Creating lesson plans can feel overwhelming for special education teachers. Working with students at different academic levels and different accommodation needs, accounting for staffing shortages, and trying to teach content at varying grade levels… it’s a lot to manage! Luckily, with a little bit of lesson planning it is possible to meet the needs of all your learners. Read on to find out how!
The Importance of Centers
Centers are a crucial part of special education classrooms! Centers are designated learning areas within a classroom. During a centers blocks, students will rotate through several different activities. At each station, learning activities should be tailored to your students’ needs and levels. These individualized activities are so important for special education students! And the act of rotating through centers helps keep students engaged while also building independence. But because centers are differentiated, it takes some planning to determine what activities to do with each group you meet with.
How to Lesson Plan for Centers
When planning for centers, the first thing to do is determine WHAT your centers will be. In my classroom, I typically have four centers: work with teacher, work with para, work on the computer, and independent work. I do two rotations of centers during the day. My AM centers focus on ELA and my PM centers focus on math.
After determining what types of centers you will utilize, you can plan for activities at each center. A daily, weekly, or monthly planner can help your organize your ideas. For example, you might have a monthly goal of working on multiplication during math centers. Break down what the incremental goal or standard to be addressed is within your monthly plans.
You can focus on exactly what lessons need to be taught in your daily plans. For example, if the plan for the week is to work on multiplication up to 5 x 5, some students may need so start by making groups of fives. Other students may be able to solve multiplication facts using manipulatives. And yet another student may be ready to go on to higher facts. (The DLM Linkage Maps are helpful for this planning!)
“Man Down” Lesson Plans
An important part of centers lesson planning is figuring out what you will do when you are short staffed. Unfortunately, that can happen all too often in our settings! Creating “man down” lesson plans can help you feel more prepared when the unexpected arises. This is a contingency plan that shows how you will change your centers if a staff member is out. For example, if the para who usually runs a comprehension center is absent, you might plan to have students read independently instead. Additionally, these plans can help you determine who needs to cover which student, if necessary.
Centers Lesson Plan Example
Check out an example of my centers lesson plans above! In these plans, I have laid out exactly what my students will do in each center each day.
Looking for more info about implementing centers? All of these planning materials – and so much more! – are part of the Simple Centers System! Check out the course here!
Teaching, and especially teaching special education, can be unpredictable. But with a little bit of planning, you can make your days run smoothly, no matter what curveballs come your way.
Have any questions about lesson planning? Ask them below!
