Are you new to teaching a self-contained classroom? You are probably feeling excited, nervous, happy, and overwhelmed… all at once! I know that is definitely how I felt when I first walked into my room. Luckily, there are a few surefire things you can do to make your first week stress free for you AND engaging for your students. Read on to find out how!
Set Up Your Space for Success
One of the first things you will want to do is scope out your room and plan how your space will look. You will want to create clearly defined spaces for your students in order to facilitate learning. Setting up tables for centers, student work areas, and play areas is a must. You will also want to define your desk area and where supplies will be kept. Using a tool like the Classroom Layout Builder can make designing your room easy!
Although it is tempting to decorate your space right away, it is important to do so thoughtfully. One thing to consider is function over fashion. Having a comfortable, functional, and calming space for your students should be a priority over having a trendy room. And, some students may become overwhelmed by too many decorations in the room. Making a clean, organized space that fits your needs will serve you well in the long run. You can always customize to your tastes later!
Create a Predictable Schedule
Self-contained teachers are often tasked with creating their own classroom schedules (as opposed to gen ed teachers whose schedules may be dictated by administration). This can be a big task, but it also happens to be an awesome benefit! You are able to make things work in the way that is most beneficial for your students! For example, I schedule our main academic blocks in the morning when my students are more alert. Looking at samples of other teacher’s schedules is always helpful for me when I am planning.
Teach Routines
One of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for success is to teach routines! Self-contained classrooms thrive on predictability. Start by determining what your students need to follow in the classroom. Just a few of examples include arrival/unpacking procedures, walking in the hall, safety drills, lunch routines, and packing up/dismissal procedures.
Then, practice, practice, practice! Practicing routines consistently makes them stick with your students. You can use a task analysis data sheet to take data on students’ progress with learning routines. This will help you pinpoint any areas that need improvement!
Get to Know Your Students
Another super important thing to do during the first week with your students is to get to know them! Of course, you will have reviewed their IEPs before school starts. But, getting to know your students as individuals is just as important!
I like to incorporate a few different activities to get to know my students. One thing I do is to add a “Question of the Day” slide to my morning. I ask a question, with some visual support for answer choices. That gives kids a chance to share more info about themselves and helps me to make connections with my students.
Another way I get to know my students is to have them complete “All About Me” books. This is a fun activity that allows students to indicate some of their favorite things! Having parents fill out a “Getting to Know Your Child” survey is also helpful! You can download that free survey HERE!
Still have questions about setting up your self-contained classroom? Check out Simple Self-Contained 101! This course goes over everything you need to set up a successful classroom!
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