Kindergarten Special Education Lesson Plans
Special education at the kindergarten level marks a vital chapter in a child’s academic journey. This phase is incredibly critical as it lays the foundation for a child’s learning abilities and experiences. Moreover, it sets the stage for their understanding, acceptance, and interaction with the world.
Indeed, special education lesson planning for kindergarten is a holistic process that combines learning objectives, personalized instructions, and engaging activities. This approach encourages children with special needs to explore, learn, and grow at their own pace, fully immersing in the joy of learning.
Essential Components of Special Education Lesson Plans
Key elements in special education lesson plans.
A well-crafted lesson plan often includes clear learning objectives, instructions tailored to individual needs, engaging activities that stimulate learning, and assessment methods to gauge the student’s understanding.
Role of Individualized Education Programs (IEP)
In the realm of special education, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) plays a crucial role. An IEP outlines the specific learning objectives, personalized instructions, and support services for each student. By doing so, it ensures that every child gets the best possible learning experience, tailored to their unique needs and capabilities.
Creating Effective Lesson Plans for Special Education Students
Crafting lesson plans for special education students is a multifaceted task. It involves aligning the learning objectives with the child’s unique learning needs and blending them seamlessly into engaging, rewarding, and meaningful learning experiences.
Setting Clear and Measurable Goals
Every effective lesson plan begins with clear and measurable learning goals. These goals serve as a roadmap guiding the learning journey.
Tailoring Lessons to Meet Individual Needs
The essence of special education lies in its personalized approach. Recognizing and honoring the unique learning needs of each child is the key to crafting effective lesson plans.
Incorporating Fun and Engaging Activities
Making learning fun is a surefire way to engage kindergarten children. By weaving fun activities into the lesson plans, you can stir their curiosity, boost their interest, and spark their love for learning.
Tips for Implementing Special Education Lesson Plans
Adapting teaching techniques for special education students.
Adapting teaching techniques to suit the learning style of each student can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the lesson plan.
Role of Positive Reinforcement in Learning Process
Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator for kindergarten students. It can foster a positive attitude towards learning and boost self-esteem.
Importance of Frequent Breaks and Sensory Activities
Utilizing technology in special education lesson plans.
In the digital age, technology has become an integral part of education, and special education is no exception.
Benefits of Assistive Technology
Assistive technology can offer incredible benefits for special education students. It can help them overcome their learning challenges, improve their skills, and boost their confidence.
Examples of Tech Tools for Special Education
Collaborating with parents and caregivers.
In special education, parents and caregivers are vital allies. Their support and involvement can significantly enhance the learning outcomes for the students.
Importance of Parent-Teacher Communication
Effective communication between parents and teachers is crucial. It fosters a shared understanding of the child’s needs and progress, leading to more consistent and effective support for the child.
Strategies for Engaging Parents in Learning Process
Assessing progress in special education students.
Assessment is a vital part of special education lesson plans. It provides insights into the student’s understanding and progress, informing necessary adjustments to the lesson plans.
Techniques for Monitoring Student Progress
Various techniques can be used to monitor student progress, such as observations, worksheets, quizzes, and feedback sessions. These methods can provide a comprehensive understanding of the student’s learning journey.
Adapting Lesson Plans Based on Assessment Results
Frequently asked questions, how to make special education lesson plans engaging.
To make special education lesson plans engaging, incorporate fun and interactive activities, use a variety of teaching techniques, and tailor the lessons to the students’ interests and abilities.
What is the Role of Technology in Special Education?
Technology plays a crucial role in special education. Assistive technology tools can help special education students overcome learning challenges, improve their skills, and make learning more accessible and enjoyable.
How Can Parents Support Special Education?
Special education lesson planning for kindergarten is a significant and rewarding task. It involves more than just delivering knowledge. It’s about nurturing a love for learning and empowering young learners to embrace their unique capabilities.
The strategies and tips outlined in this article offer practical guidance for crafting effective special education lesson plans. However, the most critical ingredient in this process is the unwavering belief in every child’s ability to learn and succeed.
Dwight Hughes Sr
ChatGPT for Teachers
Trauma-informed practices in schools, teacher well-being, cultivating diversity, equity, & inclusion, integrating technology in the classroom, social-emotional development, covid-19 resources, invest in resilience: summer toolkit, civics & resilience, all toolkits, degree programs, trauma-informed professional development, teacher licensure & certification, how to become - career information, classroom management, instructional design, lifestyle & self-care, online higher ed teaching, current events, teacher lesson plans for special education students.
For educators, keeping a classroom organized and structured can be difficult. For special education teachers, it can sometimes seem impossible. Teacher lesson plans help educators enter a class prepared with objectives and strategies for their goals. However, special education requires a lot of extra effort, changing plans when they go awry, helping students struggling to comprehend material and working hard to achieve the main objectives.
While many websites offer teacher lesson plans, some are better than others for finding lesson plan ideas and building upon them. After special education teachers develop their teaching style, understand their students’ capabilities and craft realistic goals, they can create their own lesson plans that fit the class’s specific needs and they can use the Internet to help get them started on preparing the right lesson plans.
Creating special education lesson plans
While many lesson plans can be used universally, special education requires a bit more crafting. Even the best special education lesson plans will be catered to a specific class style and level of development. Each teacher must do some added work to decide what parts of the lesson plan need to be adjusted for the class as a whole.
Certain students will also require varying levels of attention in their assignments. Special education teachers know how important it is to individually work around their student’s abilities and lesson plans can incorporate different approaches for specific students.
Learning from experience
Special education teachers learn a great deal from their experience in handling each class. They might utilize some of their past experiences years later with similar students and have new ways of handling difficult situations.
A special education lesson plan might seem like a disaster the first time around, but as the teacher redevelops the outline based on what events occurred, he or she can better prepare for where the objectives did not come through and how assignments and instructions could be better explained.
Where the lesson plan ends
Lesson plans are a crucial part of any teacher’s approach to the classroom. However, they are just one added tool in the educator’s belt. A great lesson plan can help special education teachers maintain better control of their classroom with clearer objectives and purposeful assignments.
As the course unfolds, teachers can make adjustments and rework their lesson plans to accommodate their students’ needs. While a lesson plan may work well with one class, the next year it may bring about a completely different result. Teachers must not get discouraged and instead use their own experiences and the lesson plans of other educators to keep changing their work and preparing for each new class.
Online teacher lesson plans
Technology has embedded itself into nearly every aspect of education. Today, teachers can find lesson plans online to help them get a jump start on the course or compare how others are approaching the curriculum. Many websites showcase free lesson plans and some include categories for special education. Here are some popular websites for finding free teacher lesson plans in special education:
- Teacher Planet
- Teachers.net
- TeAchnology
The importance of top quality
Every teacher knows that the quality of a lesson plan is determined by how well it can be followed during a course. Top-end materials yield more engagement from students who will better follow handouts and assignments and show more interest in the studies.
While there are many online lesson plans available for free on the Internet, another option is to purchase them at sites like TeachersPayTeachers, which lets educators upload and sell their own lesson plans, prompting them to put more effort into their work and allowing other teachers to buy, review and rate each lesson plan.
You may also like to read
- 4 Thanksgiving Lesson Plans
- 7 Reasons to Use Technology in Education Lesson Plans
- Five Sample Lesson Plans for ELL Students
- Advice on Making Elementary Special Education Lesson Plans
- Lesson Plans that Help Students Learn About Democracy
- Which is Best: Teacher-Centered or Student-Centered Education?
Categorized as: Tips for Teachers and Classroom Resources
Tagged as: Special Education
- Master's in PE, Sports & Athletics Administra...
- Online & Campus Bachelor's in Early Childhood...
Lesson Plans For Special Education
Why does it seem like when we are looking for lesson plans for special education , there is a whole lot of reinventing the wheel going on? That’s because THERE IS. As Special Educators, we are constantly looking for lessons that we can differentiate, adapt, or modify, to reach all the various levels and needs of students in our classrooms. It shouldn’t still be this difficult after all this time, to find lesson plans for special education that are usable, practical, & relevant. If you’re looking for activities and lesson plans for special education, (which of course you are, since you’re here) keep reading!! Below, I break down an easier way to lesson plan, give you lesson plan ideas, and list out lots of sites & resources that are great for special education classrooms. Let’s get to it!
When it comes to lesson planning for special education , it’s a great idea to have a general plan for each class period. Every class period should follow some kind of routine. This makes planning a lot easier, no matter what topic you’re teaching that day.
A rough breakdown could look something like this:
Warm up activity
- Depending on what class you teach, this could be a few simple math problems, a puzzle, a matching activity, or a simple vocational task the student can complete This gets the student in the mindset for learning and also gives you a few minutes to get yourself prepared.
Instruction
- I love using power points for my whole class instruction. Most students are more interested and will engage/participate more when I use power points or project stories, activities, etc., on the smart board. Each day I find something to project (story, instructional power point). For our lower functioning learners, or learners with shorter attention spans, their attention is held by the screen and pictures (not too cluttery!). It works even better if you can find something interactive.
Group Activity/ Guided Learning
- Doing a group activity to help review the materials taught is helpful. You can do a hands on activity, a game, or even something simple like answering comprehension questions together as a class.
Independent Work
- Give your students an activity to work on that they can complete as independently as possible. Again if you can’t think of something, you could give students the same comprehension questions you just went over as a class to see how they do on their own.
- This can also be things like writing prompts, picture prompts, matching activities, sequencing, sorting, word search, crossword puzzle, file folder activity etc.
Wrap up/Closing
- Review as a class what was covered today.
- Have students do an ‘exit ticket’ of 1, 2, or 3 things they learned today, something they want to learn more about, what did they like or dislike about today etc.
- Most of our students are always looking forward to the end of class/activities so they can have break time. Sometimes it’s also hard to plan exactly to the end of the period, so a little buffer time for students to calm down and give their brains a break is well deserved.
- Students could get on the computer, their phones (if being appropriate), puzzles, play games, etc.
This is a general template for a teaching period. You can change as you see fit to meet the needs of your students. Sometimes your students may need more breaks, try to fit these into your scheduling if possible, so you can maximize instruction time.
Looking for a more detailed description of how to write lesson plans for special education? Are you looking for a template for special education lesson plans? Here’s a rundown of how to plan/write lesson plans for special education regardless of the topic.
When it comes to specific lesson planning, you can follow this template and guide. This will give you more detail on how to plan for specific units or lessons. Depending on the level of students you teach, this may be helpful, so check it out!
Sometimes we don’t even know where to start when are given a new class to teach. Looking at a list of lesson plans for special education can trigger our minds to where we want the direction of our class to go. We just need a starting point. Next, choose a unit to focus on. After you have a unit, you can break it down into smaller lessons and set lesson objectives. Then you can plan specific instruction, small group or independent activities, and more.
Are you looking for supplemental activities/sites that you can use as part of extending your lesson plans for special education ?
Here are some great websites (some free and some paid) that have great resources to use in your classrooms today.
Reading A-Z
Raz-Kids.com
Tarheelreader.org
Storylineonline.com
Specialedlessonplans.com
Superteacherworksheets.com
Scholastic.com
K5learning.com
Edhelper.com
AttainmentCompany.com
Math-drills.com
Mathplayground.com
Life Skills:
News2you.n2y.com
SpecialEdLessonPlans.com
Science/History:
BrainPop.com
Science A-Z
How Stuff Works
Nat Geo Kids
Time for Kids
Speechbuddy.com
Thespeechbubbleslp.com
Where should we send your
Free lesson plans, success check your email for your free lessons.
We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.
Want some lesson plans you can immediately use?
Enter your email address below to get 5 free lesson plans now .
- Resource Room
- Paraprofessionals
- IEP Masterclass
Special Education Lesson Plans
Have you been looking for new ideas for special education classroom lesson planning?
Don't miss the the update and my reflection on the special education lesson plan process below!
I've been asked to share ideas on lesson planning, but first – I have a few questions for you!
- How does your school or grade-level team lesson plan?
- Do you lesson plan together as a team, vertical plan based on content, or individually plan for your own class?
- Are you required to submit special education lesson plans to a “coach” or administrator?
- Is there a required lesson plan template that you follow?
- Do special ed lesson plans look different than general education?
- Our grade-level teams plan in the following way: each teacher tackles one content area: Math, Comprehension, Writing, Language, Vocabulary/Morning Message, and Phonics. This general education teacher writes the unit plans and assessments, weekly lessons, resources for class (flipcharts, activity pages, exit tickets), and homework. These lesson plans are shared out 2 weeks (10 days minimum) in advance on our “intranet” where we can upload files. Each teacher is also required to presubmit their lesson plan to a designated Teacher Development Leader (often an administrator) for review. This review is a big process at the beginning of the year with constructive feedback, and then often falls into a “check for completion” after the first quarter of the school year.
- We backwards plan the year, so the scope and sequence and unit plans/calendar are already shared out before the school year starts (we work during the summer!). This “big picture” is extremely helpful to the special educator (me!) and I access them often. Weekly grade-level team meetings often include discussions regarding timing adjustments to the completed plans due to field trips, snow days, and/or data review (i.e.: our students need more practice!).
- The lesson planners also meet vertically with other grade levels planning the same content area. For example, the first grade teacher planning math will meet with the kindergarten and 2nd-4th grade math teachers to discuss key teaching points.
- As the special educator, I download the general education weekly lesson plans and then differentiate them for students on my caseload. I'd love to say I do it the same way every week/month/year, but as my students' needs change, so does my planning!
- This year, I've often “stuck to the script” for comprehension, phonics, and math, and then differentiated the presentation (small groups, more guided practice, parallel teaching). Next, I supplement and add in tons and TONS of spiral review based on data analysis (I collect data daily!). In previous years, my students have been in a completely different place than the general education population, so my lessons were following a different (more “bare bones”) scope and sequence. It completely depends on my students' IEP goals and objectives and their areas of strength/growth. VERY interesting, especially because my first graders seem to grow and change WEEKLY! This makes my job exhausting exciting! 🙂
- I submit my lesson plans 10 days in advance to my team leader. This is the accountability piece our school has built in for every teacher. I find that my lesson plans can be cumbersome and I don't refer to them too often throughout the week. Still, they are a great resource when I'm prepping and/or a student is absent and we need to find a way to catch up the instruction.
That was A LOT of information about lesson planning!
Here's what my weekly lesson plan overview looks like:
UPDATE – Wow, this post brings back a lot of memories! It was originally written in 2012 and has received many revisions along the way.
Upon a lot of reflection and opportunities to have meaningful conversations with other special educators, I actually can't believe the expectations we had way back when. It was a WHOLE lot of extra and while the intentions were well-meaning, it was just so much.
I'm keeping the information here because I think (hope!) it may still be helpful for others, especially if you've tried out many special education activities and lesson formats and still haven't found one that works. Maybe some components of these sped lesson plans will be helpful to you and spark some fresh ideas!
If you interested in learning more about special education lesson planning, check out this video:
I'm Jennifer!
I’m Jennifer and I was a special educator in the elementary school setting over the past decade. I entered the classroom every day dedicated to making learning inclusive AND engaging.
On the Blog
In the Shop
Task Boxes Free Labels for Classroom Organization
IEP Progress Report Card Comments
Classroom Routine Rubrics
- Privacy Policy
- Special Education
- Reading Intervention
- Organization
- More Topics
- Data Collection
- Teacher Gifts
- Shop on TPT
- Free-Sources
Differentiation delivered to your inbox
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See full disclosure here.
Lesson Plans and Activities
These guides can assist you with creating lesson plans and activities in special education and inclusion settings. Find information on special end support, listening comprehension, and project-based learning so you have the tools to support your students' growth.
- Becoming A Teacher
- Assessments & Tests
- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education
- Applied Behavior Analysis
- Behavior Management
- Lesson Plans
- Math Strategies
- Reading & Writing
- Social Skills
- Inclusion Strategies
- Individual Education Plans
- Homeschooling
- Monster Math Word Problems for Halloween
- How to Brainstorm in the Classroom
- Dolch High-Frequency Word Cloze Activities
- Christmas Writing Paper With Decorative Borders
- Writing Lesson Plans in the Self-Contained Classroom
- Back to School Handouts to Start the Year
- Dolch High Frequency Cloze Activities
- Dolch Pre-Primer Cloze Worksheets for Young Readers
- Accommodations, Modifications, and Interventions in the Classroom
- First Grade Cloze Activities for Dolch High-Frequency Words
- Special Education and Inclusion
- Differentiated Instruction and Assessment
- Mini Printable Booklets to Teach Reading
- Attending or Attention is the First Preacademic Skill
- How to Teach Reading Comprehension to Dyslexic Students
- Navigate Readings With Text Features
- How To Become an Effective Problem Solver
- Christmas Skip Counting Dot to Dots
- Christmas Writing Printables
- Step by Step: Flash Cards for Word Recognition of High Frequency Words
- Special Education
Email Newsletter
Receive free lesson plans, printables, and worksheets by email:
For Kindergarten to Second Grade
- Cave Club Introduction - Student will learn about prehistoric time through hands-on learning activities and other creative art projects.
- Classroom Etiquette - Raising your hand, asking "please", not calling out without be called on, listening and respecting other classmates ideas.
- Color Sorting - Sorting colors and shapes.
- Counting with Dr. Seuss - The student will use numbers and count.
- Decimal Values and Money - The students will use coins to arrive at the designated total marked on the envelope.
- Exceptional Children Class Lesson - Students will use their prior knowledge of The Grouchy Ladybug to help them create a mathematical story problem using the grouchy ladybug and the aphids that are to be eaten.
- How do I feel? - The overall subject would be "Sometimes I feel..."
- Independent Work Assistance - The student will use a visual approach such as a Visual Schedule to keep him/her on track during in the morning for independent work while the teacher is working with other children or groups.
- Introduction to Fractions - How can we use our knowledge of fractions to help us make something for real-life?
- Learning Your Times Tables - The goal is for the children to learn the times table from 0 to 12 with 80% accuracy. The outcome will be that the students will be able to repeat the table 4 out of 5 times when asked.
- Letter C - Students will be able to identify the letter C from a field of two and will identify sight words that start with the letter C.
- Money - Pennies and Dimes - I want my students to be able to identify pennies and dimes from a group of coins.
- Name the Animals - The student will be able to identify the animals from the book "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?".
- Phoneme Track - The student will develop phonemic awareness by encouraging lots of talking, listening and playing with sounds.
- Planting Seeds - The students will be able to go to the table and select the appropriate item for their task. The students will complete the tasks in proper sequence. The students will follow the directions on their necklace.
- Producing the "s" sound in words - Students will identify and formulate words that begin with the "s" sound.
- Over Stimulization - The topic for this lesson is learning about the stimuli in the classroom environment that most people do not notice but that distract and frustrate children with autism.
- Sequence of Events - I want all of my students to be able to recognize that a story is made up of different events.
- Soap and Rinsing Away Germs - Teach the steps of hand washing. T
- Stranger Awareness - The students will be able to identify someone whom they know and someone who is a stranger. The students will learn what to say to a stranger when he/she approaches them.
- The Four Seasons On Earth - The goal of this lesson is for language impaired students to increase vocabulary knowledge and usage related to the Four Seasons.
- Tolerance - The goal of this lesson is for students to appreciate the differences between them and others.
- Turkey Hunting - To improve categorization skills to learn the concept of "pair" to increase use of descriptive language.
- Using Phonics to Increase Reading Speed - The student will be able to recognize and produce the sound represented by the symbol when given a printed symbol.
- What Are Antonyms? - Students will produce a pair of antonyms and draw a picture representing them.
- What is the same - Recognition of two items that are the same and one item that is different.
For Third to Fifth Grade
- Acting Out a Message Using Toys - This activity helps develop auditory memory as well as meting sentence level step 6 from the Auditory Learning Guide.
- Addition and Subtraction Practice - Julie will be able to successfully add or subtract 20 math practice problems with 80% accuracy. She will look at the math sign to determine the action to be taken.
- Classroom Rules - Students should be able to explain how government and laws can protect natural rights.
- Compare and Contrast Essay - Students will be able to write an essay in which they compare the similarities and contrast the differences among one room schools from the past and schools today.
- Communication w/ Hearing Impaired - List 3 general considerations that will help officers better communicate with deaf citizens.
- Deaf Awareness Week/Nonverbal Communication - Students will analyze various contributions to society by Deaf/HoH individuals and apply this to their daily lives by a class reflection-small project.
- Dividing By Groups - Students will be able to use "reverse" grouping to determine the inverse relationship between multiplication and division.
- Dominic's Smart Start - Dominic has sensory integration dysfunction.
- Name Processing- Speech - Student will improve their ability to name items of a given category or under certain criteria.
- Place Value To Millions - Student will be able to take any number up to 1,000,000 and chart each digit's place value on a chart.
- Signing- Family, Fun and Feelings - To be able to sign while learning new English vocabulary.
- Talking About Feelings - Angry - Students with autistic spectrum disorders will develop their understanding of feelings and pragmatic skills.
- Teaching sh, ch, ck, and th - The learner will apply phonics and structural analysis to decode words.
- Writing About Cam Jansen - Students will focus on one writing skill at a time with direct instruction of mechanics.
For Middle School
- Attributes - Color - Attribute blocks and shapes in the colors given.
- Create a Play - At the end of this lesson students will be able to read a text and rewrite the text in play form, making changes and adding elements to make it work on stage.
- Language Arts Inclusion - An example lesson.
- Plan for the Future - The goal of this lesson is to get the students to think about what they think that they might like to do with their lives as an adult.
- Observing Patterns - To read for understanding and spiral reading levels.
- Reading and Using Word Study Strategies - The student will demonstrate understanding of appropriate communication skills.
- Student's Original Children's Book - Students will learn the elements of writing a short story.
- The Pearl - Facilitate understanding of the importance of rules in society Relate decision-making skills to each students own personal experiences.
- Using The Parts of Speech Properly - Given fifteen words, ten of which are verbs, the student will identify the verbs with 80% accuracy
For High School
- Behavioral Goals - This student has had problems staying on task and has interrupted class at times through behaving incorrectly.
- Braille Work Area - Given a student that will use a Braille writer and use Braille, the teacher will create an organization system for the student.
- Chair Check 101 - This is to help student develop appropriate Social Skills for a variety of public settings in the school day to include assemblies, cafeteria and field trips.
- Culinary Skills - To improve quality of nutrition and health in the community service .
- Creating a Safe Classroom Climate - Teacher and students will negotiate the guidelines for creating and maintaining a classroom climate.
- Help Wanted Ads - The learner will exhibit job-seeking skills necessary to secure employment in chosen career pathway.
- HEY, STOP BEING PUSHY!! - The student will demonstrate a firm but nice way of telling people "no" when someone has become annoying, demanding, or pushy.
- Inclusion and Motivation - Inclusion and how parents and peers affect students' motivation.
- Intellectual Disabilities - Students will also learn some successful practices for teaching students with those disabilities.
- Learning Letters for Severe Students - Each student will be able to recognize their own name.
- My Country - Students will apply theories of government and economics and sociology to create their own country.
- Our Right to Know - Students will recognize the role of the press as "the public watchdog." Scandals and wrongdoing have been brought to public light by the press.
- Resource Room - Describe preconditions to improve motivation and affect within the regular education classroom.
- The Necklace - Plot Elements - Students will read "The Necklace" and identify parts of the plot.
- What Can I Afford? - The student will begin the process of sorting out jobs they do and do not like.
- Why Should You Wash Your Hands? - To understand the importance of handwashing To demonstrate the seven steps for good handwashing technique.
Special Education Lesson Plans From Other Web Sites
- IEP: Individualized Education Program - An overview of the IEP process.
- National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education Through Technology, Media and Materials - Ideas and resources for improving your Special Education classroom.
- Teaching Math to Visually Impaired Students - A full resource for teaching math to the visually impaired.
More Special Education Resources
- All Resources For Teachers and Parents
- Educational Literature on Special Education
- Special Education Laws
- Our Mission
Helping Children With Special Needs Transition to Kindergarten
Teacher-tested tips for preparing children in early childhood special education for kindergarten.
The transition from a small early childhood special education (ECSE) class to kindergarten can be exciting yet overwhelming for students with disabilities and their families. Students face a lot of adjustments: a longer school day, a larger class size, new classmates, and new teachers.
For the past five years, I’ve worked with dozens of children and their families to help them adjust to this new environment. I’ve learned that the following strategies facilitate a smooth transition, decrease students’ anxiety, and prepare them for success.
Using Social Stories
Social stories were developed for higher-functioning students with autism; however, they can be helpful for students with other disabilities as well. According to Carol Gray, the creator of social stories, the goal of a social story is to “share accurate information using a content, format, and voice that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe.”
Social stories should include descriptive sentences (“Next year, I will be in a new classroom with a new teacher and new rules”), perspective sentences (“I may feel scared or nervous in my new classroom”), directive sentences (“I will work on learning the new rules and listening to my new teacher”), and affirmative sentences (“My new teacher will be happy when I follow the new rules”). For preschool-age children, pictures also can make the story more comprehensible.
The following is a social story I have used with my students.
Transition IEP Meeting
Although there are currently no laws requiring schools to have a transitional individualized education program (IEP) meeting when a student exits an ECSE program, it can be helpful for the kindergarten staff and families to hold such a meeting. These meetings allow the ECSE and kindergarten special education staff to collaboratively create a transition plan and IEP that will support and meet the needs of the student. Depending on the situation and the school’s setup, it may also be beneficial to have a general education kindergarten teacher attend the meeting in order to answer the family’s questions, discuss accommodations and modifications, and make a plan for inclusion.
Observations
The student should have the opportunity to visit their new classroom(s) and may benefit from participating in story time or snack time there. This will also allow staff to see what additional supports the student may need to be successful in their new environment (such as noise-canceling headphones in a large group setting or a designated spot to sit on the carpet).
Additionally, the kindergarten special education teacher and/or teaching assistants may benefit from observing the student in the current ECSE classroom. Observation will show them how the student communicates, interacts with staff and peers, participates in group activities, and demonstrates self-help skills.
Another transition support that can help students is a teacher-created book with photos of the student’s new special education teacher and teaching assistants, kindergarten teacher, classrooms, lunchroom, etc. Families can read this book with the child over the summer. This is different from a social story in that it does not include feelings, expected behaviors, or perspective taking.
Orientation Considerations
At the beginning of the school year, many school districts host a kindergarten orientation, when students and their families meet the teacher, drop off school supplies, and learn the policies, procedures, and expectations for kindergarten. These orientations usually have a group of four to five students attending at a time. For some students with disabilities, an individual orientation may be more appropriate and/or less overwhelming. The family may also feel more comfortable asking questions and sharing relevant information about the student and their disability.
Modifications
Lastly, I recommend that ECSE teachers observe both the general education and special education kindergarten classrooms. Some things to consider while observing the new environments:
- What visuals, language, and expectations can I introduce so my students have a smooth transition?
- What activities, materials, or expectations might need to be adapted or modified for my students once they’re in kindergarten?
- What self-help or functional skills do I need to work on with my students to promote independence and confidence in kindergarten?
The end of the year is always bittersweet for me: I’m so excited for my students to begin the next chapter in their lives as kindergarteners, but at the same time, I’m sad to say goodbye to students I’ve had the joy and privilege of working with for two to three years. Each year, I utilize all of these tips to individually support my students as they transition to kindergarten.
- Featured Articles
- Report Card Comments
- Needs Improvement Comments
- Teacher's Lounge
- New Teachers
- Our Bloggers
- Article Library
- Featured Lessons
- Every-Day Edits
- Lesson Library
- Emergency Sub Plans
- Character Education
- Lesson of the Day
- 5-Minute Lessons
- Learning Games
- Lesson Planning
- Subjects Center
- Teaching Grammar
- Leadership Resources
- Parent Newsletter Resources
- Advice from School Leaders
- Programs, Strategies and Events
- Principal Toolbox
- Administrator's Desk
- Interview Questions
- Professional Learning Communities
- Teachers Observing Teachers
- Tech Lesson Plans
- Science, Math & Reading Games
- Tech in the Classroom
- Web Site Reviews
- Creating a WebQuest
- Digital Citizenship
- All Online PD Courses
- Child Development Courses
- Reading and Writing Courses
- Math & Science Courses
- Classroom Technology Courses
- A to Z Grant Writing Courses
- Spanish in the Classroom Course
- Classroom Management
- Responsive Classroom
- Dr. Ken Shore: Classroom Problem Solver
- Worksheet Library
- Highlights for Children
- Venn Diagram Templates
- Reading Games
- Word Search Puzzles
- Math Crossword Puzzles
- Geography A to Z
- Holidays & Special Days
- Internet Scavenger Hunts
- Student Certificates
Newsletter Sign Up
Search form
Special education: activities in the classroom.
- General
- Gifted & Talented
- Arts & Humanities
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
EW Lesson Plans EW Professional DevelopmentEw worksheets. 
|
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Indeed, special education lesson planning for kindergarten is a holistic process that combines learning objectives, personalized instructions, and engaging activities. This approach encourages children with special needs to explore, learn, and grow at their own pace, fully immersing in the joy of learning. Contents show.
Teacher lesson plans help educators enter a class prepared with objectives and strategies for their goals. However, special education requires a lot of extra effort, changing plans when they go awry, helping students struggling to comprehend material and working hard to achieve the main objectives. While many websites offer teacher lesson plans ...
Special Education: Free Lesson Plans and Resources
Here's a rundown of how to plan/write lesson plans for special education regardless of the topic. When it comes to specific lesson planning, you can follow this template and guide. This will give you more detail on how to plan for specific units or lessons. Depending on the level of students you teach, this may be helpful, so check it out!
Perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, Pre-k, Kindergarten, PPCD, and Special Education. Items included: Character Trait Letter Song Letter Song Writing Mini Word Wall Words Play Dough Mat Letter Wand Color Page Build the Letters Dot the Letters Stamping Prewriting Writing Pre-spelling Matching Color Upper and Lower Fi.
Special Education Lesson Plans - TeachTastic ... Lesson Plans
My Answers. Our grade-level teams plan in the following way: each teacher tackles one content area: Math, Comprehension, Writing, Language, Vocabulary/Morning Message, and Phonics. This general education teacher writes the unit plans and assessments, weekly lessons, resources for class (flipcharts, activity pages, exit tickets), and homework.
Lesson Planning for Children with IEPs - InfoHub
Introducing my Kindergarten Special Education Lesson Plans!!!!! These plans are also Common Core state standards aligned and they are developmentally appropriate for special needs children ages 5-7. I created these lesson plans last year, while teaching Kindergarten Special Education. I had 9 students ranging in various exceptionalities such as: Autism, Downs Syndrome, developmental delays ...
Lesson Plans and Activities. These guides can assist you with creating lesson plans and activities in special education and inclusion settings. Find information on special end support, listening comprehension, and project-based learning so you have the tools to support your students' growth. Special Education.
Planting Seeds - The students will be able to go to the table and select the appropriate item for their task. The students will complete the tasks in proper sequence. The students will follow the directions on their necklace. Producing the "s" sound in words - Students will identify and formulate words that begin with the "s" sound.
How to Write a Special Education Lesson Plan
How to Help Children With Special Needs Transition ...
This lesson is a language arts activity that helps Pre- Kindergarten to grade two children, Special Ed students, and Bilingual (LEP) children learn about poetry and science. ... Lesson Plan Source Education World Submitted By Gary Hopkins National Standards LANGUAGE ARTS: EnglishGRADES K - 12NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for UnderstandingNL-ENG.K-12.8 ...
Teachers.Net features free Special Education lesson plans. Special Education printables, Special Education worksheets, and more. Free teaching materials and educational resources for Special Education teachers. ... Articles; Advertising; Login / Register. Lesson Plans. Grade Level Lessons. Preschool, Kindergarten, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5, Middle ...
Introducing my Kindergarten Special Education Lesson Plans!!!!! These plans are also Common Core state standards aligned and they are developmentally appropriate for special needs children ages 5-7. I created these lesson plans last year, while teaching Kindergarten Special Education. I had 9 students ranging in various exceptionalities such as ...
Created by. Promoting Success. DIGITAL PDF AND PRINTABLES: These free sampler worksheets feature a fun transportation theme and work well for your kindergarten, 1st grade and special education math students. They will practice counting objects and will also create addition equations with visuals.
Just one sight word is added on each page.This resource is ideal for use in kindergarten and also toward the beginning of first grade. This Resource Includes:★ A full color set of Sight Word Sentences ★ An ink-saving black and white version of these Sight Word Sentences ★ A parent information lett. PreK - 1 st.
Yearly Lesson Planning for Special Education. fullspedahead. March 22, 2021. Classroom Structure, Curriculum, Helpful Tips. If you're like me, your district has given you a curriculum to follow (maybe), but hasn't told you what skills to teach or in what order. This doesn't help you when you have to figure out a plan for yearly lesson ...
Week 1 Lesson Plans. Theme: Back To School. Learning Focus: Learning the rules & routines of school. Vocabulary Words: school, bus, cubby, classroom, chair, areas of room, classmates names, teacher names. Circle Time Schedule. Message of the week: We will clap. *goes with hello song.
Kindergarten goals focus on a standards-aligned learning progression for both Math and ELA. ... Our IEP goal bank and scaffolded special education lesson plans are designed to simplify the planning process, ensuring every teacher can deliver personalized and impactful education. We are committed to transforming special education by providing ...
This summer I have worked very hard at editing my Special Education Kindergarten Lesson Plans. I think they are stellar, because I was able to plan with other Kindergarten teachers during the process. This is a sample lesson that you can print out and use for the first week of school. Or, you could even put it in your substitute folder.
October Lesson Plans. FALL IS HERE!! My lesson plans can be found below. October is a FUN month to start talking about leaves changing colors, trees losing their leaves, apples and pumpkins, scarecrows, bats and spiders, and IF you are brave - monsters (friendly) and Halloween! One of our favorite things to start toward the middle of October ...