Sharing my experience in the classroom as a life skills special education transition teacher and providing resources and solutions for fellow educators.

Is this Consumer Math Curriculum right for you and your students? consumer math special education teachers teacherspayteachers Jun 16, 2020

Let me take you back to a time before the Consumer Math curriculum existed. I was assigned to teach a ‘brand new’ class back in the day called Math 2 (yes, very specific) and was given little to no guidance on what to cover. I knew the class was going to be the next offering in the...

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Summer Reading: Book Recommendations for Special Ed Teachers special education teachers teacher experience Jun 01, 2020

In your favorite chair, at the pool, feet in the water at the beach, these are all acceptable places to not be reading IEP’s, but rather a book for leisure! I've compiled my summer reading list for teachers just for you!

 

I’ve done a little reading this school year, some...

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Teacher on Summer Break: Maximum Level Summer Fun Challenge Checklist special education teachers teacher experience May 13, 2020

No, this detox isn’t like the new hair trend where you put lemon juice in your hair to deep clean it and then wait for the sun to lighten your locks (that’s so circa 1998 and no, it didn't work). This Teacher on Summer Break Challenge Checklist will get your mind clear of school and...

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How to Improve as a Teacher: Reflect Back & Plan Forward life skills special education teachers teacher experience May 06, 2020

Three cheers for the calendar that shows that it’s that very special school-year-is-almost-over time! I know that my planning slows down, the IEP meetings are done and over, and I’ve resorted to the most boring lunches ever. The end is so close that you can basically taste the sweet...

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Question of the Day- 5 Ways to Use Conversation Starters functional life skills special education teachers teacher experience transition Apr 23, 2020

I had a morning routine (that didn't include the Question of the Day for students) that I followed with my class and it’s so predictable that my support staff could run it without me there. Here is what it looks like this-

 
  • “Alexa, start my day” (Yes, we have an Alexa in...

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Listen and Learn: A Short Listening Comprehension consumer math Apr 17, 2020

The Listen and Learn resource idea stemmed from a need; a need for a short, easy to understand information segment with a side of listening comprehension. I needed to engage my non-readers and low-level readers in the consumer math high school level curriculum I was teaching in a meaningful way....

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Applied Learning Projects- The How and Why (and Tips) consumer math special education teachers Apr 09, 2020

When I think of applied learning projects there is a quote that comes to mind:

 

‘Tell me and I’ll forget, teach me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll learn.’ -Benjamin Franklin

 

To me, this quote says- ‘If I can apply the skill, then I have...

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Spring Cleaning Tips for Teachers: What to do BEFORE Spring Break! special education teachers Mar 14, 2020

No, this Spring Cleaning Tips for Teachers blog post is not about how you should spend your precious, well-earned week of Spring Break doing work-related activities. In fact, it’s about how you should spend those periods of time BEFORE spring break when your mind can’t focus on the...

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Functional Math Worksheet Practice in the Classroom consumer math functional life skills special education teachers teacherspayteachers transition Mar 05, 2020

I completed the Basic Skills Assessment (read my blog post about that resource) this past August with my students and after reviewing the results, I realized that my students were weak in executing basic money math and functional math skills. Many struggled with reading an analog clock,...

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The Windy City- Chicago Things to Do Travel Guide for TPT Forward special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers Feb 27, 2020

First, I HIGHLY recommend you visit the great city of Chicago the next chance you get. I’m biased as I’ve lived here for over 10 years, but this city truly has a lot to offer! The sights, location, entertainment, and the food (oh, the FOOD) are all spectacular.

 

If you plan to...

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10 Ways to Use Reading Passages in Your Classroom consumer math how to teach special education teachers teacher experience Feb 13, 2020

If you recently purchased a Reading Passage with questions from my TeachersPayTeachers store or own a lesson unit or bundle and want to find new and creative ways to use this type of resource, then this blog post is for YOU! Check out 10 different ways to use the reading passage, True False...

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How to Use Task Cards in the Classroom- 10 Different and New Ways consumer math special education teachers teacher experience Jan 27, 2020

I recently added task cards to my consumer math lessons (find them HERE and HERE) because they are so versatile! Now sure how to use task cards in the classroom? I’ve listed 10 different ways you can use them in your classroom, so that your lessons never become boring!

 

How to Use...

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12 Days of Inspiration- Teaching Resources I Like special education teachers teacher experience Dec 02, 2019

Check out my Instagram for tips, resources, and recommendations!

 

Dec 2nd- Emergency or Not an emergency by SPED and Tacos

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Emergency-Or-Not-an-Emergency-Task-Cards-4939197

 

I’ve successfully used this resource in my classroom! I had...

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School Staff Gift Guide: 10 Gift Ideas for Support Staff teacher experience Nov 11, 2019

It’s usually about the end of November or early December that my fellow teachers and I realize that we should start discussing paraprofessionals and support staff gifts ideas for our incredible staff. Sadly, we’ve usually missed the prime Black Friday deals and there isn’t much...

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Transition Plan Assessment - Informal Parent Interview Meeting govt and community benefits life skills special education teachers transition Sep 18, 2019

I have never been to an IEP meeting with an unlimited amount of time and I’ve been to over 100. IEP meetings are designed to create a legal document, so they are incredibly important for the student, but they often have time limits. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lend itself to organic...

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Over 50 Community Based Instruction Outing Ideas functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacher experience transition Sep 04, 2019
Sometimes, you just need a long list of community based instruction outing ideas!
 
“Here at the Transition Center our young adults are out in the community the large majority of the time.” That’s one of my most frequently used opening lines when people ask me,...
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Life Skills Assessment: Inventory of Ind Living and Functional Skills functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacher experience transition Aug 07, 2019

The first week of school usually triggers thoughts of anxiety, feelings of chaos and exhaustion, and meltdowns (from adults, not necessarily students), and while some of that is true I have been doing ONE thing from the past 3 years and I’ll never go back! On day two or three, I give every...

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Back to School Ready Checklist: A To Do List for Special Education Teachers (with Freebie) special education teachers teacher experience Jul 25, 2019
The countdown is happening, school is almost back in session (no matter how many times we wish for 1 more week or month). Are you back to school ready?
 
If you are like me, you’re probably pushing off even talking about the S word (school) until a specific date- mine is August...
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