Differentiation in a General Education Classroom: Work at the Table
Differentiation in a general education classroom does take a lot of planning and prep, but don’t panic! Once we differentiate and create materials and resources, we save them for when another learner can benefit from using the same materials, even in school years in...
Differentiation in a General Education Classroom: Stations
Differentiation in a general education classroom does take a lot of planning and prep, but don’t panic! Differentiation is necessary for all learners. While we do it often for small groups, all areas of the classroom needs to include it. Not all learners are the same....
Academic and Functional Learning During Long Breaks
As a mom and a teacher, I enjoy academic activities and ideas to do over long breaks. Although many breaks are filled with an increased amount of time with extended family members, there are better days knowing my children and our learners are at home learning. I also...
3 Thing to Prep This Summer
Summer Prep When I'm on summer break, I don't want to do TOO much related to school. However, I've found that if I prep a few things here and there, I can make the back-to-school rush a little easier for myself. No matter if you are new to the classroom or an...
Using The Autism Helper Homework in Early Childhood and Kindergarten
When meeting with families of our learners, I have many parents ask what they can do at home. Whether we are in an IEP meeting, parent/teacher conference, or other scheduled meetings and family involvement times, I am prepared for this question. One answer that I...
Preparing for The New Year Halfway Through the School Year
Break times, whether they be summer break, weekends, or longer seasonal breaks, should definitely be used to rest, recharge, and spend time with family and friends. If you’re anything like me, a few days of that and a few days of getting work done is the best mix when...
Strategies to Implement Within the Home
Anyone who is a parent, guardian, or a caregiver for someone knows that it is practically impossible to set up a home that mirrors school. If you are someone like me who is working a full-time job outside of the home, follow-through within the home on teaching...
What If My Students Aren’t Ready For Independent Work?
The title of this post is really a trick question. I am a firm believer that all learners are ready for independent work in some capacity. A learner at any age or with any score on an assessment is able to work independently, even if for a certain amount of time....
Fall Work Task Mega Pack
Let’s talk about The Autism Helper’s Fall Work Task Mega Pack! The autumn season is here and it is my favorite time of the year. For me, this season isn’t all about cozy sweaters and pumpkin spice, it is about fun changes in my classroom. By this time of the school...
The Mega Pack for Summer
The temperatures in Virginia have finally gotten into the 90s this week, and with two little kiddos that sometimes means days are spent inside out of the scorching sun. This can be challenging when all our little ones want to do is eat snow cones and bask in their...
Errorless Work Task Mega Pack
Let’s talk about The Autism Helper’s Errorless Work Mega Pack! It’s summer break for me and I am taking the summer off from my classroom. I am a huge planner and am already thinking about the next school year. To ease my anxiety, I’ve started prepping The Errorless...
Engaging Summer Activities
Many families, and even teachers, worry that their children and learners will lose skills over the summer. Whether there is time embedded throughout the day for homework or structured activities throughout the summer weeks, there are many activities that can be...
Easy Set-Up Independent Centers
I want to talk about some easy set-up independent centers for an autism classroom! In any autism classroom, independent skills are essential to teach and practice. My classroom has four independent centers and I absolutely love watching my primary-aged students work...
Math Skills and Milestones For Early Learners
Math lessons are often skipped over in early childhood classrooms. Math curriculums are not the easiest to find and most are hard to adapt to all of our learner's individual needs. As a teacher, I often struggled to come up with ways to teach early math skills as well...
Michelle’s Classroom Tour: Task Box Center
I am so excited to show you my classroom’s independent task box center! Independent skills are a must-have in any special education classroom. In fact, the more independent skills we can teach and promote, the better! I have a total of four independent centers in...
How to Set Up and Implement Your Independent Workbox System
If you have been following along with my blog posts, you know that I just love organization. Ok, love might not be a strong enough word…I AM OBSESSED with being organized. Everything needs a system to be able to run smoothly, especially in our classrooms. Follow...
The Communication Work Task Mega Pack in Action
In the market to beef up your independent work task activities? Look no further, the Communication Based Work Task Mega Pack has it all. If you keep up with The Autism Helper team, then you know how much we all love and vouch for student independence. This resource...
Taking Data on Independent Work Stations
Independent Work Independent work tasks are a must-have within the classroom. These are also beneficial within the home and the clinic settings if your child or learner struggles with working and playing independently. Independent work is a life skill that is...
5 Independent Workboxes Created from Dollar Tree Items
In my last blog post, Dollar Tree Must-Haves: Workbox Edition, I shared the basic items for getting your library of workboxes started and some of my favorite purchases for creating workboxes. If you missed my last post, click here to check it out. So you have the...
The Dos and Don’ts of Independent Work
Two weeks ago, I shared with readers some simple ways to keep your classroom running when you’re short staffed. This week we are talking all about independent work! Not only are independent work blocks an easy way to help students work on skills like organization,...