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Choice Boards allow students to complete learning objectives using their strengths and preferred learning styles.  They help teachers get to know their students' interests.  Choice Boards encourage responsibility and independence.

I tried, unsuccessfully, this year to use a choice board with a student who is nonverbal.  He kept throwing away the expensive color copies that I was printing and laminating at home.  His choices were juice, snack, and bathroom.  We were able to find other ways of communicating his needs.

Next year, I plan to use a homework choice board like the one below.

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Data includes many areas such as demographics, percentages, test results, etc.

MAP Testing
* Tells what the student is ready to learn.
* There are many websites available to use testing results on students.

MasteryConnect
* Looks at my content area and my grade.
* Reports are available for each test.

Enrich
* Gives two year history of the student.
* Includes demographics
* You can get MAP scores
* PowerSchool Data

As a teacher in a self-contained autism class, I use Enrich to write my IEPs.  I also use Enrich to upload documents to the school district. Part of my class does MAP testing and the others do SC-Alt.

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Data is important in all areas of teaching. Before the school year begins, standardized testing tells the teacher where each student is.  This data also helps a teacher plan his lessons, what series of books to use, and how to assess each student.

Knowing a student's interests and strengths allows teachers to offer choices for assignments and for assessments.

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I decided to use the hooks "Move It" , "Real World Connection", and "Art Connection" in my pirate lesson plan. I let the students use paper money and coins to buy candy and chips from me. We also painted our spelling words with paint and Q-tips. I also used "Magic" in teaching money. My students had been in tears as I taught the concept. My magic was "Touch Math". Suddenly, there were smiles and my students love money.

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This book inspires teachers to bring passion and compassion to the calling of teaching. We were asked how we were like pirates. I decided that I had been daring and adventurous when I accepted a job in uncharted territory. My job is like nothing I have ever done before. Each day is an adventure and I love it!

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I disappeared from the face of the earth around July of this year.  I was taking P.A.C.E. classes and then getting ready for my new job.  I stopped spending time with family and friends, stopped doing things that I enjoyed, and stopped taking care of my health.
The reason was fear of failure.  I was an older graduate student and this job was something that I had wanted for many years.  I finally had a shot and I didn't want to blow it.
Fortunately, I have forgiving friends and family.  I am taking this time to reflect and promise to make time for them, to take care of my health, to do things that I enjoy, and to go back to church on Sundays instead of writing lesson plans.  I will find a balance.
Below is one of my furry friends, Elliott. I promise to spend more time with you, too!

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I recently received my Masters in Special Education so I knew what an IEP was. We even wrote one in a class. Somehow though I missed that I would be the person writing the IEPs. I remember the panic of having so much to learn. I had five IEPs due the second month of the school year. I have learned so much, but I still have so much to learn. This information was very helpful. Thank you!

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I am a teacher in a self-contained autism class at Bates Middle School.  I have not highlighted the modifications and accommodations in my lesson plan for this reason.
My students, who range from nonverbal to performing at grade level, require accommodations and modifications in all areas. I am, however, required to provide accommodations and modifications to the general education teachers of two of my students who attend general education classes for one block per day.

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In an effort to foster a relationship with my parents, I have bought 1 inch binders which will be divided into sections. One of the sections will contain a communication log so parents can ask questions or leave me notes and so I can let the parents know how the day went or what we may be doing in the near future. Hopefully, this will make our yearly IEP meetings more comfortable since we have been communicating on a regular basis and the parent feels a part of the education process.

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1. At the beginning of each year I send home a syllabus.
2. A homework packet goes home each Monday containing the homework for that week and also what we will be learning in class during that week.
3. Composition notebooks for ELA and Math go home each Monday showing student work from the previous week.

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Ms. Boozer Assignment Rules and Procedures

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Real Talk/Guest Speaker

How wonderful to talk to someone who has been through what we are now going through.

It was reassuring to have the perspective  that those observing us are not trying to catch us doing something wrong.  Those observing us really want to help us to become great teachers.

Thank you for the awesome advice regarding parents!  This class is almost like a support group.  It's good to know that dealing with mean parents is a rite of passage for all new teachers. I felt much better after hearing the others' stories.

I previously taught at a religious school here in Sumter and the parents and students loved me.  It has been good for me to grow as a person by having to move to a school where I didn't know a soul and to have to prove myself.

It is important for me to continue to grow as a person and to keep learning.

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Thanks for sharing your in-sights on Rigor and Relevance. Both play a major role in our lessons. You may want to read the professional text, RIGOR is Not a Four-Letter Word by Barbara R. Blackburn to gain more information and strategies to apply to your lessons.

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If we just teach recall and reproduction, we are not doing our jobs. Some of our lessons can require recall.  However,  our lessons must also contain  higher levels of instruction such as Skills and Concepts, Strategic Teaching, and Extended Thinking.  We must find a way for all of our students to be included in all four levels regardless of their academic level.

Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge Levels is a tool that can help teachers plan lessons that reach all four levels. To see how much work current lesson plans may require, a teacher could keep a list of every task that he or she asks a student to do in a subject for one week. Afterward, the teacher would see which category each of the tasks has fallen into. By doing this, a teacher can see in which levels he or she needs to work.

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Thanks for sharing those nuggets you gained from the Cultural Diversity Class. Making sure you focus on each of your students, even those quiet ones who still need you, is a very positive step towards making sure none of your students fall through the cracks. I enjoyed reading your nuggets you gained from identifying barriers and steps to dealing with diversity. Love your two statements and how you're acting as a force of positive change.

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School orientation or parent night is a great opportunity to build rapport with your students and parents. Key word...

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I hope that you will be able to make the most of the professional development sessions when they are offered through the District. Also, you can use them to show your growth as a teacher.

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I'm glad you felt reassured after attending orientation. Please know that you have our support and we wish you have a great first year

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My classmates and I deeply appreciated and enjoyed the honest advice and stories provided by our speakers and leaders.

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Culture is not the same as ethnicity.  Culture is the knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group.

Focus on the quiet child who you usually forget is in your class.  This is the child who needs you.

Meet the students where they are.

Barriers:
*Your Own Perspective
*Right vs Wrong
*The Winners' Perspective
*Selecting an Expert.

Steps to Dealing with Diversity:
1. Understand and Respect
2. Be Assertive
3. Learn How Others Want You to Treat Them
4. Act as a Force of Positive Change
*If everyone else in your department is negative, ask yourself what you can do anyway.  Keep believing and being positive.  Teacher expectation is more important than anything else.

Teacher Challenge:
Every day, write one sentence at the end of the day:
*Today I made a difference.
*Today I blew it.

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I taught a lesson on solid, liquid, and gas using the Unique Learning System, a box of various items from my house, and the website Brainpop, Jr.
The kids did great!
I have a class with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  We took a quiz on Brainpop and they got all but one of the answers correct.  At the end of the lesson, the students cut out objects from a worksheet and glued them under the correct heading of solid, liquid, or gas.
Next week, we are making Oobleck and ice cream!

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We were to present our rules and procedures at our weekly meeting. Unfortunately, school was cancelled for the city of Sumter.

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Ms. Boozer Assignment Rules and Procedures

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I produced a syllabus for the parents to take home that contained my 5 classroom rules and our classroom procedures.

I did not know the answers to many of the parents' questions because I was so new and have had to gain their confidence over time.

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I did not know enough at this point to ask a question.

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When the school year began, there were no teacher mentors. Mrs. Tracey Johnson has just finished her mentor training and has been very helpful from the beginning. Mrs. Johnson is right next door to my classroom if I have a question or a concern. We will soon begin meeting on a regular basis. Reflection: I have so much to learn.

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Orientation was very reassuring.
It was nice to see the teachers who had completed the program the previous year.

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