I teach in a wonderful elementary school in the rural foothills of North Carolina. We are a Title I school with over 450 students. We currently serve a large population of students with special needs in a variety of settings. We have a great staff of teachers working with our wonderful kids and a very accepting environment at our school. I teach an exceptional children’s resource class. My students range primarily from third through fifth grades. My students come to my resource classroom to work on individual areas of need. I am fortunate to be able to go into several classes and work with students and teachers within the inclusive setting as well.
I work hard in my class to help students gain the academic and social skills needed to succeed in their homeroom classrooms and the school environment.
This includes both academic interventions and social/emotional needs.
My Project
My students all work on IEP (Individualized Education Plan) goals. I have always progress monitored and tracked progress for my students. Then I would tell them how they did on an assignment. This year I would like them to be more involved in the progress monitoring process to improve their self esteem and attitudes towards academics.
I would like to create a “Celebration Station” for them to show off all of their hard work.
At the “Celebration Station” they will have the chance to use individualized binders to track and chart their own progress towards their learning goals. They will be able to earn tickets and stickers as they meet short-term goals and learn to set goals for themselves. By taking ownership in their progress and learning, students are more motivated and can inspire themselves and others. The binders will include sections for charting progress, practicing targeted skills, and collecting work samples (snapshots of success) which will be beneficial for students to share with parents during IEP meetings and conferences. We will use the colored paper, index cards, and markers to help chart progress and make individualized practice activities. I can’t wait for my students to start looking at progress monitoring as a celebration rather than a chore.
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