Classroom Set Up

I hope everyone had a relaxing summer! Can you believe it is already the end of August? This is an exciting, yet stressful time. We are all experiencing a wide range of emotions. I hope everyone is giving themselves grace and remembering that we can't do it all right now-- we need to take small steps!

We want to thank everyone who participated in the Tuesday Tips 'N' Tricks survey last spring! This information will help us address the topics you want to learn more about. We've included the survey results below if you are curious about what others are interested in. If you didn't get the opportunity to fill out the survey but would like your voice heard, click HERE to fill it out.

Moving forward, Tuesday Tips 'N' Tricks will be sent in this newsletter format. This will allow us to directly link past Tips 'N' Tricks, keep content delivery consistent, and increase accessibility.

Now is the time of the year when classroom setup is at the front of our minds. It's what most of us are doing or thinking about at this very moment! Classroom setup lays the foundation for a successful school year by defining spaces, setting expectations, and establishing routines. This month, we will discuss setting up your classroom to create a structured, proactive, and positive environment through a thoughtful classroom layout, schedules for all, visuals, and explicitly teaching routines and expectations.

Creating a classroom environment that is thoughtful, structured, and proactive is an evidence-based practice called antecedent-based interventions. By creating a structured environment, we are setting our students up for success from the minute they walk into the building! It leads to less anxiety, frustration, and behaviors that stem from these big emotions. It also leads to less stress and frustration for you and your staff! Once established, you will spend more time providing quality instruction to your students. DISCLAIMER: It doesn't matter how positive, proactive, and thoughtful we are in our classroom setup; there will always be challenging situations, but they will drastically decrease!

We can create a structured environment through four main steps:

1. Creating a classroom layout that is visually and physically defined
2. Providing, teaching, and using schedules for EVERYONE
3. Providing, teaching, and using visual supports
4. Explicitly teaching routines and expectations

Over the next four weeks, you'll receive tips, tricks, and resources to implement these four steps.

Next Tuesday, we'll discuss creating a classroom layout with visually and physically defined spaces. Until then, here is a survey you can send to your families to learn more about them and your students!

Check out the Back-to-School Theme's First Unit! Theme units include original songs, books, and activities that support students’ skill development and generalization with content that’s fun, accessible, and theme-based. These monthly units now include an expanded Social Studies suite, containing fun, theme-related activities that reinforce cultural engagement. Included in all Themes First! units are lessons, activities, and worksheets for group and independent work at a wide range of levels.

Date/Time: October 3rd, 2023 from 3:00-4:30 PM

Where: Virtual

Description: Join us for the first ASD EBP Webinar (formally known as STAR Webinars) of the 2023-2024 school year! During this webinar, we will discuss strategies to train paraprofessionals to provide individualized instruction in the classroom. Topics will include creating training time, creating paraprofessional schedules, and training paraprofessionals to run centers/stations. 1.5 CEUs will be provided.

Date/Time: October 25th, 2023 from 4:00-5:00 PM

Where: Virtual

Description: Take your classroom set up a step further by setting up structured centers in your classroom. Topics include different types of centers, setting up each center, teaching students to rotate through centers, and teaching paras to run centers.1CEU will be provided.

Feel free to contact me for any questions or concerns via email or phone. I'm also available to chat via Zoom Mondays from 7:30-8:00 AM and 3:00-3:30 PM. If these times do not work for your schedule, please email me and we will find a time that will work for both of us.

Tuesday Tips 'N' Tricks is made possible by Minnesota Low Incidence Projects