Life Skill Lessons

Hi TA’s,

Welcome to Room 3 as a Teacher’s Assistant. Below is your “job” when in the classroom. If you have any questions, please let us know. We are here to help you help us.

Please sign that you read your responsibilities:

1st period: Group Meeting

2nd period: LA/Reading

3rd period: PE/APE

4th period: Math/Mainstreaming

5th period: Science/Math

6th period: LIfe Skill

I know how difficult it can be to help kiddos learn to dress appropriately, especially with the options available to them. When I student taught, my master teacher enforced appropriate dress code, especially in regard to the boys wearing their pants hanging down by their knees. She had a rule that if their pants weren’t pulled up to the hips/waist, she would gladly give them “Mork from Ork” suspenders to wear for the rest of the day. (Their parents were completely supportive.) You would not believe how many of them learned the value of adding a belt to their wardrobes!

This was an idea from forums.atozteacherstuff.com and I totally agree so I wanted to share with all of you.

This is what it looks like when you first walk in the door.

Student backpack cubbies

The red backpack is for emergencies

The black and white is what I call my RRP “Rage Response Plan backpack. If the students have to leave the room because someone is in a rage, a paraprofessional grabs the backpack and it has items in it to keep them busy.

This is the door to my reading/1:1/library room

Inside the reading room

This shelf is our cooperative games for Fridays

You’re now entering our Kitchen

More kitchen

This door leads to the SH classroom

Math basket games (all life skill math related)

Sink (nothing special)

My desk (I know school hasn’t started yet and it already looks too busy over here)

My paraprofessionals’ desk and student computer center

Small group table

The back shelf is for student accessible materials

“Calendar” activities on the wall!~ Group Meeting is what I’m going to call it this year

Whole class schedule on blue pocket chart

Overhead projector & document camera is usually hooked up to a computer to project webpages

TV/Video stand & Prize boxes

Student desks (last year we were in a U, hoping the pods will work without too much chattering)

Student work systems are velcroed to the desk

Closer look at the worksystem

Side view of their desk with hanging clipboard

Their contract is kept on the clipboard, with any LIfe Skill activities that are needed for the day

Front of the LIme Green Notebook for Comprehension (used during reading time)

Front of the BlackNotebook (used during math time) 

Sensory Sticks

Oral Motor sticks

I just found out that while one of my paraprofessionals is out on sick leave (for the whole year) instead of retiring, I will have to have a sub paraprofessional for the 1:1 position for a blind student. The good news is that the District thought that they would have to send me a paraprofessional when they are not needed at their official school (so there would be days with no one) but they have a full time sub for me. The bad news is that she was my paraprofessional 5 years ago and I had stopped wanting to come to work back then. I’m really struggling with the fact that she has the union rights to stay in my classroom and I have no rights to have her removed. I’ve already written to my principal, the coordinator of special education in charge of paraprofessional placement and the HR director of classified and the final word this afternoon was that she HAS to come to me.

Last year I sent my paraprofessionals a challenge to find that student that they weren’t paying attention to and purposefully give him/her that extra positive attention. At the end of the first month, I asked them to tell me how it went and how it made them feel without telling me who they worked on. They all loved it and decided to continue with that student and picked a second for the next month.

I then told them who I thought they were working with by the observations that I saw in the student’s changes. I was right with which students but not with who had focused on who. The important thing was that it was a positive experience for everyone. Those students who needed the extra attention finally got it.

The Director of Transportation, Pete, has worked out a schedule that will allow both SH class and my MH class at my school to go over to their High School on Fridays to join the High School APE class for their dance session. After the dance session our APE teacher plans to take us in the pool for a swim lesson (given good weather).

Pete was able to make this happen last year, also, with no cost to our classes. He tacked it on to the end of his bus drivers routes so that it was part of their typical Friday routine. It’s wonderful when people work together as a team.

At the end of last year, the High School put on a special Prom for all the Moderate & Severe classes in the district. This dance/swim session each week was the perfect practice for preparing for the big event.