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Working with Children with Special Needs

It is inevitable that you will have the opportunity (and pleasure) of working with special needs students in your classroom. You may need to make accommodations for some and modifications for others. Providing for the needs of special education students will certainly be one of your greatest challenges as a professional educator. Consider these tips and strategies.

Jabberwocky

When working with special needs students, two terms you are sure to encounter are accommodation and modification. An accommodation is a device, material, or support process that will enable a student to accomplish a task more efficiently. Modification refers to changes to the instructional outcomes; a change or decrease in the course content or outcome.

Students with Learning Disabilities

Learning disabled students are those who demonstrate a significant discrepancy, which is not the result of some other handicap, between academic achievement and intellectual abilities in one or more of the areas of oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, mathematics reasoning, or spelling.

Following is a list of some of the common indicators of learning-disabled students. These traits are usually not isolated ones; rather, they appear in varying degrees and amounts in most learning-disabled students. A learning disabled student ...

Teaching learning-disabled youngsters will present you with some unique and distinctive challenges. Not only will these students demand more of your full-time and patience; but so, too, will they require specialized instructional strategies in a structured environment that supports and enhances their learning potential. It is important to remember that learning-disabled students are not students who are incapacitated or unable to learn; rather, they need differentiated instruction tailored to their distinctive learning abilities. Use these appropriate strategies with learning-disabled students:

It's Elementary

Offer learning-disabled children and students with developmental delays a multisensory approach to learning. Take advantage of all the senses in helping these students enjoy, appreciate, and learn.

For additional information on teaching learning-disabled students, contact the Learning Disabilities Association of America at 4156 Library Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15234; 412-341-1515; www.ldanatl.org.

Students Who Have Higher Ability

Students of high ability, often referred to as gifted students, present a unique challenge to teachers. They are often the first ones done with an assignment or those who continually ask for more creative and interesting work. They need exciting activities and energizing projects that offer a creative curriculum within the framework of the regular classroom program.

Characteristics of Gifted Students

Gifted students exhibit several common characteristics, as outlined in the following list. As in the case of learning-disabled students, giftedness usually means a combination of factors in varying degrees and amounts. A gifted student ...

Teaching Gifted Students

If there's one constant about gifted students it's the fact that they're full of questions (and full of answers). They're also imbued with a sense of inquisitiveness. Providing for their instructional needs is not an easy task and will certainly extend you to the full limits of your own creativity and inventiveness. Keep some of these instructional strategies in mind:

To obtain additional information on teaching gifted students, contact the National Association for Gifted Children at 1707 L Street N.W., Suite 550, Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-785-4268; www.nagc.org.

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Prepare to teach the students with special needs you may have in your classroom using this advice on accommodating and modifying your lessons to meet the needs of everyone. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable.

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Digital Data Collection using Google Forms

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Digital Data Collection using Google Forms

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Featured guest blogger: Lindsey, an independent living skills teacher and blogger at Hands on Transitions.
As Special Education teachers and service providers, we know how huge of a role data plays in our professions. Sometimes it seems like all we do is take data lol. While there are many different, great organizers floating around out there for data tracking, there is one in particular that I have found that really surpasses all others.

Drum roll, please..... Google Forms.

There, I said it. Nothing beats Google Forms when it comes to data tracking. You can customize a Google Form to do just about anything, seriously, it's mind-boggling. Not only are they easy to use and set up, but all of the data you take goes to one place, your drive, and is beautifully, blissfully organized.

I think we have all suffered through transferring data from our paper trackers, sticky notes, random napkins (don't lie, you know you have) into spreadsheets or IEP Programs and it is a total time-sucking nightmare. Well, Google Forms to the rescue! All of the data is compiled into one place on your drive making it accessible on any of your devices and it plots itself into gorgeous color-coded graphs and tables. When you bust out Google Form data tables at an IEP meeting, prepare to knock everyone's socks off.

There's more.

You can send your beautiful Google Forms to your classroom aides to fill out! There are several ways to do this. In the past, I have sent all the forms to a classroom email account and left the account open on our classroom iPads. Then my staff would open up the form for the student they were working with, fill it out right there while they were working with the student, and send it at the end of the academic center session. It was amazing.

No confusion on what the data should look like, no random confusing notes, and because I added a question on the forms about "who is taking the data", there was no question about which staff member took the data or which staff members had not been tracking data. Accountability is key in a SPED team. Don't have classroom iPads? No problem, you can use Google Forms on your classroom Chromebooks, or even have staff use their cellphones and send the Forms to their work email addresses.

And it doesn't stop at Academic goal tracking!

You can track behavior goals, speech goals, OT goals, PT goals, really there is no end to what you can track with Google Forms. Okay, I think you get the picture so check out my YouTube video on making data tracking forms on Google Forms, just make sure you're sitting down when you watch it because you're going to wonder how you ever survived without them.

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Digital Data Collection Using Google Forms - Adulting Made Easy

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Featured guest blogger: Lindsey, an independent living skills teacher and blogger at Hands on Transitions. As Special Education teachers and service providers, we know how huge of a role data plays in our professions. Sometimes it seems like all we do is take data lol.

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How to create labeling activities with Google

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How to create labeling activities with Google

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How to Create Labeling Activities With Google Drawings and Classroom

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To use as reference

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The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is here to support special education professionals and your ongoing efforts to apply good teaching practices remotely due to precautions surrounding COVID-19.

This page is a collection of suggested resources you can use as you determine the best means to provide services to your students and their families. They have been curated for you and will be regularly updated.*

In addition to these resources, please review this issue of Teaching Exceptional Children that focused on telepractice, as well as the live and recorded webinars available through CEC's digital learning offerings.

Do you have a suggested resource? Share it with us.

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CEC is here to support special education professionals and your ongoing efforts to apply good teaching practices remotely due to precautions surrounding the COVID-19 virus. This page is a collection of suggested resources you can use as you determine the best means to provide services to your students and their families.

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National Center on Intensive Interventions

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National Center on Intensive Interventions

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National Center on Intensive Intervention

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Learn how intensive intervention, through the data-based individualization (DBI) process, helps students with severe and persistent learning or behavioral needs.

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Welcome to Virtual School Activities for all ages! A collection of sites to live webcams, virtual tours/trips, and other miscellaneous fun educational sites. (This site is updated every few days, so to see the latest links be sure to refresh the site if you’re a return visitor!)

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Parent Training Flyer for Nov 4. 10.02.20 v12 (2)

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SY2020-2021 SPED Parent Training Calendar

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SY2020-2021 SPED Parent Training Calendar

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Special Education * Departments - GUAM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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Responsible, Respectful, and Ready for Life

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Educator * Page - GUAM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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Responsible, Respectful, and Ready for Life

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Guidelines for Distance Learning for Students with Significant Support Needs

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Guidelines for Distance Learning for Students with Significant Support Needs

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SPED HPM Guidelines for Distance Learning for Students with Significant Support Needs 7.16.20

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Sample alignment document from Shelley Moore

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Distance Learning examples from teachers

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Distance Learning examples from teachers

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Educators Share Distance Learning Strategies for Students with Significant Support Needs

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Family Guide to At-Home Learning | CEEDAR

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This page provides an overview of family guides for at-home learning.

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Strategies for Maintaining Personal Connections

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Strategies for Maintaining Personal Connections

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Strategies for Maintaining Personal Connections with Students During Distance Learning

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While the federal government, lawyers, and advocacy organizations debate whether or not the rights and responsibilities detailed in IDEA should be fully in place during a pandemic, those of us working with school teams are trying to meet the needs of students and staff to the best of our ability. This brings up a lot of questions:

1. What does Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) for students with disabilities, especially for students with significant cognitive disabilities, look like over distance learning?

2. Data collection? Are people kidding here!? How would you collect data with students who require extensive support?

3. Does this mean general and special educators should return to their respective corners and work alone again rather than collaborating and supporting inclusion?

Although TIES Center is working through these same questions and is eager to hear how others are addressing these issues, this post is the beginning of delving into this topic. Let's start the discussion with the last question.

There is lots of research and personal experience demonstrating the benefits of inclusive practices for all students, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities. While it may be tempting to hole yourself off and work in isolation from other teachers, now is the time when we all need each other most. Because let's face it, we have about 800 things we are trying to do at home to maintain some semblance of routine and mental health for ourselves and others. Having the shared goal of creating accessible lessons and materials for distance learning offers an opportunity to work with your peers and to use that creativity that often feels stifled in day to day routines of taking attendance, overseeing recess and hallway times, and trying to get that stupid copier to work. So, yes! Keep working with your general and special education colleagues, speech-language therapists, and anyone else who may have ideas for providing effective and engaging distance learning for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

What Is SDI?

Now that we have that question settled, let's start to talk about SDI and what it might look like over distance learning.

Specially Designed Instruction, or SDI, is "adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability and to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum..." 34 CFR §300.39(b)(3).

SDI is

Individually designed for a student who has an IEP

Designed to help a student make progress on grade-level standards and to narrow learning gaps

Supplemental to the general education instruction

Delivered through adapted content, instructional techniques, increased frequency of opportunities for feedback and practice, and increased intensity (how long it is taught).

Provided by general and special educators

Inclusive of individually identified skills that help a student access the content (e.g., behavior goals)

Providing SDI through Distance Learning

Things to consider:

SDI is important for students with IEPs to make progress or they would not have an IEP.

If schools are providing instruction to some students, they have to assure access for all students.

Privacy issues, such as what happens if you only gather kids with IEPs into an online chat, come up because we cannot control who may be in the background of those conversations, who may or may not already know about someone else's status as a student with an IEP, and focusing on small groups of students with IEPs opens the school up for potential privacy violations.

Given all of that, educators are better able to protect themselves and maintain effective instruction if general and special educators and related service providers collaborate whenever providing whole group distance learning or heterogeneous small groups if you are co-teaching an online class.

Potential Distance Learning Options

What would distance learning actually look like? There are many ways to do it. These basic ideas will be addressed in more detail in other TIES Center's distance learning resources, but let's get started with some basics.

High Tech Options:

When general and special educators have a set time to meet with the whole class and present information, explain an activity, answer questions and engage all students.

Most students will use the chat area of the distance learning platform to ask teachers private questions or receive additional instruction or feedback in the moment.

Some students will need a smaller group experience after the whole group instruction, which could be provided by breaking the class into two or three smaller groups. Each of the educators could facilitate a group, while one group works independently with check-ins from teachers. Remember both general and special educators are able to provide SDI. Keep these groups flexible for each week or activity.

A few students will need more intensive support, in which case, the general or special educator can follow up with individuals to provide the SDI needed.

The special education teacher can direct a paraeducator on specific instructional strategies, prompts, or modeling that can be used. The paraeducator could provide this support through chat boxes or visual reminders during whole group instruction to support the student with the most significant disabilities. For example, within a shared online document, the paraprofessional could use chat to implement a behavioral reminder of paying attention.

When general and special educators provide an introductory lesson using a recorded Powerpoint, Flipgrid or other means of asynchronous instruction, SDI could be provided through.

"Office hours" where students reach either teacher by phone, email, or a live chat to receive supplemental instruction or feedback.

Additional instructional activities that align with or provide access to the general education content and lesson, such as scaffolded instruction and providing background knowledge.

Pre-teaching of a skill, concept, or how to use a support or strategy, such as a graphic organizer, before the whole class has the lesson or the student with the IEP is expected to engage with the lesson.

Low Tech Options

Is it possible to provide SDI in a low/no-tech way through distance learning? Yes, though it requires you know your students well enough to anticipate their needs since you will not be available in the moment to provide support.

Using the packet for the general education class, provide scaffolded written directions or picture supports to prompt the student on specific skills.

Add additional materials to the general education packets that allow for the use of symbol systems (e.g., Boardmaker and other comparable tools), tactile supports, or direct instruction on how to use the associated graphic organizers, materials, or prompts.

Provide written instructions on how to use a calming strategy (e.g., five finger breathing) and have the student practice.

Provide additional instructional activities in the packet that align with the general education content and lesson, but provide scaffolded instruction or background knowledge needed to complete the assignments assigned to all of the students.

How do you collect data?

Data collection is a challenge when you are not with the student during the instruction. This topic requires additional attention, but for right now, we will focus on the big ideas.

Yes, you should be collecting data--at the very least about the amount and types of SDI you are providing

Data can be collected through online work and quizzes for some of the IEP goals

Data may also need to include some self-reporting from students (e.g., a tally sheet of how many times the student practiced five finger breathing)

Data for some things may only be possible when you are synchronously working with students online

In some cases, families may be able to support data collection through picture or video taking (shared through an encrypted service), work samples, or noting frequency of behaviors

Remember, without data we have no idea where students are and are not succeeding.

Conclusion

These are just some initial considerations and ideas, but they address some of the big questions in the field right now:

Work together. It is more effective for your students with significant cognitive disabilities and offers you an opportunity to problem solve with your colleagues.

Providing SDI is possible in high and low tech ways

Data collection may look different

Educators are amazing. You are amazing. Remember to breathe.

Disclaimer: The information in this Brief is not an endorsement of any identified products. Products identified in this Brief are shared solely as examples to help communicate information about ways to reach the desired goals for students.

Distance Learning Series: DL #3, April, 2020

All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:

Taub, D. (2020). Effectively specially designed instruction (SDI) within the distance learning environment: What in the world does that look like? (DL #3). TIES Center.

TIES Center is supported through a cooperative agreement between the University of Minnesota and the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education (# H326Y170004). The Center is affiliated with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) which is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. The contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Project Officer: Susan Weigert

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) leads the TIES Center partnership. Collaborating partners are: Arizona Department of Education, CAST, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of North-Carolina-Charlotte, and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

TIES Center

University of Minnesota

Institute on Community Integration

2025 East River Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone: 612-626-1530 www.tiescenter.org
This document is available in alternate formats upon request.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

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Building Engagement with Distance Learning | DL #3: Effective Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) Within the Distance Learning Environment: What in the World Does That Look Like?

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During a move to distance and online learning, educators and administrators are struggling with what it means to provide specially designed instruction for students with the most significant disabilities. TIES Center has some considerations around the initial basic questions for supporting students with IEPs.

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One of the most important ways to help students feel safer and more in control is to build schedules and routines they can count on. Many elementary classrooms use morning meetings to check-in with students and lay out the goals of the day. Even with asynchronous distance learning or packets of work that go home, this is still possible.

For distance learning using internet tools, there are multiple ways to create a morning meeting video/welcome. Some possible ways to record and share information: SeeSaw, Google Classroom, Schoology, Blackboard, Canvas, Fligrid, Padlet, or a private Youtube channel. Flipgrid, Youtube, Padlet and some of Google Classroom do not require a paid account so it may be helpful if your district/school does not already have a platform. If you are looking for ways to move online with your classroom meetings, check out Ceedar Center's Virtual Tool kit for moving to online learning.

Sometimes low tech is the way to go. A morning meeting can be done through a morning email, a shared notebook (virtual or not), a daily warm-up routine, and/or a simple check-in phone call.

Access Considerations

Use closed captions. If your recording system does not have that, type out a script (or close approximation) for what you are saying. Youtube closed captioning guide . PowerPoint closed captioning guide . Tech Republic has a list of Five Speech Recognition Apps that may help closed caption audio/video files.

Color is awesome but black and white may be better for accessibility. Use contrasting colors if necessary. You can use the AEM Accessibility Guide to help you check if the colors you are choosing are accessible.

Keep your graphics uncluttered. Keep text to a minimum.

Specialized supports for students with IEPs

For students with IEPs, you want to keep the morning message as similar to the rest of the class's as possible. However, an introductory note with accessibility ideas for families on how to help their child be a more active part of the morning meeting. Basic ideas such as including more visuals, supporting parents on using a core board or other AAC, or ensuring audio is available can be good reminders for families.

For students with the most significant cognitive disabilities

Here are two examples: one high tech and one low tech. All of the examples could be aligned with a core board and keywords.

Notice that both examples include similar pieces:

An accessible greeting, using text, audio (when applicable), and AAC symbols or structure for modeling.

A short personal message from the teacher welcoming the students to class.

An accessible way for students to check-in.

An outline of what academics students will be doing today.

Example: High technology

To start today, please go to Padlet and tell the class one thing you have learned in the past week .

Example: Low technology

Elementary school example

Good morning friends! I miss you!

Today, make or take a picture for your friend. Send it with your packet.

Make one choice from each area. There are a few options in each subject area.

ELA---we will share your favorite parts of a story.

Math---we are learning about fractions.

Science--we are going on a scavenger hunt.

Social studies--we are reading about community heroes.

Other--choose from the art, music, or movement choices.

Have a good day!

--Ms. Taub

Middle School example

Good morning students,

I miss seeing your smiling faces each day. And your eyes rolling as I give you homework :). Today's warm up:
Email, phone, text, or send a letter to your assigned classmates telling them one thing you learned last week. Or, you can return it with your completed packet and I will make sure the student receives it.
Today, you will complete pages 4-7 in your packet. If you have any problems or questions, you may email me, call the school homework hotline, or call/text your friends to get help.

Have a great week!

-Ms. Taub

Done! Take a deep breath and remember to give yourself the freedom to make mistakes and experiment. There is no one way to do this.

You did it! Great job.

Disclaimer: The information in this Brief is not an endorsement of any identified products. Products identified in this Brief are shared solely as examples to help communicate information about ways to reach the desired goals for students.

Distance Learning Series: DL #1, April, 2020

All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:

Taub, D. (2020). Morning meetings (DL #1). TIES Center.

TIES Center is supported through a cooperative agreement between the University of Minnesota and the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education (# H326Y170004). The Center is affiliated with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) which is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. The contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Project Officer: Susan Weigert

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) leads the TIES Center partnership. Collaborating partners are: Arizona Department of Education, CAST, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of North-Carolina-Charlotte, and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

TIES Center

University of Minnesota

Institute on Community Integration

2025 East River Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone: 612-626-1530 www.tiescenter.org
This document is available in alternate formats upon request.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

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Building Engagement with Distance Learning | DL #1: Morning Meetings

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One of the most important ways to help students feel safer and more in control is to build schedules and routines they can count on. Many elementary classrooms use morning meetings to check-in with students and lay out the goals of the day.

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We are a global platform where travel videographers can share their art and experiences with the world. At GlobalGetaways we seek to stem the tide of mass-upload mediocrity by only publishing curated content from the world's best travel videographers.

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Take Your Kids on a Free Virtual Field Trip

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Free virtual field trips can turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary day. Whether it is with your virtual classmates, as part of a distance

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Author: Patrick Carney | March 15, 2020

Stuck at home with the kids for a while? Need some activities to keep them active? Look no further!

Last year, we hosted virtual farm tours for students to watch in their classrooms. But, those can be viewed on YouTube now!

For kids aged 4 to 9, watch our tour from Dutch Hollow Farm.

Kids aged 10-13 will enjoy our virtual tour from Will-O-Crest Farm.

High school kids can enjoy our tour from JoBo Holsteins Farm.

American Dairy Association North East is one of 16 state and regional promotion organizations working under the umbrella of the United Dairy Industry Association. It is the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council ®, which has been conducting nutrition education and nutrition research programs since 1915. For more information, visit www.americandairy.com.

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Virtual Farm Tours While You're Stuck at Home | American Dairy Associa

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Author: Patrick Carney | March 15, 2020 Stuck at home with the kids for a while? Need some activities to keep them active? Look no further! Last year, we hosted virtual farm tours for students to watch in their classrooms. But, those can be viewed on YouTube now!

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The landscape of education has changed. Schools are different because our world is different. Just a few short months ago students were in school buildings with their teachers and now parents are challenged with the task of becoming coordinators/teachers. Many parents are trying to balance working from home while managing their child's schooling. In response to this new demand, parents are seeking support to help their child complete schoolwork at home more independently. Although many families are struggling with the new distance learning parameters, parents of children with significant cognitive disabilities are especially in need of some solutions to help their child gain independence during the day.

How can I balance being a parent with my new role?

First of all, you are not your child's teacher. They still have teachers in their schools and they are the ones who can help with guiding you through this process. Oftentimes teachers are willing to help but do not always know what you need. Just ask! Balancing being a parent, while trying to support children academically, can be hard. Parents must keep in mind that we are all going through this together. Every day make the decision to "pick your battles", which sometimes means celebrating the few moments of reprieve you got when your child worked independently for at least five minutes. Adding to their working stamina is a great goal, instead of being disappointed they aren't working for long stretches of time from the beginning. This self-regulated work time is new to your child as much of their school day involved adults and peers dedicated to keeping them on task.

How can I help keep my child on-task while also preserving time for my other responsibilities?
The answer: Have your child learn time management skills to stay on-task!

Set up a specific workstation that includes a desktop/laptop and has AAC devices or other communication tools and all materials needed for the subject and task in close proximity.

Utilize any and all technology available, whether it be on a computer, phone, or even a microwave timer. It is best to use a timer that your child can set and stop on their own, which improves their independence and in turn frees up your time.

Minimize distractions from other family members' noise or movement in the house.

Have your child set short-term goals when starting a task to outline what will be done for that subject that day. This can be done by having your child pick items of an activity out of a set of choices and placing them in order on their desk before beginning their work.

If helpful and motivating for your child, have them use a timer to track how long they work on each subject or task.

For small tasks use a microwave or phone timer.
Have your child set a timer for a specified amount of time and then take a break.

For longer tasks use a Pomodoro timer method (also known as a "tomato timer") to have your child track their progress as they work.
The Pomodoro method involves specific steps with built-in breaks for longer work sessions. Read more about the Pomodoro method. Have your child set a goal of what needs to be done, work for a specified amount of time, record progress and take a short break, then get back to work, and then take a long break.

What should my child do when they complete work?

As we all do in some way for our own work, it is important to reward yourself for a job well done, or completion of a task. To say, "students should work without reward" would be the equivalent of saying "adults should work without a paycheck." When preferred activities follow non-preferred activities, this can help students with significant cognitive disabilities make the connection that the more preferred activity is coming if they can power through the current task in front of them.

Choice Boards

Have your child pick from a choice board with a list of leisure activities that they enjoy after completing a certain number of checks per day or in between tasks. Make sure they are your child's choice, not yours. Again, once this system is set up, the goal is that they self-direct the delivery of rewards for themselves almost to the point that you don't need to be in the same room. Some students can work for rewards at the end of the day and/or end of the week as shown in example 2 of the TIES Distance Learning article: Self-Determined Schedule Making. However, if necessary, have your child use a small reward choice board for leisure activities to do between tasks and then a larger reward choice board of activities to do after completing several tasks.

Low-tech and high-tech options: Choice boards can be done through low-tech options, such as creating a word document or by drawing out a table on a sheet of paper with different choices in each box. See example 3 for a version made as a word document that uses icons. Online choice boards can be made if you and your child prefer a high-tech option. You can create a choice board using a website or application. You could also take pictures on a smartphone and create a collage with different choices presented on the same screen. This may be done within an AAC device. This is also something that your child's teacher might have a model readily available that is used at school, which can be edited to include home activities.

To help your child experience a variety of leisure activities, consider removing a choice once your child has chosen it for the day. It is also important to keep variety in choices if your child becomes bored with the options, but still allow the "go-to" favorites you know your child will enjoy. Another consideration is to make sure to have rewards ready and planned ahead so they can be utilized immediately, without the child having to wait for you to set up the reward. This may mean that you pre-set up activities or it might mean that you expect your child to get things that they can get completely on their own so you are not stopping your workday to facilitate in between each activity. This is two-fold, having access to the reward immediately will solidify the connection that your child earned the reward for the work that was just completed. Secondly, it promotes independence in the child choosing and rewarding himself/herself without relying on an adult to go get or set up the reward.

Using high-tech and low-tech tools for staying on task and delivering self-reinforcement can help students with significant cognitive disabilities manage their day without having to constantly recruit adult help, thus relieving parents of some school work responsibilities. Empowering students with significant cognitive disabilities to take control of their own learning is a win-win situation!

Disclaimer: The information in this Brief is not an endorsement of any identified products. Products identified in this Brief are shared solely as examples to help communicate information about ways to reach the desired goals for students.

Distance Learning Series: DL #8, May, 2020

All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:

Reyes, E. (2020). Time management during distance learning (DL #8). TIES Center.

TIES Center is supported through a cooperative agreement between the University of Minnesota and the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education (# H326Y170004). The Center is affiliated with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) which is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. The contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Project Officer: Susan Weigert

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) leads the TIES Center partnership. Collaborating partners are: Arizona Department of Education, CAST, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of North-Carolina-Charlotte, and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

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The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

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Building Engagement with Distance Learning | DL #8: Time Management During Distance Learning

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This article includes a strategy for helping parents support their child in following through using time management skills. These resources can help all students, including students with significant cognitive disabilities, build independence in creating and implementing daily routines for at-home learning.

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A middle school English and special education teacher share how they meet the needs of all of their students-and the new practices they'll bring back to the classroom.

Every student has needs, but they don't all have the same needs. In the English 7 classes we co-teach, for example, more than 60 percent of the students have identified special needs, and many of our students are English learners. And although our Title 1 school is able to provide an iPad for each student, given the level of poverty in the neighborhood we cannot assume that every student has internet connectivity. That's a lot of different needs, especially when you take into account that our classes have up to 38 students.

We already faced a variety of challenges, but when our classes went digital almost overnight, we experienced a new layer of difficulty. As we have all year, we brainstormed, researched, and tried many approaches, all in the spirit of letting no one fail. We found four successful strategies that have kept our co-taught students thriving.

1. Address Reading Access Needs

Many of our students are able to think and talk about grade-level ideas but are not yet able to read grade-level texts. We were able to address this in the classroom by forming small groups to read texts aloud, providing the class novel as an audiobook, and modeling fluent reading. With the shift to distance learning, however, we had to find ways to replace the in-person supports.

One approach we've used has been to record ourselves reading all texts and provide that audio support embedded in all assignments. We are also providing leveled texts for each student's reading ability, made possible by article sources like Newsela. We're also taking advantage of our learning management system, as Google Classroom allows teachers to assign differentiated documents easily-we have students grouped in reading level bands, and we assign leveled texts or assignments that have been modified to suit each group.

2. Address Writing Needs

During in-person teaching, we were able to model both planning and writing techniques. We were able to give students real-time feedback on their writing in class, as well as provide visual supports like sentence frames and word banks.

We shifted our approach for distance learning to include more mentor texts than we used to use in the classroom, and screencasts of us modeling the writing techniques. Josh was already familiar with making screencasts, but Sarah had to learn on the fly. Students can access these videos at any time via hyperlinks in their assignments. We're also still able to provide sentence frames and word banks, although the resources that used to be very accessible as visuals on our classroom walls are now digital, and students need to switch between apps to access them-they can watch a video on Google, but they complete their writing in a separate app called Notability.

To replace real-time feedback, we have been adding comments on their Google documents and providing scores using an electronic rubric. We've also live co-taught editing and revising via Google Meets, using a sample text that mirrored the most common mistakes we found in their writing.

3. Use Accommodations That Translate Easily to Distance Learning

When we were at school, students with special needs received accommodations related to their learning challenges that helped them access general education lessons. Some of these accommodations have translated easily to distance learning-extra time and modified work are two examples of that. But we've had to give up in-the-moment feedback about writing and the ability to clarify misunderstandings in real time as students now work asynchronously.

Other accommodations that are still easy to provide include opportunities to redo and resubmit work, as well as the ability to use the speech-to-text supports that are available on student iPads and smartphones.

We were pleased to realize the power of using our own video lessons for all students, but especially for those who need multiple exposures to content or longer think time to process ideas. Now we plan to continue providing students with recorded lessons for home access when we return to our physical school.

4. Use Parallel Workload Management Strategies

The two of us share equally in grading and student support, just as we did in pre-Covid teaching. When it comes to planning, we split the work in line with our specialties: Josh is the content expert, ensuring that lessons are robust and aligned with Common Core State Standards, and Sarah is the access expert, providing accommodations and modifications to support student needs and adhere to individualized education programs.

During our daily office hours, students reach out to each of us through email-sometimes to Sarah, sometimes to Josh-and we know that we'll respond similarly since we're on the same page.

Distance learning is challenging for all students, but even more so for students who need accommodations. Some days are really tough, for us and for our students. The bright side has been that many of our students who present the most challenges are not struggling as much as we might have predicted. Instead, many of them are advocating for themselves and finding a new level of self-awareness that they did not possess in the classroom.

The challenge of distance learning has shifted our perspectives as we have worked to devise new ways to meet students' needs, and these ways will transfer to in-person teaching when we go back to our classroom.

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A middle school English and special education teacher share how they meet the needs of all of their students-and the new practices they'll bring back to the classroom. Every student has needs, but they don't all have the same needs.

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Supporting Students with Complex Needs at Home-Guidance for Teachers and Parents

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If you're wondering what to do for your students with complex needs, we hear you. One way we're helping is by offering you a free Readtopia Mini Unit.

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FREE MEMBERSHIP
CEC is opening its doors to the special education community in need of resources. Nonmembers of CEC can receive a free basic membership from now through May 31 by using the promotional code "CECED60." This will give you access to all of CEC's journal articles, member discounts on events, and access to CEC's online membership community where you can ask questions and receive support from special educators, administrators and support personnel. Join Now!  https://cec.sped.org/Membership

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by Jocelyn Borja

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ESY SAMPLE PROPOSED PLAN AND GOAL MATRIX (1)

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"We initially chose IRIS because of the past experiences and their credible research-based, high-quality modules that align with specific areas of growth and need to support a state-directed corrective action plan in our region."

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"We initially chose IRIS because of the past experiences and their credible research-based, high-quality modules that align with specific areas of growth and need to support a state-directed corrective action plan in our region."

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If we missed any helpful resources along the way, please let us know and we'd be happy to add it to our list.

131+ Tools for Distance Learning

We've scoured the web for helpful apps, tools, and platforms to help you as you set up your distance learning environments during your school closures.

If we've found the organization has announced something confirming COVID-19 supports, we include the link within the description of the tool.

Full Curriculum Coverage Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. Curriculum coverage of ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, AP, SAT®, ACT®, Regents, STAAR, and Common Core needs. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. ABCmouse: Reading, math, science, art & colors curriculum for ages 2-8. They offer a 30-day trial after you watch their video on their homepage.

3. BrainPOP: Over a 1,000 short animated movies for grades K-12 in all subjects, with quizzes and related materials. You can request free unlimited use of the BrainPOP suite for the duration of your school closure here.

4. CK-12: Free and customizable K-12 open educational resources that are aligned to state curriculum standards.

5. EducationCity: Targeted at grades PreK-6 providing lesson plans, resources and activities. 21-day free trial here.

6. Edulastic: Library of standards-aligned practice questions to create assessments in minutes. They're offering Premium and Enterprise features for free until July 1, 2020. Learn more here.

7. IXL: K-12 curriculum supports for math, language arts, science, stocial studies, spanish, and Common Core. Teachers can start a 30-day trial account here.

8. : 100% free covering a wide range of subjects. Particularly strong in STEM subjects.

9. MobyMax: Targeted towards K-8 teachers providing CCSS-aligned content, assessments, and activities. Free COVID-19 support announcement here.

10. Nearpod: Thousands of customizable lessons with student activities. Request support here.

11. PBS: Free K-12 classroom resources ranging from media galleries, videos, and lesson plans. Create a free account for full features.

Reading or English Language Arts Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. ELA content is high-interest, evidence-driven, with built-in differentiation. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. Accelerated Reader: Reading quizzes on a variety of books. Requires subscription.

3. ActivelyLearn: Standards-aligned ELA, Science, and Social Studies for promoting students to stop and ask questions. COVID-19 offer here.

4. Book Creator: Lets you create digital books online. Fosters creativity in the classroom for telling stories and more. They're offering 90-days of free access you can start using here.

5. BoomWriter: For grades 2-8. Somewhat similar to Book Creator in that it allows students to create original stories that can be published into softcover books. But also allows teachers to send students engaging fiction and non-fiction and vocabulary exercises.

6. CommonLit: 100% free site that provides a digital lesson library, formative insights, and interim assessments. Features some Spanish materials as well.

7. Epic: Digital library for K-5. There are learning videos and quizzes within as well.

8. Learning Ally: Equitable access to a large library of "human-read" audiobooks, including, curriculum-aligned literature, fiction and nonfiction, and STEM textbooks.

9. MyOn: Digital library of 6,000 titles sorted by grade and Lexile reading level. Requires subscription.

10. Newsela: Leveled readings to build literacy skills. Most require a subscription.

11. ReadWorks: Free content, curriculum, and tools for grades K-12 targeted at building reading comprehension. You can read about their recommendations regarding using the site remotely here.

12. Starfall Reading: Targeted at K-3 for teaching basic English reading and writing skills. Lots of games and phonics. Some features require a subscription.

13. StoryKit: Simple free storybook creation app that allows students to add pictures and recordings with their own voices. Targeted at K-5.

14. ReadTheory: This is an online reading comprehension platform that is completely free for teachers.

Writing Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: 100% free grammar course with over 3,300 original practice questions and explanations. Includes contemporary, informative and engaging texts and aligns to Common Core, Regents, and TEKS standards.

2. Draftin: Simple site that allows you to have students share drafts with easy version controls. Good for those who may not want to use Google Docs and wants to emphasize focus in writing. Has a free version.

3. Grammarly: Free browser extension or desktop tool that detects tone, typos, and helps build cleaner writing skills.

4. Hemingway: Similar to Grammarly, provides annotations to help make student writing bolder and more clear. Free.

5. Quill: Free writing and grammar activities for K-12. Includes lessons for teachers to lead writing instruction as well as diagnostics.

6. Scholastic Story Starters: Tool focused for K-6 to help students brainstorm ideas for writing a fictional story. Prompts for adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi are included.

Math Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Hundreds of free questions and explanations in Foundations of Algebra and Algebra 1. Aligned to Common Core, Regents, and TEKS standards. Albert is providing supports for impacted schools you can learn more about here.

2. Dad's Worksheets: This site provides printable worksheets, online calculators, games and puzzles for free. Targeted for K-6.

3. DeltaMath: Interactive math practice for middle and high school students. Accounts are free for teachers and students.

4. Desmos: Free online graphing calculator that includes digital activities for students from 6th to 12th grade. Teachers can create accounts to assign student activities.

5. Free Math App: A platform where teachers can assign, review, and leave feedback on student work.

6. FunexpectedApps: Targeted for kids 3-7 to develop mathematical thinking. They are offering a pack of free activities and a free desktop version of their app.

7. Geogebra: Online tools for graphing and geometry. Classroom resources and activities are free.

8. Illustrative Mathematics: Free math curriculum and resources for grades K-12 with a focus on creative word problems.

9. LegendsofLearning: 2,000 3rd through 8th-grade math and science games and simulations correlated to state standards. They are offering free access to all premium features for schools closed due to the outbreak for the duration of their closure.

10. Mathigon: An interactive math textbook where students can learn and practice new concepts. Targeted towards high school students.

11. Mathletics: An adaptive, interactive math platform centered on math challenges and quizzes that allow students to "compete" with one another. Schools and home users can try a 30-day free trial.

12. Mathsonline: A collection of math tutorial videos, questions, and summaries. Accounts are required, but students, teachers, and parents can get a free trial.

13. Mathspace: An adaptive mathematics platform including practice questions and interactive textbooks.

14. Myimaths: Math lessons and homework assignments for students ages 11 to 18. Schools can sign up for a 30-day free trial.

15. National Association for the Education of Young Children: Activities that parents and guardians can do with young children (elementary and below) at home.

16. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Resources and activities for student exploration of mathematics.

17. SplashLearn: Game-based math learning program for grades K-5 available on iOS, Android, or Web. They're COVID-19 support announcement can be found here.

18. The Math Learning Center: Free games and activities for students in Pre-K through 6th grade.

19. VirtualNerd: Math video support in middle school, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry.

20. Youcubed: Inspirational math tasks, films, and textbooks to help students develop a growth mindset.

21. Zearn: Digital lessons and printable activities aligned to EngageNY and Eureka Math. Resources are free and targeted towards grades K-5.

Language Learning Distance Learning Tools

1. Duolingo: 100% free language learning. Personalized with immediate grading and gamification. Optional paid subscription to remove ads and get offline access.

2. Fabulingua: Teaches Spanish through magical interactive stories on phones and tablets specifically for kids ages 2-10. FabuLingua is suspending their subscription services and providing their entire platform for free to those impacted.

3. FluentU: Language immersion through real-world videos. 14-day trial is available to sign up for.

4. Fluency Matters: Provides e-courses that include e-books, audiobooks, quizzes, and activities. Typically $3.50/student. They're offering extended 21-day trials. More information here.

5. justlearn: Here you can find a native tutor and online teacher to help you with language learning.

6. TeachVid: Allows you to create language learning content with interactive text reconstruction activities and quizzes

7. English Tools: Over 25 free tools for learning English language learners, including grammar tools, worksheet creation tools, and more.

Science Distance Learning Tools

1. Albert: Thousands of standards-aligned practice questions for grades 6-12. Science content is high-interest, evidence-driven, with built-in differentiation. Click here to evaluate Albert for free.

2. Discovery Education: Arguably best known for their science textbooks, but also support other STEM subjects. They are providing free access to their materials for the remainder of the school year. Learn more here.

3. Mystery Science: Interactive lessons targeted at K-5 science curriculum that are NGSS-aligned and Common Core aligned. They've made their most popular lessons free here.

4. STEMScopes: K-12 STEM curriculum with digital resources, print materials, and exploration kits. General information of how their online platform can support during this time can be found here.

Computer Science Distance Learning Tools

1. Codecademy: Free basic courses in computer science. Paid subscription optional; subscription unlocks members only content, study-plans, real-world projects and community support.

2. Minecraft Education Edition: Perfect for students to learn problem-solving - free lessons through June 30 with more details here.

3. Penjee: Free site that provides a supportive way to learn your first text-based programming language.

4. Tynker: Coding site targeted for ages 5+. Includes a complete coding curriculum, automatic assessments, and classroom management tools. Google form for COVID-19 supports can be submitted here.

Social Studies Distance Learning Tools

1. Library of Congress: Classroom materials and digital collections for teachers that align to CCSS as well as state standards. Sortable by Common Core, State Content, and Organizations.

2. National Constitution Center: Free online civics learning including the Interactive Constitution and Scholar Exchanges, live virtual interactive conversations about the Constitution.

3. Seterra: Geography games for students. Targeted primarily at grades K-5. Learn more about their free access announcement here.

4. Smithsonian Education: Features a Learning Lab that allows you to build collections and educational experiences for students. Also has a Game Center for younger STEM learners and an extensive library on AMerican history.

5. Stanford's Civic Online Reasoning Curriculum: Provides free lessons and assessments for students to evaluate online information. The Stanford History Education Group provides other history lessons for free here as well.

6. Teaching Tolerance: Site dedicated to providing free resources K-12 for creating civil and inclusive school communities. You can build a learning plan following their guide here.

7. Zinn Education Project: Targeted towards grades 6-12 built off Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Free downloadable lessons and articles you can use based on theme, time period and reading level.

Return to the Table of Contents
Music Learning Distance Learning Tools

1. Cyber Fret: Video based guitar lessons.

2. Metronome: Online metronome.

3. Moosiko: Online practice tool for guitar teachers to help their students learn chords, play songs, and track skills.

4. Ultimate Guitar: World's largest source of guitar tabs.

5. Online Guitar Tuner: Tune your guitar online.

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131 Tools for Distance Learning & Strategies for Student Engagement | Albert Resources

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Has your school closed? We put together a list of 100+ digital and online tools to support distance learning and remote classrooms here.

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by Gabby Camacho

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Spelling Worksheets Maker | Free - Distance Learning, worksheets and more: CommonCoreSheets

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Free math worksheets for almost every subject. Create your own daily (spiral) reviews, test, worksheets and even flash cards. All for free! No signup or app to download.

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ESL Flashcards - Download free printable flashcards!

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We provide FREE picture cards and word cards for teaching English (or other languages) in three easy-to-print sizes. Read all about our flashcards here. Hope you enjoy!

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BusyTeacher: Free Printable Worksheets For Busy English Teachers

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Free printable worksheets and lesson plans for every busy teacher. Find printable worksheets on any topic: vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, writing and speaking!

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The excellent database of free vocabulary flash cards for toddlers and kids available in PDF format.

Most popular sets of printable flashcards for kids

Most popular languages of printable kids flashcards

How to make flashcards online

Choose flashcards dimensions

What types of flashcards for kids can I download?

Each set of picture cards contains:

large cards - one flashcard per template for printing in A4, A5, A6, 28 * 28 formats;

small cards - 6 and 8 flashcards per template A4, which are well suited for games, such as memories, bingo, lotto, etc.

The word cards are grouped by 3, 4, 6, 8 cards on sheet A4.

Both small and large educational cards can be printed, cut, and laminated (laminated versions look better and last longer).

PDF files open in your browser using Adobe Acrobat Reader or another PDF reader. It is already installed on most computers, but if no, you can download it here for free.

You can also watch slideshows from our prepared flashcards online. Just click on any flashcard icon from the chosen category page and open a full-screen view mode.

If you liked any of our prepared sets (for example, Russian or English flashcards), but you don't find it for a needed language, you can translate it yourself by clicking the "Get on my language" button. It takes no more than 3 minutes.

Our printables are really useful for kids who learn speaking or reading in either native or foreign language (ESL flashcards for language learners). They also might even be a good resource for nonverbal kids who are working on expressing their thoughts to parents or caregivers.

Who Can Benefit From Using Flashcards?

Flashcards benefit all age groups.

Why start to use flashcards for kids?

Tips for using printable flashcards for kids

Start with a few cards.

Start with 5-10 cards and slowly increase their number. If your kid has lost interest, it is better to stop and continue another time. It is better to view short and frequent sessions than long and rare.

Make sure your child is in a good mood.

Do not try to teach a tired and moody child - this will disappoint both of you.

Get rid of distractions.

Remove toys and turn off the TV and any other devices so that both of you can focus on your task.

Give more praise, and the child will feel your enthusiasm and respond positively.

See Benefits

What are the benefits of learning with online flashcards?

You can start to study at baby's birthday;

To learn is simple enough, you do not need to involve experts;

Developing photographic memory, speed reading, and mathematics;

Picture cards help to break up the monotony of drilling;

Multi-sensory and right brain stimulation;

Flashcards allow you to study anywhere at any time.

See Features

Kids Flashcards Features

Simple and quick making own flashcards for kids, toddlers, and babies;

There's no limit to how many cards you can create;

View flashcards online without registration;

Download printable cards in different languages such as English, Russian, German, etc;

Translate existing sets of flashcards to demandable language.

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1300+ FREE Printable Flashcards for Multilingual/Mono Kids

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Make learning languages fun with word and real picture flashcards.

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| | Filed Under: Classroom Management and Organization, Digital Resources
Note: The PDF now includes links to Weekly Check-Ins as well!
One of the hardest parts about distance learning is not being able to see and talk with our students on a regular basis. Even if you are doing video conferences, it is hard to know how students are doing and if they need help. One option is to have daily check-ins using Google Forms. This post shares free daily check in google forms for distance learning and some tips for how to use them.

About the Daily Check-In Google Forms

These daily check-in Google Forms are one way to check in your with students on a daily basis. The responses can also be shared with special education or any support staff who serve the students.

I have included two check-in forms for you: one for the beginning of the day and one for the end of the day. You can send both of the forms or choose to only send one.

Beginning of the Day Check-In Form

This form is designed to check in with the students before they begin their assignments (but after they locate them).

The form asks the following questions:

How are you feeling today?

Do you have anything to tell me? This can be about school or life.

Were you able to find all of your work for today?

Do you need any help getting started with your assignments?

What questions do you have about your assignments?

End of the Day Check-In Form

This form is designed to check in with the students as they finish their learning for the day.

The form asks the following questions:

How are you feeling now?

How did you to do today?

How do you feel about your assignments today? (This is a linear scale with "I didn't understand anything" at one end and "I understood everything" at the other end.)

Do you have anything to tell me? This can be about school or life.

Note: There are now links to Weekly Check-Ins included in the PDF download as well!

Modifying the Check-In Forms

After you copy the forms to your drive, you may go in and modify any of the questions and/or add new questions. These screenshots are also included in the free download.

Assigning the Check-In Forms
If you need help assigning these check-in forms to your students, click here to grab a free guide to help!
When assigning the forms, I recommend you make a new copy for each week (you can keep the responses organized using the spreadsheet that Google Forms generates).

Another way to send the Check-In Forms to your students is to link them via a Google Slides Template. Here is an example template. The link to copy this template can be found in the section titled Get the Free Daily Check-In Google Forms and Slide Template Here.

Viewing the Responses

You can easily view the responses by generating a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is automatically sorted by date and time so you can keep your responses organized. You can also sort the responses alphabetically by student name.

***Get the Free Daily Check-In Google Forms and Slide Template Here
****Click here or on the image below to grab the PDF with the links to each Google Form and the Google Slide Templates (and tips for copying/modifying the forms and viewing the responses).
Note: make sure you copy the forms to your drive. If you manipulate the link, you will be compromising your students' data. YOU MUST COPY THE FORM TO YOUR DRIVE AND CREATE A NEW FORM THAT IS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS!

Note: There are now links to Weekly Check-Ins included in the PDF download as well!

More Digital Distance Learning Resources
How to Assign Google Forms How to Create Google Form Assignments Viewing and Analyzing Responses in Google Forms How to Assign Google Slides How to Have Students Show Their Math Work Digitally - Free Student Google Slides Guide Tips for Distance Learning Planning
Blog Posts and Free Guides

Digital Learning Activities
Main Idea Differentiated Practice - These are perfect for assigning differentiated reading practice (texts at two levels to your students). Text Structure Differentiated Practice - Another option for differentiating your reading practice easily. Reading Test Prep Task Cards - This is perfect for reading review! It includes 8 Google Forms in all (with 8 questions per form).
Google Form - Reading Activities
4th Grade Math Test Prep Review 5th Grade Math Test Prep Review 4th Grade Math Differentiated Skill Sheets 5th Grade Math Differentiated Skill Sheets Math Choice Boards (Grades 3-5 Available) 5th Grade Math Skill Posters Decimal of the Day Review 5th Grade Find the Error Math Tasks
Google Slides - Math Activities
4th & 5th Grade Reading View Color by Reading Activities Reading Interactive Notebook Color Coding Text Evidence Printables Reading Intervention Passages with Read Aloud Audio 4th & 5th Grade Reading Flipbooks Theme Activities - Printable and Digital Versions Inference Activities - Printable and Digital Versions 5th Grade Language Review 5th Grade Language Posters Finish the Story! Engaging Narrative Writing Center
Google Slides - Literacy Activities

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Free Daily Check-In Google Forms for Distance Learning

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Filed Under: Classroom Management and Organization, Digital Resources Note: The PDF now includes links to Weekly Check-Ins as well! One of the hardest parts about distance learning is not being able to see and talk with our students on a regular basis.

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MI - Best Practices for SEMS Virtual Meetings (2020)

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MI - Participant Tips for Virtual Meetings (2020)

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WI-169 Sample Virtual IEP Meeting Checklist

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Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings

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Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings

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WI-167 Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings PPT (4-12-2020)

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Questions and Answers from SPED meeting 4-2-2020

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FERPA and Coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions_0 (1)

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IEP Flowchart - Distance Learning (detailed)

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IEP Flowchart - Distance Learning (detailed)

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IEP Flowchart Distance Learning - (Brief)

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IEP Flowchart Distance Learning - (Brief)

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SPED HPM Continuity of Learning Guidance 20207.15.20

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Considerations for  Transportation - COVID 19

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Considerations for  Transportation - COVID 19

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SPED HPM Considerations to Transportation

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SPED HPM Model of Learning Checklist7.29.20

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Guam ESY Summer 2020 Guidance Plan 6.17.20

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Guam ESY Summer 2020 Guidance Plan 6.17.20

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25 Fun Games to Play on Zoom | Virtual Zoom Games for Teachers, Friends, and Families

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By Linda S. Futch (Department Head, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida) The next offering of BlendKit 2015: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer begins on Februrary 23, 2015, with a 30-minute orientation session at 2:00 p.m. (US EDT; -4 UTC) and lasts five weeks. The open course will be offered at no cost. ... Continue reading BlendKit2015: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer >>

Starting February 22, Join Rohan and Baiyun as we kickoff BlendKit 2016 - Learn more and enroll here: https://www.canvas.net/courses/becoming-a-blended-learning-designer-2/. Continue reading It's that time of year again! Enroll into BlendKit 2016! >>

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Blended Learning Toolkit | Just another WordPress site

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By Linda S. Futch (Department Head, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida) The next offering of BlendKit 2015: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer begins on Februrary 23, 2015, with a 30-minute orientation session at 2:00 p.m. (US EDT; -4 UTC) and lasts five weeks.

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This resource offers tips to support your child's learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Este recurso también está disponible en español: Padres: Apoyo del aprendizaje durante la pandemia del COVID-19.

Note: Getting around an IRIS Module is a snap. Click on the 1 in the graphic below to begin. Then follow the links at the bottom of each page or on the left side of your screen.

Work through the sections of this module in the order presented in the STAR graphic above.

Related to this module

Copyright 2021 Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved.

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Parents: Supporting Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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This resource offers tips to support your child's learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Este recurso también está disponible en español: Padres: Apoyo del aprendizaje durante la pandemia del COVID-19. Note: Getting around an IRIS Module is a snap. Click on the 1 in the graphic below to begin.

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Supporting Learning

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Challenge

View the movie below. When you're done, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page (time: 1:47).

Transcript: Challenge

Narrator: Parents, by now, you know the drill: Learning from home has plenty of challenges. Ahhh, yes. That slow internet connection.

"I got it! I got it! I figured out those dance moves! What are you doing right now? Nothing? Good. Watch! I'll show you!"

You've finally figured out why your 4th-grader stares blankly at you when you use words like borrow and carry. The "new" math term is regrouping. As you sit down together to tackle the next set of problems, an alert pops up on your screen-you are being asked to log in to an unscheduled video conference for work.

Distractions, tech issues, 4th-grade math...all over the world, parents are doing their best to meet the challenge of supporting their children's education in a time when schools are forced to adapt in response to COVID-19.

Maybe your school is open but at reduced capacity so your child is only there a few days a week. Maybe your school has moved to distance learning or mailing lesson packets to your home. Or maybe your school is doing some combination of these or something else entirely.

Regardless of your situation, use this resource to learn about some simple, common-sense suggestions and strategies that cover a wide range of circumstances and student needs

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View the movie below. When you're done, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page (time: 1:47). Transcript: Challenge Narrator: Parents, by now, you know the drill: Learning from home has plenty of challenges. Ahhh, yes. That slow internet connection. "I got it! I got it!

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Instructional Modality Checklists.  Guidelines for Implementation

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Instructional Modality Checklists.  Guidelines for Implementation

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Appendix B-Checklist of Guidelines for Implementation LTmess

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Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings

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Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings

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WI-167 Parent Friendly and Productive Virtual IEP Meetings PPT (4-12-2020)

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19 illness. More information on Are you at higher risk for serious illness.

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Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others

You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.

Everyone should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public, for example to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities.
Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected.

Do NOT use a facemask meant for a healthcare worker.

Continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Prevention & Treatment

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Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19 illness. More information on Are you at higher risk for serious illness. head side mask light icon You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.

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This resource provides a visual guide for individuals with autism about wearing a mask to avoid spreading germs. The resource includes why it’s important to wear a mask, as well as information about how to safely wear and remove masks. The resource is translated into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Arabi…