As special educators, we often feel obligated to do more than our job requires. The job description becomes blurrier and blurrier with time as we get more job responsibilities tacked on with time–you know you can do that Educational Testing, write that report, and work with kids in small groups, all while following an inclusion […]
Teresa
Teresa Cooper is a 30-something divorced mom and teacher from North Carolina. She has a Masters of Science in Education for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University and a BA in Psychology with a minor in Creative from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Having struggled with anxiety and depression most of her life and later having birthed a child with autism, she is passionate about spreading awareness and acceptance of mental illness and autism. After 13 years in education, she has a wealth of knowledge to share on education and bonding with children.
Posted inInstructional Strategies, Special Education
How to Implement Successful Differentiation Strategies
As a special education teacher, I see differentiation going on all the time, but that doesn’t mean that teachers always know that they’re doing it or what differentiation means. I hope that with this infographic, teachers not only will see how to implement successful differentiation strategies, but understand what the word means. So, for all […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies, Special Education
Money Talks: Classroom Incentives That Work
Let’s go ahead and get real right here and now. You probably have a handful of kids in your classroom who are intrinsically motivated. We can lament all day long about yesterday’s kids and how we used to just do our homework because the teacher said so and complain about the fact that kids these […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies, Mathematics, Special Education
Using Food to Teach Fractions: Math You Can Eat
Like most students I teach, my students all got taught multiplying fractions the classic way. You multiply the numerator by the numerator and the denominator by the denominator. You either learn the method or you don’t (just like any other procedural method you learn in math). Many kids take to concrete methods of learning better […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies, School Improvement, Special Education
What's the Difference? IEP vs 504 Plan
As a special education teacher, it seems that this topic comes up a lot. Inquiring minds want to know…when deciding what’s best for your child, which plan do you go with? Does it matter whether your child has an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) or a 504 Plan? And what do those words really even mean? […]
Posted inFeatured, Literacy, Special Education
5 Strategies to Help the Struggling Readers in the Special Education Setting
Everywhere you look, it seems a new program has sprung up to help the struggling reader in the classroom. More and more children, it seems, get referred for special education services because of reading deficits. So what can you do in the classroom to help? You could ask your RTI specialist, your special education teacher, […]
Posted inFeatured, Special Education
What to Expect During a Manifestation Determination Review
Last week, TER writer and educator Paula Glass wrote an article about how daunting a Manifestation Determination can be from an educator’s standpoint. The consequences of such a meeting weigh heavily on everyone involved, from the student all the way back to the educator in the classroom. For that reason, it’s extremely important that when you […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Special Education
Teaching with Music: Why it Works
When I play a Flocabulary video, my students groan, but then sit back in their seats and start bobbing their heads to the beat. The mega-minds that started that website now really made a gold mine out of that company. Teaching with music? Genius! I knew when I began teaching seven years ago that my students […]