It's so important to have a plan for your personal center! The "teacher center," often called direct instruction center, "teacher time" or "work with teacher," also needs a plan. We often forget about our own center because we tend to prioritize the other adult-led centers ensuring they are prepped and paras know what to do. So when it's time to teach at our center, we end up scrambling to find activities that meet our students' unique needs. When planning out your direct instruction station, you need to decide the type of instruction you will provide and then you can create a simple lesson plan for the skills you will teach and the materials needed.

When planning for direct instruction, you will first need to decide on the type of instruction: 1:1 or group instruction. There is typically a group of 2-4 students in your direct instruction station. It's pretty rare that this group of students has the same needs, present levels, and IEP goals and objectives. So you need to make a decision on how you will teach the group: Do you need to work 1:1 with each student or can you do a group lesson?

To make this decision, think about the group of students in each of your direct instruction centers. Is there a student in a group who is unable to attend to a full group lesson? By attend, I mean can they stay within the center and participate successfully when given appropriate accommodations and modifications within the group? If you have a student who is not yet able to attend while in a small group lesson, you will need to do 1:1 instruction. Here are some steps to implement 1:1 instruction while hosting a group of students at your center:

• Prep independent activities for each student

• When you are working 1:1 with one student, give the other students independent work

• Switch the 1:1 student every ___ minutes (Divide the center duration by the number of students in the group)

• Create an organization system with all of your materials directly behind you or beside you (we'll talk about this next week!)

If all your students are able to attend during a small group lesson, teach the lesson to the entire group. You can differentiate the work that comes after the lesson. Ensure each student has a way to participate throughout the lesson. This is a great opportunity to embed some of those group work and social skills!

• District curriculum

• DTT

• IEP Objectives

• STAR Media Center activities from Themes First, such as:

• Books from circle time

• Group activities

• Independent work

• Communication skills

• Replacement behaviors/Self-regulation

• Social Skills

In the direct instruction center, it is possible to teach a variety of skills during the 10-20 minutes your students are with you. For example, if you are teaching academic IEP goals during your center, you can also incorporate communication and self-regulation goals. If you are teaching district curriculum, you can also work on academic IEP goals. The trick to target all these skills within one session is to plan! Note: This is more advanced! If you are new to creating plans for a direct instruction center, focus on what you will actually be teaching.

Regardless of individual or small group lessons, create a simple weekly or monthly plan so you know what you're teaching every day. Below is an example of a simple weekly plan for the purple group in the direct instruction center. In this example, the direct instruction provided is on IEP objectives during teacher time. The two students in this group need 1:1 direct instruction, so the plan includes what they will do with the teacher and what they will do independently while their classmate is working with the teacher. Next week, we will go over how to organize these materials so they are accessible during instruction.

You can find a customizable weekly lesson plan template along with a monthly lesson plan template in the Resources section.

If you are in the more advanced stages of planning, you can create a lesson plan that lists possible incidental skills that may come up during the course of the center. An example is provided below.

Start by deciding what type of instruction will occur for each group of students. Once you decide on the type of instruction, create a weekly lesson plan that lists the activity and the materials needed.

When you are comfortable with creating a weekly lesson plan, consider adding additional pieces to your lesson plan, like incidental learning opportunities, how students will communicate their understanding, and "Plan B" situations. You can also move to planning an entire month of instruction.

Check out the Amazing Construction unit in Themes First!, which includes 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.

Link to Amazing Construction Theme Calendar

The latest Themes First! release, World in Bloom, will be ready for prepping on March 9th!

⭐⭐ ⭐ Tip: Print all the activities you plan to use for the upcoming month as soon as they become available. Put printed activities in a "prep" area equipped with a laminator, file folders, Velcro, labels, and baggies. If you have a large laminator, laminate all the activities at once! When you and your team have a few minutes to spare, laminate, cut, and Velcro. It helps to organize activities in trays by "Needs to be Prepped" and "Finished." Don't forget to teach your team how to prep the activities and to model this new expectation.

Date/Time: March 5th, 2024 from 3:00-4:30

Where: Virtual

Cost: Free

Join us on March 5th, 2024 for the next EBP webinar! The topic will be on promoting AAC use in the classroom. Make sure you subscribe to the ASD listserv or follow the MN ASD Educators Facebook page to get update information on this training and other upcoming opportunities!

Date/Time: May 7th, 2024 from 3:00-4:30

Where: Virtual

Cost: Free

Join us for our last ASD EBP Webinar (formally known as STAR Webinars) of the 2023-2024 school year! During this webinar, Michele Glynn, ASD Specialist, will discuss using simple video modeling, modeling, and peer modeling to practice and promote positive behaviors that support student engagement and learning.

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.

Use the link below to ask questions about this week's Tuesday Tips 'N' Tricks and/or give suggestions on future topics.

Paraprofessional Training Series

Para Training Series: Step One: Define Roles

Para Training Series: Step Two: Creating a Team Mindset

Para Training Series: Step Three, Part 1: Planning

Para Training Series: Step Three, Part 2: Planning

Para Training Series: Step Four: Training

Para Training Series: Next Steps

Classroom Set Up Series

Classroom Set Up: The Why

Classroom Set Up: Visually and Physically Defining Your Layout

Classroom Set Up: Classroom Schedules

Classroom Set Up: Para Schedules

Classroom Set Up: Individual Schedules

Classroom Set Up: Individual Schedules FAQ

Classroom Set Up: Visual Supports

Classroom Set Up: Teaching Visual Supports

Classroom Set Up: Creating Visual Supports

Classroom Set Up: Teaching Routines and Expectations

Classroom Set Up: Routines and Expectations

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