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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Organization Binder :: Covers & Spine Labels

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Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :)

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart
Birthday Page
Class List
Meeting Organizer
Checklist
IEP Accommodations Cheat Sheet
Monthly Calendar
Weekly Schedule
Notes Pages

And last but not least.....drum roll.....covers and spine labels for your binder! There are a total of 7 warm covers, and 7 cool covers, which you can also use as section divides to further personalize your binder. In addition, there area matching spine labels in a range of designs and sizes. All have decorative borders with blank space in the middle for you to customize the title of your binder (or add some photos!)

Here are the links to the warm-colored ones:

Warm Cover

Spine Labels Warm

And the cool ones:

Cool Cover

Spine Labels Cool

Enjoy!

These free binder posts will be up until midnight on July 31st. Beginning in August, all of these pages will be available in a single bundle at my TpT store, so if you've missed them here, you can still get them! Have a wonderful school year :)

Like the backgrounds? You can get them here!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Organization Binder :: Notes Pages

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Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart
Birthday Page
Class List
Meeting Organizer
Checklist
IEP Accommodations Cheat Sheet
Monthly Calendar
Weekly Schedule

The last pages I have for you are pages for notes! They're in 3 dotted designs and you can print as many as you need! Stay tuned for colorful covers and spine labels next :)

Here are links to the warm-colored ones:

Notes 1 Warm

Notes 2 Warm

Notes 3 Warm

And the cool ones:

Notes 1 Cool

Notes 2 Cool

Notes 3 Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Organization Binder :: Calendar & Weekly Schedule

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Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart
Birthday Page
Class List
Meeting Organizer
Checklist
IEP Accommodations Cheat Sheet

What binder is complete without some calendar pages!? Well, you're in luck! I've included blank ones that can be used year after year to help you organize your work life a month at a time. In addition, I've also included a weekly schedule sheet. Many school require their staff to provide a copy of their weekly schedule to administrators or put outside their classroom so people can know where to find them, and this is all ready for you to fill in - complete with your own custom times on the side and events under each day.

Here are links to the warm-colored ones:

Calendar Warm

Weekly Schedule Warm

 

And the cool ones:

 

Calendar Cool

 

Weekly Schedule Cool

 

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Monday, July 22, 2013

New Product :: Small Dot Digital Backgrounds

Small Dot Digital Backgrounds

If you've been looking for a way to spice up some of your TeachersPayTeachers or homemade classroom activities, check out my new Small Dot Background Bundle!  It includes 132 different backgrounds in PNG format, so they can be scaled to fit any sized project. It also matches my ChevronStriped, Large Dot, and Medium Dot Backgrounds so you can have consistency in your projects! And because you're all awesome, loyal blog readers, you can get 3 of them for free!

Enjoy :)

Yellow

Red

Blue

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Organization Binder :: IEP Accommodations Cheat Sheet

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Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart
Birthday Page
Class List
Meeting Organizer
Checklist

My next pages are something I use CONSTANTLY! Whenever I get to an IEP, I swear I get a brain freeze any time I'm trying to write in accommodations. It's ridiculous because I've probably done it several hundred times, but I always feel like I'm forgetting something. Finally, I just made a giant list for myself to refer to when I get stuck! This page includes several commonly-used IEP accommodations and modifications  as well as lines to add your own!

Here's a link to the warm-colored one:

Accommodations Cheat Sheet Warm

And the cool one:

Accommodations Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Organization Binder :: Checklist and Meeting Organizers

Blog Entry Preview

Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart
Birthday Page
Class List

My next pages are for organizing upcoming meeting dates and to do's. Each can help you keep track of the numerous IEP, RtI, or faculty meeting dates for the upcoming month, as well as lay out short, medium, and long-term things you need to accomplish. I'm going to be honest, the checklist pages are some of my favorite so far. I often find myself getting so overwhelmed with the number of tasks I have to organize at once at school, and being able to divide them into different categories helps me prioritize and be more efficient. I hope it helps you too!

Here are links to the warm-colored ones:

Meetings Warm

Checklist Warm

And the cool ones:

Meetings Cool

Checklist Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Tips & Tricks :: Depression

Depression

This summer, I've been writing a blog series focusing on several different disorders that affect children at school: ADHD, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, and ODD. Each entry describes the disorder, gives practical strategies for improving success at school, and also provides a few social-emotional goals and accommodations that might be appropriate for students with special education services!

Next up is Depression. Unfortunately or fortunately, Major Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and continues to become more and more common in school settings. However, even though it is becoming more and more common, many school staff still have a difficult time knowing what to do in order to help students with Depression. Major depression severely affects a person's relationships, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, as well as general health. It is characterized by episodes of all-encompassing low mood as well as low self-esteem and reduced interest in normally enjoyable activities. If left untreated, severe Depression can also lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.

Symptoms:

The following symptoms are generally experienced for several weeks or months. If they are experienced following a major life change, death, or serious illness, doctors may diagnose Adjustment Disorder instead.

  • Very low mood thoughout all areas of live (children may experience moodiness or irritability instead)

  • Decreased interest in previously enjoyed activities

  • Thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt or regret

  • Feelings of hopelessness, or that life keeps getting worse and worse

  • In severe cases, symptoms of psychosis such as delusions or hallucinations

  • Poor concentration and memory

  • Withdrawal from social situations and activities

  • Thoughts of death or suicide

  • Physical complains such as stomachache or headache (very common in children)

  • Changes in eating or sleeping habits


Suggestions:

  • Contact the child's doctor if medication is to be given at school to make sure you have up-to-date dosage and administration instructions. However, don't tell a parent "your child needs to be on medication." You can encourage them to talk about concerns they may have with their child's doctor, but put your school in a vulnerable position if you start doling out medical advice!

  • Encourage the student to get involved in extra curricular or sports activities in order to boost their confidence and self-esteem

  • Acknowledge a child's view of things as being true for them. Don't tell them they'll "get over it" or minimize their feelings and experiences as being "no big deal." It's a big deal to them!

  • Teach students what different emotions "feel like" to their body to help them identify when they may be feeling depressed

  • Help students to understand that emotions range from mild to intense and improve students' vocabulary of various emotion words to express their feelings to others

  • If parents approve, teach older students facts about what Depression is as well as statistics about the disorder to help normalize their experiences and help them feel less "weird" or "different."

  • Provide group or individual counseling-type services to help students combat several types of irrational thinking seen during times of depression. If you need materials, check out this Positive Thinking Pack.

  • Take any threats or discussion of suicide seriously. If in doubt, contact your local suicide help line and be sure to contact the students' parents.

  • Attempt to meet students' physical needs at school as much as possible (providing school supplies if their family cannot afford them, giving a quiet place to recollect themselves if they are having a rough day, etc.)

  • Teach appropriate coping strategies by role playing appropriate ways to handle stress or anxiety


Sample Goals

  • Given a real life or story scenario, Joey will increase his ability to recognize and label emotions in himself from correctly identifying happy, sad, mad, scared to correctly labeling embarrassed, overwhelmed, anxious, and frustrated.

  • Given relaxation training, Max will improve his emotional regulation skills from yelling and becoming physically aggressive when upset to taking deep breaths, relaxing tense muscles, and moving to a quiet place when upset with no more than 1 adult prompt.

  • Given instruction regarding Depression, Sarah will increase her knowledge of Depression from not knowing any information about it to listing facts regarding prevalence, symptoms, and treatment independently.


Sample Accommodations:

  • Provide a private, quiet place for calming down when irritated or upset

  • Allow students to use cue cards or other visual tools to express their feelings if they struggle with verbal expression

  • Give breaks or extended time if you can tell the student is having a particularly difficult day


If you're looking for activities for your students, check out my Anger and Coping Skills Card DeckPositive Thinking Pack,  and Social Skills Cards: Feelings Pack Freebie! You can also check out my Pinterest Boards for Feelings, Self Esteem, and Mental Health for even more ideas!

Thanks to Wikipedia for contributing to this article!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Organization Binder :: Birthday and Class List Pages

Blog Entry Preview

Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages
Gradebook
Seating Chart

My next pages are for organizing birthdays and your class list. The birthdays page is pretty self-explanatory, but the class list sheet is a great "at-a-glance page" that has space for frequently-needed information such as parent names and phone numbers, as well as notes, allergies, or other important information for all your students.

Here are links to the warm-colored ones:

Birthdays Warm

Class List WarmAnd the cool ones:

Birthdays Cool

Class List Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Organization Binder :: Gradebook & Seating Charts

Blog Entry Preview

Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets
Student Information Pages

If you're still following along, my next 2 pages are gradebook sheets and a page where you can draw your own custom seating charts!

Here are links to the warm-colored ones:

Gradebook

Seating Chart Warm

And the cool ones:

Gradebook Cool

Seating Chart Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

New Product :: Medium Dot Digital Backgrounds

Medium Dot Digital Background

If you've been looking for a way to spice up some of your TeachersPayTeachers or homemade classroom activities, check out my new Medium Dot Background Bundle!  It includes 132 different backgrounds in PNG format, so they can be scaled to fit any sized project. It also matches my ChevronStriped, and Large Dot Backgrounds so you can have consistency in your projects! And because you're all awesome, loyal blog readers, you can get 3 of them for free!

Enjoy :)

Lime

Raspberry

Yellow

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Organization Binder :: Student Information Pages

Blog Entry Preview

Lately, I've seen a huge amount of teacher organization binders on Pinterest and teacher blogs. Unfortunately, they aren't meant to be used by most special education teachers, counselors, or social workers - they're all organized for classroom teachers. So, over the course of the next few weeks, I'm making one for the rest of us :) When it's done in August, I'll add it to my TpT Store, but until then, follow along and you can download them here for free!

So far, you've missed:

Group Organizer
User Name & Password Keeper
IEP Tracker
Service Log
Lesson Planning Sheets

My next pages are for individual student data! The front contains places for all the usual stuff: name, address, parent contacts, etc. The back has space for a brief overview of their IEP. Great for aids or subs that don't need to know everything about a student, but should know accommodations, the case manager, or other important details.

Here's a link to the warm-colored ones:

Student Info Front Warm

StudentInfo Back Warm

And the cool ones:

Student Info Front Cool

Student Info Back Cool

Enjoy!

Like the backgrounds? You can get them at my store here!