/mocktails-munchies-how-to-create-a-stunningly-simple-patriotic-party-theme/

Summer!!

It's summer!  Yay!

Friends-
I just want you to know that I am still alive. :)  Life, school, paperwork, etc, etc, had taken over, but now school is out, my vacation is over, and my plan is to get back to regular blogging.  (I hope!)

Thanks for continuing to read my little blog even while I was on hiatus.  I am excited to share things I have learned over the past few months and to share with you some new ideas for next school year! :)

For now though...it is good to "see" you again!
Kim

What They Have Taught Me

I was asked my Teach.com to share about how I got my start in special education and how I decided that I wanted to teach students with special needs, specifically those with autism.

Brought to you by Teach.com

I did not come from a line of teachers (I’m the only teacher in my immediate family), I did not have any family members with disabilities when I was deciding what I wanted to be, but I did have a group of kids that changed my image of students with special needs.   When I was a senior in high school, my mom took a job as paraprofessional in the self-contained special education classroom at my high school.  During that time, I rode with my mom to school every day.  Some mornings I would stay in the classroom as the students came in or I would go in at the end of school.  The kids in that class made an impact on my heart.  They were so loving and loved having me around to help them.  Their teacher was always more than willing to show me strategies that worked with kids and would let me play educational games with some of them, to cook with them, and to just have a conversation. It was then I knew that there had been a special calling put on my life to help students with disabilities.  I wanted badly for those students to learn and love.  I wanted to advocate for them and teach them everything from academics to social skills.  I knew when I chose my major the next year in college that special education was what I was meant to do. 

Over the years, students with special needs have taught me so much! Here are the 3 things that I learned that cannot be learned in a college classroom.

1.  Each student has a unique story.  I have never met two students that are alike, even if they are diagnosed with the same disabilities.  There are so many factors that make each child special. 

2.  Kids just want to be heard.  I’ve heard over and over that behavior is communication.  I’ve learned through trials and celebrations that each child has a different way to communicate.  Some kids can use their words, others signs and gestures, and still others behavior (sometimes undesirable behaviors).  This is why a relationship with my kiddos has been so important to me over the years.  If I want a student to communicate in whatever way works for them, then I need to build the relationship of trust first so that they will communicate wants and needs in a way that is effective and appropriate.

3.  All emotions with a special needs student are strong, but especially love.  I love my kids…that is why I do my job.  When I get bogged down in meetings, paperwork, behavior plans, IEPS, I have to regroup and remember the love.  I think it is incredibly important to show each student love.  I make it a point to get to know each student as an individual.  I want to know their strengths, their weaknesses, what their hobbies are, about their families, what makes them tick, what makes them cry, and what makes them smile.  At the end of a school year, what I what to do the most is that I have touched  a kid’s heart, even more so than reading, math and writing scores!

I’m still learning everyday and appreciating each child that I have the privilege to teach and hopefully leave a lasting and positive impression on their life.

Tech on Tuesday: Autism Apps

In honor of Autism Awareness Month I want to share with you some of my favorite apps that I use for kids with autism.  This is a list of some of my favorites :)  

Graphics by 3AM Teacher

Social Skills:

Touch and Learn Emotions

Hidden Curriculum for Kids

The Zones of Regulation

Model Me Going Places 2 & Model Me Faces and Emotions

Calm Counter

iModeling App-a favorite to use for video modeling!

Calm Myself Down 

Autism 5 Point Scale EP

Sensory:

Touch and Write

Kaleidoscope Drawing Pad

Sensory Magma

Splodge

Pocket Pond

Fluidity

Fireworks Arcade

Too Noisy-This app tracks noise and gives visual cues showing when it is too noisy in the room.  Sensitivity can be set depending on the student.

White Noise Apps

Sensory Training

Brain Works App-Great for sensory breaks!

AAC & Communication

Dragon Dictation

Go Talk Now Free

TapSpeak Sequence Standard  

My Choice Board

Tap To Talk

TapSpeak Button

Timers/Schedules:

Timer + Touch2 HD

My Video Schedule

Video Scheduler

Other:

Touch Autism has great apps that include social narratives, timers, and assessments.

Behavior Tracker Pro

And for fun :)  These are a couple of my favorite special education/autism TPT stores that I've purchased so many great resources from!

The Autism Helper by Sasha Hallagan

Autism Classroom News by Christine Reeve

Do you have favorite apps that you use with students with special needs and autism?  I would love to hear about your favorites!

April Currently

So I lied yesterday!  I feel compelled to blog April's Currently before I leave for the mountains with the family.  Everyone here is still asleep, so I was just having a little quiet time when I saw the new Currently by Farley being posted on some of my favorite blogs! A girl can't miss this! :)

Listening:  I love days when I get to watch the Today Show.  During the school year, I rarely get to see the Today Show unless it is a snow day.  Well, thankfully there is no snow on the ground anymore and it is Spring Break!  This has been a long awaited spring here in the Bluegrass!  

Loving:  Two words:  Spring Break!  No explanation needed here!

Thinking:  Sticking with the Spring Break theme...we are headed to the Smokies!  I can't wait to spend time with the husband, kids, and no agenda!

Wanting:  I am craving some Starbucks this morning!!

Needing:  I need to pack :)  Nothing like waiting until the day of, right?

Hours and Days:  Our school day is from 7:40-2:55.  It usually is only until 2:35, but starting on March 24 we have added 20 minutes to the day to help make up the 19 snow days we missed this year!!  We will get out of school on June 6!  

Have a happy April!!! :)