How Special Needs Students Learn and Grow Together
My students need books to help to expand their imagination. The stencil box and patterned block activity cards are to teach fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills.
Each day I start off by asking the questions, "What do we do 1st, next and last?" Then students find their seats in Circle-Time. Each child takes a leadership role during Circle-Time activities such as chanting letter sounds, counting, describing calendar activities. Then we break into small groups.
Our classroom consists of a group of wonderful kindergarten and 1st grade students who come to school ready to learn.
These students have special education learning needs including, Intellectually Disabled, Students with Autism, and Specific Learning Disabilities. Some children are learning to write their 1st names, others are identifying shapes and patterns.
I provide a positive learning environment that promotes leadership skills, development of expressive language skills, socialization, and helps students move toward their annual educational goals. They also learn structure, routines, and boundaries within a school environment.
Our school is located in a low socioeconomic area and for most of our students, school is a positive, safe place where they can learn and grow.
My Project
Each morning, the students will use the magnetic calendar activity center to start their school day. Each class member will take a leadership role in conducting a specific learning activity such as reciting the days of the week, months of the year, weather for the day, and identifying the seasons. These activities build on expressive language.
When we work in small groups, students will use the stencils to increase handwriting skills. The pattern blocks activity cards help develop eye-hand coordination, as the students match different shapes to the designs on the cards. The early math match-up cards help teach counting, completing patterns, and recognizing objects with shapes.
After lunch, we have "quiet-time", where students select a book to read or share while resting on the carpet and listening to relaxing music. Since our book selection has received a lot of wear-and-tear, new books for these children would be a wonderful addition to their "quiet-time" reading!
As an elementary special education teacher, my goal is to create a wonderful, creative, learning environment for the students in my classroom.
By receiving donations to our classroom, students have the learning tools to help them succeed in school. All children deserve to have books, writing tools, and learning activities to help prepare them to become productive, happy members of society. These donations will be greatly appreciated by all the students in my classroom!
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. VanWaesberghe and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.