Sale :: Cyber Monday + Tuesday!

Visit my TeacherspayTeachers store today and tomorrow and enter the code "CMT12" to save 28% on everything!

Student Funnies :: My Portrait

One of my students is a very good artist. She drew me the following picture of myself today. I do have to say, she gives me much to much credit for being able to walk in heeled boots and grow Repunzel-esque hair!  Nonetheless, it is proudly hanging in my room now, even if there's no way I can possibly live up to it!

Student Funnies :: My leg...

Student: My leg is swollen. I have to go to the hospital after school to get it x-rated.

Me: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!

Me (thinking): I didn't realize hospitals were doing that now. They really are becoming full-service!

New Product :: Graphic Organizer Pack

I don't know you, but one of the more frustrating things about working with students with ADD or ADHD is how difficult it is to teach them executive functioning skills, you know, things like problem solving, prioritization, planning, organization, and working memory!

And I think part of the difficulty for me was that I wasn't really ever trained how to teach these things! I mean, I'm a social worker! I'll give you charts, coping strategies, visual schedules, blah blah blah...but teaching a kid organization?  Can't they just LEARN to keep their desk clean and take notes like everyone else?

And right there's the key...they CAN'T just learn "like everyone else."

By the nature of ADD and ADHD, these students' brains can be a place where information gets misfiled, forgotten, and confused (if it even gets through their ears to begin with!) We can't just tell a student with attention difficulties information and expect them to process, store, and remember it. School is often an auditory place, but it's just not going to happen! Even students that make medication that may help them focus don't necessarily "magically" gain executive functioning skills.

So this is where I came in. Ideally, executive functioning skills are taught to every student, in the context of a great general curriculum. But we all know that ideally and realistically aren't always the same thing. So I ended up with tons of kids who couldn't organize information in their brains and as a result had a really difficult time learning.

After a lot of trial and error, I learned that graphic organizers are HUGELY helpful for kids with ADD and ADHD (and really, most kids!) The only thing is, most graphic organizers were SUPER boring and very specific for a certain subject. I wanted general graphic organizers that I could use for everything from academic subjects to relationships and life situations.

So I made my own :) I put some of them into my Organization Activities for Students with ADHD, but here are 26 of them! In addition to being usable for any subject or situation, they're also super colorful and can hold students' attention a lot easier than plain old boring black and white.

One thing I did (that saved me tons of colored ink), was print them in color and laminate them. Then, students can fill them out in my room with dry erase marker, I can make a copy to keep or give to them, and then erase them for the next week or the next kid.

Here is what's included:

- Lined 3-Column Chart
- Unlined 3-Column Chart
- Answer Organization Sheet
- Cause & Effect
- Lined 2-Column Chart
- Unlined 2-Column Chart
- 4-Step Cycle
- 5-Step Cycle
- Fact & Opinion
- Cause & Effect Fishbone
- Idea Web
- 4-Section Wheel
- 8-Section Wheel
- Triangle Chart
- Inverted Triangle Chart
- Main Idea Web
- Positives & Negatives
- The Five 5’s Table
- 5 Senses Chart
- 3-Step Sequence
- 6-Step Sequence
- Story Parts Organizer
- 2-Part Venn Diagram
- 3-Part Venn Diagram
- Organization Web

Enjoy :)

New Product :: Organization Activities for Students with ADHD

This year, millions more students will be diagnosed with ADHD. In fact, I'd venture to say it is one of THE most common disorders teachers and special education staff come across (second only perhaps to Learning Disabilities).

While these students often struggle with demonstrating appropriate behavior at school, ADD and ADHD often causes even more difficulties with executive functioning and organization. Often, students struggle with picking important details out of situations and stories, sequencing events, organizing information they encounter in life and in lessons, and maintaining a positive self-esteem. Usually, a student's "hyper" behavior will decrease as they age, but these difficulties remain.

The interesting thing, is that the disruptive behaviors many of my students have had, have actually decreased on their own after we've been able to address the cognitive difficulties, especially in 4-6 grades!  Cool huh?

Along the way, I've made a whole lot of my own activities for my students. This download is a collection of a lot of these executive functioning activities. Enjoy it free here until 11/3 for all of you loyal readers!  After that, it'll be available here. It contains:

Activities Include:

Graphic Organizers:
- 3-Step Sequence
- 6-Step Sequence
- Contrast Table
- Idea Web
- Main Idea Organizer
- Weekly Organizer
- Answer Organizer
- Venn Diagram

Sequencing Activities:
- Making a Pizza
- Making a Snowman
- Washing Your Hands
- Making Microwave Popcorn
- Getting Ready for School

Other Activities:
- Behavior Remote Control
- Lesson Organization Sheet
- Space Reminder Foot Mat
- Self-Esteem Booster Sheet
- On-Task or Off-Task Checklist

Enjoy!!

New Product :: 180 Social Skills Cards: The Ultimate Pack

This is a follow-up post to the freebie Feelings Cards I just posted recently! I created this social skills curriculum after realizing that many of the best curricula out there just break down complex social skills into small steps for students. This download includes all 180 cue cards (with decorative card backs) for 30 different social skills from the following card packs:

Each skill is broken down into the mental and physical skills needed to carry out the task successfully, so that they can be taught individually. Cards include visuals for students that cannot read. A few cards are left blank to be customized if needed.

Skills Include:
- Tattling and Reporting
- Dealing with Anger
- Identifying Emotions
- Apologizing
- Setting a Goal
- Dealing with Peer Pressure
- Following Directions
- Choosing Friends
- Starting a Conversation

and 21 more!

As a special thank you to all of you followers, get it here free for the next week! After that, it'll be available on my TpT store :)

Fun Freebie :: Social Skills Cards: Feelings Pack

Many social skills curricula take basic social skills and break them into small steps for students to learn individually. Unfortunately, many of those are quite expensive and if your school is anything like mine, administrators aren't flooding your offices with money to spend. So, I made my own! This pack is available for free on TeacherspayTeachers and contains skill cards for 5 crucial empathy and emotional regulation skills (30 cards in all with decorative card backs):

1. Expressing Your Feelings
2. Dealing with Stress
3. Dealing with Anger
4. Identifying Others' Feelings
5. Responding to Others' Negative Feelings

Each skill is broken down into the mental and physical skills needed to carry out the task successfully, so that they can be taught individually. Cards include visuals for students that cannot read. I use these cards with almost all my social skills groups, but I've noticed they work especially well for students with Autism!

If you're interested, I also have 5 other packs available as well, so check out my store and save yourself tons of plan time!