So, when we last talked about universal screeners, we talked about how the information that we get from the beginning of the year data should be taken with some reservation. After all summer slide is a thing, and the kids are more capable than what that test shows. 

     Screener data does give us some good ideas on things that we can review at the beginning of the school year to help get the kids back up to pace quickly.

     The data also gives us a good starting point for making goals for our students this year.

What is the most basic skill your student is weak in? That is your starting point for making goals.

     After you’ve had a chance to really look at the data, and your students, you’ll want to really dig down into the skills that your struggling students have. Figure out what is the most basic skill set that they are weak in.  That skill is the one that you’ll want to work on and progress monitor. Making goals is pretty easy when you know where to start.

     Identifying the skill you are going to work on is half the battle. The next steps are figuring out where the student is right now in that skill set.

     For example, is your student able to read 40 words in a minute, and to be on grade level they need to read 95?

     You could look at that and make your goal: Given an instructional level text, the student will be able to read 60 words in one minute at the end of the first 9 weeks.

Making goals isn’t just about getting kids on grade level.

     Will the student be on grade level at the end of the first 9 weeks?

      Nope, probably not, but if you give a student texts that they can mostly read and start working on fluency, the student will boost their reading fluency a whole lot faster than if you give them texts that are too hard and frustrate them into fighting reading.

     Making goals isn’t just about getting the student on grade level as quickly as possible. It is about giving the student an opportunity to feel success by meeting a goal in an area they struggle in.

      Just like with adults, successfully completing a goal is almost addicting for students. Once the student has met one goal, they are willing to work even harder to meet the next one. We are in this for the long game. Which is getting the student the skills they need for long term success. Yes, we want the student on grade level as soon as possible, but making goals that are impossible isn’t going to make that happen. 

Click here for a guide to making goals quickly and easily.

     Making goals doesn’t have to be hard work.

     Choose a specific skill set the student needs to work on, based on the screener data. Then think carefully about what the student will be able to accomplish in a short time frame. 

     After you’ve made your goals, be sure to monitor your student’s progress so that you can celebrate success together!

Check out the podcast below for more information!

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The post Making Goals from Screener Data appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

I learn differently. 

When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. Dyslexia wasn’t as well known back then. My classroom teacher didn’t know what to do with me. She certainly didn’t know how to deal with my learning differences in the classroom. 

Fortunately, my mom found some tutors for me who did know how to teach me to read. Dyslexia could have been a major impediment to my academic success. It became my biggest strength because those teachers welcomed my learning differences. 

Those teachers turned my learning difference into a strength.

I’ve had many teachers and professors over the years struggle with accommodating my learning difference. It isn’t their fault, and I do not blame them. 

I had a professor once who mentioned how great it would be if every student learned the same way. I humbly disagree.

Ok, no so humbly.

I became a teacher because I didn’t want every day to look the same. Helping students was my goal, but the challenge was what kept me coming back. Trying to figure out how to accommodate all of the students in the classroom made every day interesting.

Teachers have so much to do! Accommodating all of the learning differences in the classroom is an overwhelming thought, and that is without any implementation. But, can you imagine what our classrooms would look like if every student learned the same way?

If every student learned the same way, our classrooms would be boring.

Truth bomb: Even if the curriculum and standards didn’t change, most teachers would change up some aspect of their classroom yearly.

Yes, I said it.

We teachers are always finding new, better ways to reach and teach our students. Changing standards and curriculum, I think, gets in the way of real progress toward meeting student’s needs. 

What drives the changes teachers make year to year? Learning Differences.

What are some easy ways to accommodate learning differences in the classroom?

• Get to know student’s learning styles.
• Provide choices in how students show their learning.
• Play music (classical is really great for focus) during independent practice time.
• Teach students about THEIR learning styles.
• Use my freebie Appreciating Differences to help students learn about their own strengths. 
• Ask your students what lessons they learned the most from, and model future lessons after those.

Want to learn more? Check out my podcast episode for this topic!

The post Learning Differences are Welcome Here appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

     There are many programs for different learning differences out there. Every single one says that they have the answer to learning difficulties. They know what to do to get students back on track in record time.

Teachers hear these claims from interventionists, principals, trainers, even commercials. It all sounds too good to be true.

Honestly, most of the time it is…. This whole system is incredibly frustrating for teachers who just want their students to learn. 

The reality is, the most important factor in whether students make progress is their relationship with their interventionist.

    There have been many studies on this topic, and they all basically have come to the same conclusion….

The program being used, the materials, the teacher training or years of service, socio-economic level, none of these things actually impact whether a student makes progress or not….

     Yes, some may impact where a student starts off their learning, or the rate of progress but the one thing that actually appears to make the most difference is the strength of the relationship between the student and interventionist.

Students who have a good relationship with their interventionist make significantly more progress than those who don’t. In the studies it did not matter what program was used or the socio-economic level of the student. It didn’t matter how far below grade level….the one thing that was best at predicting how much progress a student made was the strength of the relationship between the student and the teacher. The relationship of the student to the teacher determined their progress. 

A story of a teacher who is great at relationship building.

     I have a good friend who teaches high school, and she is fantastic at building good, strong relationships with her students. Even the tough cookies who drive other teachers crazy seem to come around to at least respecting her by the end of the first quarter.

     She prides herself on her ability to form relationships with all of her students. I have seen first-hand how this has made some pretty tough cookies stay in school and care about their grades. She, I believe, has kept several students from dropping out, just by showing her students that she cares.

     Does this mean she wins over every student? Heck no! There are some students who we just don’t jive with or whatever….we won’t be mean to them but the fact is in life, there are some people who we just aren’t going to be able to build a good relationship with….and that is ok. We can still show our students that we care about them. Not every student is going to be our favorite, but every student that comes in our classrooms should know that we care about them.  

Check out the blog post: SEL in All Classrooms for how to incorporate some SEL into your classroom, and start building relationships today!

This teacher saw fantastic growth in her students every year because she understood that relationships determine the progress that students make.

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The post Relationships Determine Progress appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

     If your district is anything like mine, you’ve been fielding a lot more crisis in school. That means dealing with a big increase in behaviors. This is impacting classroom learning…whether you are in person or virtual teaching. Students are struggling with all of the uncertainty that the world threw at us in 2020. Teachers are having to find new and innovative way to deal with their emotional struggles. 

     Students with special needs struggle alongside their typically developing peers. For many general education teachers, this is the first time they have encountered some of the extreme behaviors students exhibit when they are unable to regulate themselves. Many special education teachers are familiar with these behaviors, but are overwhelmed with the volume of students struggling now. 

Is Incorporating SEL in classrooms important?

     SEL is a process that everyone goes through during which we learn to identify and manage our emotions, learn to make and keep healthy relationships, learn to make and keep goals for ourselves, and develop an understanding for who we are and how that impacts how we behave. But what does that really mean? 

     When I think of Social Emotional Learning, I think about all of my students along a continuum of emotional and social skills. Those students who need the most support in this area usually start with just identifying and slowly learning to regulate their emotions. As these skills grow, the students learn how to relate to their peers, as well as adults in their lives, and learn to create healthy relationships with others. Part of this is learning how to communicate effectively, and learning about themselves and how they fit into the world.

How much more important a lesson could we teach students than how to form healthy relationships and figure out where they fit in the world?

     I can hear teachers now saying things like “How do I have time to teach THAT in my already packed day?” or “Ok, yeah it’s important. But that is definitely something that we didn’t teach in schools years ago. Isn’t that something the parents should be teaching?”

And in answer to those teachers…. You are completely right! There is not a true focus to teach these skills in school…. You aren’t going to find these skills delineated in any state standards…and no, this wasn’t explicitly taught years ago..

But, we teach a lot of things now that weren’t taught previously…like the history of racism. Just because it wasn’t taught in the past, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught now. 

Years ago, when students came to school who didn’t fit the behavior mold, who acted out, who didn’t know how to fit into the culture or communicate were either kicked out of school or ostracized.

     The fact is, we have to teach these skills if we are going to help all of our students become successful in school and out. SEL in classrooms is essential, no matter the age or subject/ I’m not saying that it is easy, or that teachers have an abundant amount of time to work on SEL skills, but the alternative isn’t acceptable anymore. 

      I know how frustrating it is to have a student rip apart my classroom; destroy things that I bought with my own money for my students to get to use; hit, kick, and punch me. I know what it is like to go to my car, drive home in silence, and sit in my driveway and ugly cry. 

     There is too much trauma in students lives. There are too many messed up things that these students have seen or been exposed to. They bring all that to school with them and take it out on us….because we are their safe place. We are where they go and act out….usually as a cry for help. Whether it is because of trauma they have experienced, or anxiety they feel about life in general, when they act out, it affects us. It affects our classrooms. The students around them are affected. 

     The solution to all of this isn’t suspension or expulsion…. It isn’t ostracizing these kids…. The only solution that works is teaching them the skills that they need (and currently lack) to deal with the situations they are faced with. SEL in classrooms is the way to solve this problem for so many students. We can’t erase the trauma. We can’t change anything at home in reality…all we as educators can do is create a safe place for these students where they can learn the social and emotional skills they need to be able to face their demons. 

SEL is teaching our students how to face their demons and win.

     It is giving our students the skills they need to be successful, functional adults when they leave the school setting. SEL in classrooms may be optional according to school boards and standards. It isn’t optional if we truly want our students to be successful.

     I encourage you to talk to your school counselor or school mental health person about what resources are available in your school for SEL

     Click the picture to check out how I have incorporated SEL into my classroom for years. 

     I’ve been using my Feelings Journal for many years as a tool to help students practice pieces of SEL. I’ve also taught many lessons over the years about many different emotional or social skills. The lessons vary just as much as the needs our students exhibit. One thing is true across grade and skill levels…. Explicitly teaching a skill has a much greater impact than hinting at the skill. Expecting students to pick up appropriate behaviors by observation just doesn’t work for many students. Our most needy students have way too many things they are trying to figure out and keep under control to be effective observers. So, if you want students to exhibit a behavior, explicitly teach it, practice it, and reinforce it. That is the basis for all teaching…whether it is academics or SEL. 

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     When I first started teaching, I looked at all the other teachers in awe. They were so organized! They know what was coming up, where everything was. They seemed to never miss deadlines or lose track of papers or data.

     Now, as an experienced teacher I realize, they were completely faking it! There is no possible way to never miss a deadline or never lose a paper. There are ways that we can make that a rare occurrence at least.

     It wasn’t until my second year in special education that I started getting organized with my caseload management. I started with binders….huge binders….everywhere. All my work samples went in these binders, copies of IEP snapshots and anything else you can think of. When it came progress report or IEP time, sure I had LOTS of information. It was a nightmare to get through. 

I’m not sure when I started developing my caseload manager in Excel. Over the years I have built an Excel workbook which holds all of my information for my entire caseload for the year. It includes all my important dates, my progress monitoring, creates progress reports, snapshots, accommodation trackers, meeting reminders and so much more for me. It is the hub of everything that I do when I look at my caseload. Obviously, I can’t walk you through creating something that huge. But I will help you get organized so that you can create one of your own if you are interested. Click here if you want to take a look at my Caseload Manager.

What will I need to set up a caseload manager?

     When you are getting ready to set up your caseload manager, you’re going to want a copy or access to the active IEP for your entire caseload. Some of the things you will want is the annual review date, triennial or reevaluation date, eligibility categories, and what all the services and service providers for the student. 

     I suggest that you make your caseload manager digital. It’s much easier to work from home when you can access it on your computer, But the choice is up to you. I like mine digital also because it becomes a living document I update information as I go and  don’t have to reprint lists every time something changes. 

How can I make a caseload manager?

     After you have compiled all of your information sources, make a list of your students, their annual and reeval dates, eligibilities, services and service providers. I did my caseload manager in Excel so that I could link the sheets. Once I type in a piece of information, I never have to type it again. Saving that little bit of time makes me happy. Plus it honestly really bothers me to repeat the same task over and over again. I just don’t think that teachers have time for those shenanigans. With links in Excel, you can connect sheets so that student names auto populate to other sheets. If not, you can retype names in to a new sheet. On the new sheet, I suggest you note the accommodations so that you can have an easy to go through list to tell teachers what accommodations students do or don’t have.

     On another sheet, I do the same thing with goals. By listing out the student’s goals, I have an easy list to look through to figure out what goals I need to be progress monitoring. At the beginning of the semester, I go through the list and gather the materials I’ll need to progress monitor weekly. Again, if you know how to put links into Excel, it can create IEP snapshots for you. I went back and forth so many times on the format for those snapshots in my Caseload Manager, but I finally like the way they came out! My teachers really appreciate getting them at the beginning of the year, or after changes have been made. 

Where can I store my progress monitoring data?

      Create a space to save your progress monitoring data. My caseload manager graphs the data for me when I put it in. That makes it easy to copy and paste the graph into emails to parents or teachers. I also print those graphs to put in with my progress reports.

     The last thing when setting up a caseload manager is to go through your calendar and put in a warning 3 weeks out for every due date. That gives time to get meetings scheduled and notices out in plenty of time. 

     Once you get your caseload manager up and running, it is an easy system to keep up with. It keeps you on track. Again, if all that sounds like more work than you want to put in right now, click here to take a look at my Caseload Manager that is all set up and ready to go for you!

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The post Set up a Caseload Management System appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

     IEPs, and paperwork, goals, and present levels, evaluations, and reports….special education teachers are buried in all the things they have to do. Let’s talk about how to progress monitor IEP goals to make life easier.

      Last week we talked about Teaching IEP Goals. Now we will find easy ways to collect data on that great teaching you’ve done!

       One time-consuming activity is finding ways to collect data on goals that we have written. When we don’t collect that data over the course of the quarter, it really bites us at progress report time. So, this time around, let’s get in good shape to progress monitor the IEP goals and be ready next time progress reports roll around.

How do I start collecting data?

Start by breaking goals into 3 categories: Daily living skills, Executive functioning/behavior, and Academic.

How do I collect data for daily living skills?

     For daily living skills, I use a tracker to write the goal. Use plus or minus symbols to track the instances. For example, if the goal is to wash hands after using the restroom without prompting, I put a minus on the sheet if I needed to prompt the student. If they are successful, write a plus. Do this same process for feeding goals, or any toileting goals. Click the picture for a link to my free data tracker, so make sure you download that to get started in data tracking. 

How do I collect data on behavior?

     For behavior or executive functioning skills, my progress monitoring for IEP goals is very similar. I tend to track these over the course of the week, and will give my general education teachers sheets to track data, in addition to the ones I use in my classroom. For example, if the goal is for the student to write their homework in their planner when prompted in whole-group, the teacher could check when she walks around and if the student needs additional prompts, she would put a minus sign for the day. I like to collect general ed teacher data weekly so that they know that I’m looking at it and expecting to see some results over time. (For more about getting general education teachers involved in IEPs and data collection, check out How to Get Gen Ed Teachers Involved in IEPs.)

My behavior tracking is the same, the teacher (or I) might mark a plus sign when a student uses a break card, or raises their hand without calling out. At the end of the week, I would figure out the success rate and put that in my goal tracker. I’ll talk next week about how I use my goal tracker, but I will say that it has saved my butt several times when I’ve been called into last minute meetings with parents wanting to know why their child is failing Algebra or what-have-you. 

How do I collect academic data?

     For academic goals, obviously data collection looks different based on the skill and grade level. For letter, sight word, or number identification, I use my progress monitoring sheets and materials. My data collection always looks the same over time. This helps me to keep things organized. Also students become comfortable with the assessment format. This helps me know the percent correct is a good reflection of the student’s abilities. For examples of what I use for academic IEP goal progress monitoring, click the photo.

     Whatever way you choose to collect academic data, collect the assessment pieces before you begin. Then you have them ready as you go through the year. Getting them copied or prepared ahead of time, prevents scrambling to find things. Also the students will be more comfortable with the format. I’ve found that changing up the look of assessments can really distract students and can impact their performance.

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    Being a special education teacher is no joke. All the paperwork alone is enough to bury the best of teachers…and unfortunately sometimes the paperwork seems to just take over teachers lives….but on the rare occasions that we do get to actually teach, so many of us are inundated with demands to teach grade level skills. But that is part of the reason that many of our students with special needs are falling further and further behind their grade level peers. We need to teach IEP goals, but how?

     If you are anything like me, you deal with daily pressure to basically make magic happen for our students with special needs. This pressure gets heavier the higher you go in grades….it starts with teaching students to read, but also teach them the more advanced skills they need to pass their grade level benchmarks….and don’t forget to the teach the students about test taking strategies! But, we have goals in IEPs that we need to address too…. It can be so hard to find time to teach IEP goals!

     I’m going to go ahead and say the thing that shouldn’t be said….when we are prioritizing our time….what is more important? Meeting grade level benchmarks or filling in the gaps in foundational learning addressed in the IEP? My absolutely no-question response to this is…Filling in the foundational learning gaps! Fixing the foundational gaps in learning is the only way to actually close the learning gaps between our students, and the students who are on grade level. The fact is, we have to teach the students how to read and understand basic math so that they can begin to understand more advanced concepts, and eventually really learn the grade level concepts. 

     But, this does not fix the time constraints, and the fact is, we want our students to be able to move on with their peers to the next grade… AH! the pressure just makes my head hurt!

So, what do we do?

     When you get to see your students, the first 5-15 minutes needs to be set aside to work on IEP goals…. this could include practicing fluency facts, working on letter sounds, or phonics skills, or maybe even teaching executive functioning skills if that is one of your goals. During that time, giving the student direct instruction that is very short, and to the point is really helpful….then giving just a little bit of practice is needed to solidify the learning. 

     After IEP goal time, you will need to work on grade level learning. Before you jump into this, try to find some way to connect the IEP goal work to the grade level learning. In math, this can be pretty easy. Math fact fluency connects directly with word problems, or place value connects easily with learning about money or regrouping. Finding those connections helps students to understand and value the goal work that you do with them, as well as continue to practice the goal skill while they generalize it to the grade level work that they are doing. 

Why we must prioritize teaching IEP goals

     By prioritizing the IEP goals, we are limiting the amount of time that we can practice the grade level skills…but let’s be honest, how much are the students really going to truly understand the grade level work, if they don’t have the foundational skills they need to build to that level? Yes, the students can make it work, but is that really as beneficial in the long term as getting to really and truly understand the materials being presented? We must prioritize teaching IEP goals if we are going to close learning gaps and help our students be successful.

How wonderful would it be if we could have all the time we need to really close the learning gaps, and help students learn the grade level skills they need?

Someday, I truly hope that special education teachers receive the recognition they deserve for the work that they do…. While we wait for that day to happen, we will have to keep prioritizing our time and figuring out the best way to get as much done as we can. The first step is prioritizing teaching IEP Goals…the rest will follow. 

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The post How to Teach IEP Goals appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

Being a special education teacher is a huge job. Special education teachers impact so many struggling learners. They work tirelessly to create resources, work with student to attain learning goals, support gen ed teachers in teaching behavioral and academic skills, help students in the gen ed settings, coordinate schedules, communicate with teachers, service providers, administrators, and parents… all the things needed to track an IEP Caseload… Their to do list is never ending….and I haven’t even touched on what was the single most stressful aspect or this job for me….the paperwork… there should be a massive crack of thunder when I say that word…or at least it feels that way for me.

For many, paperwork is the most stressful part of being a special education teacher.

Whenever I talk with special ed teachers, and when I was one, the biggest stressor is paperwork. Whether it’s tracking IEP dates, scheduling, writing IEPs, writing reports, tracking data, graphing or reporting data, or the 8 million other things we do to get the paperwork done, it is so much! The weight is just overwhelming and exhausting!

So, how can we reduce this IEP Caseload paper monster? How can we get it under control so we have more time to focus on students?

Ok, here are some steps you can take.

Step 1

Start with looking at all your IEPs due dates and triennial or reeval due dates. 

Make a list of the meetings due each month. MY TRICK- I write down the IEPs due the month prior so that I know to schedule them then. For example, all my IEPs due in October, I write for September so that I know to get them scheduled and all that.

Step 2

Next step-If you can schedule them out….DO IT! It gives you an opportunity to have an introductory conversation, and to tentatively schedule a time-it really helps parents to know that their child is a priority and valued. This way, no matter how many students are on your IEP caseload, the parents know you are focused on their student’s needs. 

Step 3

Now, look at each student-make an IEP Snapshot (or cheat sheet) to share with gen ed teachers. As much as I’d love to say gen ed teachers read the whole IEP when we provide it to them….we know that’s not going to happen. So make a sheet with accommodations, modifications, goals, services, and IEP due dates-or the meeting date if you have already scheduled it. 

Click on the picture to the left to see what I have used to make my IEP Snapshots for years. 

Step 4

After you complete your snapshot, make a list of all the paperwork or steps you need to complete for your IEPs. Use this to make a checklist on your student roster. I like to list my IEP caseload down the left hand side of a sheet, and along the top I list every step to the process, including invitations, reminders, writing goals, everything to filing it at the end. This helps to ensure that you don’t miss a step accidentally along the way. 

What other little pieces can you do ahead of time so that you save 5-10 minutes once the IEP season is in full swing?

In that mindset, I’ve been using my caseload tracker for years to keep my IEP monster under control. I put dates, services, goals, accommodations, all that stuff in at once, and it auto populates my snapshot for teachers, roster for my lists, meeting reminders, accommodation trackers, and…I input my progress monitoring in and it graphs it for me. My biggest thing is saving time not typing the same thing multiple times, so it has been a life saver for me. 

If you would like to hear more about how I streamline the process, check out the Reaching Struggling Learners Podcast.
Be sure to check out Episode 12, where I will be sharing some more tips and tricks to streamline the paperwork so that you can get back to working with the kids!

Be sure to fill out the form to be added to the Everyday Teaching Adventures Newsletter. I’ll send out a short weekly info snippet to keep you informed…no spamming! Nobody has time for that!

The post How to Track an IEP Caseload Without Losing Your Mind appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

Before we dive into explaining Tier 3….do you feel comfortable with Tiers 1 and 2? If not….I understand! Check out RTI Tiers 1 and 2 Explained, then come back here for information on Tier 3!

Have a good handle on Tiers 1 and 2 and ready to move on? 

Let’s go!

Let’s get one thing out of the way….RTI is NOT a highway to special education.

Many teachers, administrators, and parents think that the RTI process is a way to “get” a child into special education….as though special education is the goal of the process. 

This is not the case at all! The goal of RTI is to fill in learning gaps and weaknesses to prevent a student needing additional services and possible removal from the general education instruction. 

If you are wondering about what happens before Tier 3…check out last weeks’ post about Tier 2!

If we are using the Tier correctly, the students we serve will be better equipped to be successful in the general education curriculum, without additional special education supports. This is why I am so passionate about this process. 

I see the potential this process has in supporting all learners.

So, let’s dive into explaining Tier 3…..

Tier 3 is the most focused and intense level of the RTI process, 

Students reach Tier 3 if they have been found to struggle at both the Tier 1 and 2 levels. This means that the supports provided at the Tier 2 level were not helping the student make enough growth to be able to be successful in the general education classroom independently. 

The interventions at the Tier 3 level can be provided by the classroom teacher or a specialist, depending on district rules and available resources. Those interventions should be focused on the cause of the problem, and be intense enough that the student should see some progress at this level. 

At the Tier 3 level, progress monitoring data should be taken at least weekly to determine if the intervention is working, or if it needs to be changed. 

Usually, when a student has been at Tier 3 for a month or so, teachers and parents start to ask what happens next. The answer is…..it depends. The team must decide about the progress made and next steps. One of the best things about this process is the answers are not left up to one individual. A team of educators come together to support the student and help determine what would best support that student’s progress.

That is Tier 3 in a nutshell…..But if you would like to have RTI Tier 3 explained with more examples and ideas, check out Episode 5 of Reaching Struggling Learners RTI Tier 3 Explained. 

The post RTI Tier 3 Explained appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.

If you are anything like me, you can start the day with a great attitude, excited for the day, then….BAM!….Something smacks you in the face to disrupt your zen. A lot of times, it is student emotions which cause this chaos. 

I don’t know about you, but that drives me absolutely CRAZY! 

It really is the unexpected part that bugs me…

How about you?

Total honesty here: Disruptive behaviors are THE most frustrating part of this job.

Except standardized testing…but that’s a Joke for another post.

Story Time

I very much enjoyed teaching inclusion in Hawaii for several years. Honestly, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my career. 

As a dual certified teacher, let’s be honest, I tended to get some of the more…challenging…students….behaviorally speaking. AND I LOVED IT!!!!

Yes, I know, I’ve got some skrews loose, but I have always felt a connection with the students who were difficult….the students who were “unreachable”…the students who were the misfits. Those are my people, and I LOVE working with them.

So, given the opportunity, I work with the students who are challenging. Which I have done….a lot….in my career.

But, as the general education teacher, I started to see these students in a new way…. As a special education teacher, it was literally my job to find out the function of the behaviors, figure out solutions, plan, and implement the solutions, and it took as long as it took….As a general education teacher, I understand Bobby is struggling, but I’ve also got 24 other first graders who will destroy my classroom if I don’t get this lesson under way.

All of a sudden, those challenging students became way more challenging. (Hey, perspective is a thing, and man did I have it!)

So, after what felt like the thousandth massive interruption to my instruction….I knew something had to change. 

I realized that unexpected student emotions were a big contributor to disruptions in class.

So, what’s a teacher to do?

After figuring out that if I could at least be aware of changes in student emotions (especially due to changes at home or social situations), I thought that maybe I could prevent some outbursts BEFORE they happened (and made me want to rip my hair out). 

So, I created a feelings journal for my students who were struggling with their emotions, and this became their daily morning work.

The first day, I learned that 2 of my students were scared that their parents were going to get a divorce, and 1 hadn’t eaten dinner the night before. 

This completely changed the way I interacted with and supported these students.

And you know what? My classroom changed overnight.

I no longer wondered why these students had major outbursts and wouldn’t tell me. It was all right there, in their scratchy 1st grade handwriting and the pictures they drew for me. 

I was able to support these challenging students in a classroom of 25 high energy 1st graders, without compromising time with my other students.

Then something really cool happened.

After about a week of these challenging students using the feelings journal to communicate with me, my other students started asking to have the feelings journal as their morning work.

In that school year, I do not think that any other intervention, activity, or lesson I tried had more of an impact on my students than incorporating a feelings journal into the first 5 minutes of every day.

I learned more about my students, and they learned more about themselves during this activity than anything else we did all year.

Over time, several students began pairing up and sharing their feelings journals with their friends. It became a way for the students to share the tough stuff, as well as the happy stuff that they maybe didn’t have the words to express independently. 

My classroom culture became much stronger, my students learned how to name their emotions and what was impacting their mood….and over time….even my most challenging students made huge strides in being able to manage their own emotions. 

The first step, was giving my students an outlet for sharing their feelings with me. 

Now, I don’t know what I would do without this morning work.

Interested in trying a feelings journal in your classroom? Click the picture to take a closer look

By the way…..

Something that a lot of teachers mention to me is that they are constantly asked about how to progress monitor for behavior, but they have no idea where to start.

Did you know that you could use the Feelings Journal as an intervention for that challenging student in your life?

I’ve used it as a way to helping students identify their emotions, as well as set goals for the day AND check in and review their days. 

If you are interested in learning more about how to get started with progress monitoring check out my post about beginning progress monitoring

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The post How 5 Minutes a Day Saved My Sanity appeared first on Teaching Struggling Learners.