Maintaining a clean and organized autism classroom can be a real challenge, especially at the beginning of the year. Our classrooms require various tools and resources tailored to meet the individual needs of our students, so it’s easy for the space to become chaotic by the end of the day. This cluttered environment not only hampers focus for our students and staff, but can also contribute to feelings of sensory overload, leading to dysregulated behavior. Resetting spaces is crucial for fostering a supportive learning atmosphere.

An incredible team from the Southern Plains Education Cooperative developed reset checklists for various areas of the classroom. Each checklist features a visual representation of how the area should look once it's reset, along with a step-by-step list of tasks to achieve that. While designed primarily for adults, these visuals also serve as an excellent teaching tool for students, helping them learn to clean and reset their space independently—something I absolutely love! Below, you’ll find examples of the checklists created for a teacher at Blue Earth Elementary. These checklists were printed, laminated, and displayed in their respective areas.

Reset checklists can be utilized at the end of the day or as your team and students prepare to leave a specific area. You can check or initial the boxes with a dry-erase marker, or simply use them as a reference—it's entirely up to you and your team. Students can engage with these checklists as they exit the space or as part of their end-of-day classroom job. Regardless of how you choose to implement them, it's essential to clearly communicate the expectations to your team, ensuring everyone knows their role in the process.

If you're interested in creating reset checklists for your classroom, I've created an editable template in the Resource section. Just create a copy to start making your own checklists!

Thank you to the amazing Southern Plains Education Cooperative team for allowing me to share these visuals and to Stephanie Bovy for doing a fantastic job creating them for the team at Blue Earth Elementary.

Check out the Hometown Helpers 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.

The next Themes First! release, Monster World, is ready to prep!

💡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. Check out the How to Prep a Month-Long Themes First! Unit below.

Feel free to contact me with 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.

2023-2024 Tuesday Tips & Tricks Newsletters

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