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This is a wonderful resource for developing a classroom team

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Deepen your knowledge of why the use of a visual schedule is important to the independence of your learners.

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Here is an example of individual student schedules posted in a transition area of the classroom.

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This website has a great tool for planning the layout of your classroom furniture.

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Outline Your Classroom Floor Plan For students, the classroom environment is very important. The size of the classroom and interior areas, the colors of the walls, the type of furniture and flooring, the amount of light, and the room arrangement all influence how students learn. Thoughtful arrangement of the indoor and outdoor environments will
support your learning goals for students.This tool provides an opportunity for experimentation with the layout of your classroom without any heavy lifting!

To use this tool:
1. Select the basic dimensions of the room from the Room Dimensions dropdowns.

2. Drag objects to the grid from the Items bar, or draw in your own objects with the Draw bar. Arrows will allow you to change the position of some items. Delete an object by dragging it to the trashcan at the bottom, or by clicking 'delete' on your keyboard.

3. Print out your classroom creation. If you have trouble printing, take a screenshot of your floor plan, paste into a doc, and print the doc. Floor plans can be saved to a cookie on your computer and can only be viewed on this computer.

Learning Goals | Example Elementary Classroom

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Outline Your Classroom Floor Plan For students, the classroom environment is very important. The size of the classroom and interior areas, the colors of the walls, the type of furniture and flooring, the amount of light, and the room arrangement all influence how students learn.

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7 Steps for Setting up a Stellar Autism Classroom

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Seven Steps for Setting up a Stellar Autism Room

... or how to incorporate these steps into your general ed room
1. Organization and Planning 2. Classroom Structure 3. Schedules 6. Work Tasks, Academic Work, and IEP Goals 7. Communication
Classroom Structure

The structure of your classroom is critically important for children with autism. The environment needs to be predictable. The same tables are used for the same type of work each day. You should have separate areas for the different centers and areas of work (independent work, group work, break time, etc.). These areas should be visually divided. That way the student can focus on the work in that area and not be distracted. Also the area should be visually defined. This lends to the predictability and eases the anxiety of transitions. Since verbal language and socially cues can be difficult for children with autism, when the same physical areas are used for the same types of tasks - students know what is expected of them and what they will be doing when they arrive at a center. ( Check out ideas for using the same tables/stations for different activities!)

Apply this to your general ed class: You can apply this same concept to your general education classroom for students who are included. Many early childhood classrooms are typically set up this way - with different centers for different tasks.

You may want to set up separate areas for your student to work on different academic areas. For example, for math we sit at your desk and for reading we sit at this table.

If you have a carpet for group activities and read alouds, find a specific spot that is that student's 'spot' - that way they always know where to go and know when they are sitting there what they will do. You could apply this to group tables too.
If you use the same carpet/table for multiple things (ie: circle time in the morning, read aloud after lunch, and social studies at the end of the day) pick a different spot for each of those activities - for example, when you sit on the front part of the carpet it's reading, when you sit in the back on the bean bag chair it's circle, etc.

Use different colored tape on the floor to designate certain areas without disrupting your whole room.

Utilize more visuals to 'switch' the areas. You could set up a pack of visuals and keep in a folder near the front of the room. When you switch subjects, switch the visual posted in the front of the room.

From yesterday's post, you have created your list of centers or you already have a list of centers that work for you and your group. Now time to arrange these centers in your classroom to maximize space and make sure everything fits in! This can take a while - you may need to play around a little bit and try some different options. My structure changed every year my first few years but I have had it pretty similar the past few years because I found a set up that really works! Some things to think about:

Is there a white board, chalk board, or smart board (luck you!) that you need your big group table near?

Think about where the plugs are in your class. I am in a really old building and there are not plugs in all areas of my room. This limits my options for where I put my computers, teacher desk, and kitchen equipment.

So besides these stations that need to be in certain areas - ie - group table near white board, computers near plugs/internet etc., play around with the spacing of the other centers. You will probably need a big area for the break area/play area/sensory area so save space for that.

Think about your schedules: I will be writing a long post tomorrow about the different types of schedules you can use. The main thing you will need to decide about schedules when structuring your class is how many wall schedules you will need since you will need to set aside some space for these. I have 2 students with wall schedules that I put on either side of the doorway from the coat closet to my room.

For transitions outside of the classroom, how will you have your students wait to leave the room (ie. before lunch, gym, end of day, etc.)? I think it's totally appropriate (and way easier!) for younger to sit and wait. Try and get a group of 3-6 year olds with autism to stand and wait! Yea right! So you may want a bench or row of chairs near the door. For older kids, it's not as age appropriate so consider other visuals cues for a stand and wait system. I tape names on the floor so my guys know where to stand.

So now dividing the centers - I like using furniture whenever possible! Most stations you will probably need a shelf near by to store materials. Think about what stations you will for sure need a shelf by. In my room I have 4 shelves back to back (2 back to back next to 2 back to back) in the center of my room dividing the room up.

You can also use desks as dividers, plastic dividers, file cabinets, and tables. I got this divider from a donorschoose.org grant a few years ago and love it! I use it as a divider for my break area - safe and functional!

I also have these dividers they are pretty flimsy but are good if propped up between desks or tables. I used these near my break area when it needed to be a safe space.

Every area should have some visual physical cue that the center is a different and separate space than the center next to it.

Coming up tomorrow: schedules, schedules, and more schedules. I love and hate making these!

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Seven Steps for Setting up a Stellar Autism Classroom: Classroom Structure - The Autism Helper

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Seven Steps for Setting up a Stellar Autism Room ... or how to incorporate these steps into your general ed room 1. Organization and Planning 2. Classroom Structure 3. Schedules 6. Work Tasks, Academic Work, and IEP Goals 7. Communication Classroom Structure The structure of your classroom is critically important for children with autism.

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f. CLASSROOM AREAS BASED ON TEACCH MODEL ARE EVIDENT 

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f. CLASSROOM AREAS BASED ON TEACCH MODEL ARE EVIDENT 

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Small group     1:1 Teaching    Transition
Large Group      Computer        Break
Independent task     Writing
Table top activity

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This website contains great resources for teachers including various schedule templates.

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Autism Classroom, Autism Education, and Social Skills Resources

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Notice here that the student is expected to work from left to right. There is a "start" basket on the left where the student retrieves their task and a "finished" basket on the right for completed work.

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Work Systems: Structured TEACCH on Pinterest

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Work Systems: Structured TEACCH on Pinterest

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This will link you to a multitude of sample work systems on Pinterest.

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Find and save recipes, parenting hacks, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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This website includes comprehensive information on the TEACCH Systems and work tasks.

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Structured Teaching-The TEACCH Method | Autism Research Institute

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Structured teaching via the TEACCH method was developed by Professor Eric Schopler and many of his colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The TEACCH method is not considered an actual therapy but rather a therapeutic tool to help autistic individuals understand their surroundings.

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Notice the use of a study carrel that limits the amount of required movement. All necessary materials are present for the student.

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e. STUDENT WORK SYSTEMS AND WORK TASKS ARE EVIDENT

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e. STUDENT WORK SYSTEMS AND WORK TASKS ARE EVIDENT

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Teacher and assistant schedules are visible and adhered to.

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After assessing the students' needs, create schedule to make them independent in the classroom.

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Great website for examples of various types and levels of student schedules including object, photo, icon, and written. Plus, you can find a "how-to" on creating schedules here.

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Schedules are visible and located in appropriate areas.

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This is an example of written class schedule. Notice that the visuals match those that are found on an individual student schedule.

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This is an example of a class schedule that is supported with visuals for both readers and emerging readers.

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Whole group schedule should be written in language the students understand (Object, picture, icon written)