Joy Johnson

Playing BINGO is a great way to check for understanding or review for assessment. My special education friends love practicing letters, shapes, numbers, sight words and vocabulary related to our theme. For non-readers, cut out pictures corresponding to your unit of study. Place them on the form, copy, re-arrange and copy... Using stampers is an easy way to put letters/numbers/shapes or anything into each square. You can customize the game for any unit of study. Studying can fun!

After 18 years of teaching children with special needs, I have created various visual tasks. Included are 3 worksheets involving a matching format and color visuals (in 2 sizes) for flash cards. We cut out 2 sets of the signs and played match, "I have... Who has...?" and other simple games. Making several sets allows you to create patterns with pictures and count how many of each you have. Red light/green light is a wonderful game to support the lesson. You can have staff members push the wh

Visuals are a must in a primary grade level. Use the materials as visuals with songs, rhymes, stories... Print two copies to make matching games. Glue one set to a file folder and laminate the other set to create file folder activities. Use the visuals for nonverbal students to identify items. Have students sequence numbers, letters, days of the weeks and months of the year. Use the visuals to complete BOY, MOY and EOY assessments. This skills packet includes numbers 1-30, capital alphabet lette

This file includes cute printable cards to attach to sandwich bags and visual directions for students. It’s a great fine motor task for a party or work station and encourages sequencing & following directions. Add measurement tools to incorporate math skills. Also available in English.

Print the pages. You can make copies of each worksheet or laminate for continued use. For long term use, print, cut, laminate,  and cut again. You can add magnets for use on a white board or cookie sheet. Instead you could add Velcro for use on a felt board or storytelling glove. My students enjoyed laminated file folder activities for each thematic unit and I could use them for multiple years. Dry erase markers are easy to clean up from laminated pages. Students could also use Wiki Stix or Play

Over the past 28 years my philosophy of working with my special education students has shifted ever so slightly. Within the past several years I have learned something amazing; the less said, the better. My team of teachers and para-educators has worked very hard to follow a strict routine of "show more and say less". The 8.5" x 11" posters I have attached will help all teachers (general and special) stop the never ending repetition of basic directions. Creating a visual schedule in your roo

This file includes cute printable cards to attach to sandwich bags and visual directions for students. It’s a great fine motor task for a party or work station and encourages sequencing & following directions. Add measurement tools to incorporate math skills. Also available in Spanish.

Visuals for stories are great for young listeners and readers. Cut out and laminate the visuals. By putting a piece of Velcro, you can place visuals on a story telling glove or felt board. Put a piece of magnet on the back if your class has a magnetic white board. To address fine motor needs, print copies and have students cut out and glue (in story order) each image on to construction paper. Visuals allow students to identify each character, retell the story to peers or sequence the story's plo

Print the pages. You can make copies of each worksheet or laminate for continued use. For long term use, print, cut, laminate,  and cut again. You can add magnets for use on a white board or cookie sheet. Instead you could add Velcro for use on a felt board or storytelling glove. My students enjoyed laminated file folder activities for each thematic unit and I could use them for multiple years. Dry erase markers are easy to clean up from laminated pages. Students could also use Wiki Stix or Play

As a special service teacher, you quickly realize that documentation is your friend. Parent conferences are required at least once a year in most districts and mine is no exception. A standard form is used district wide, but my preschool, life skills and functional academic students have special items needing to be addressed. I always made a copy for myself and sent the original with the parents after the meeting. It's an easy way to take notes and ensures both parties are on the same page ab

Yes and no are the answers to some of life's greatest questions. Give your students a voice and teach them to make decisions. Once laminated, my students can decide and let me know if they want more food simply by touching or eye gazing. Being food is such a great motivator for our children, I usually taught the concept with a favorite treat.

Count Bounce Countdown By Kevin Quinn & Kids in Motion Any preschool or special service's classroom is usually covered in visual images labeling everything. As adults we read signs and labels because we are mostly visual learners. The Count Bounce Countdown is a cute rhythmic song that has helped many of my students learn to count to 10, identify numbers and demonstrate one to one correspondence. The images correspond to the song and can be used during circle/carpet time. Laminate the cards fo

Print, cut out and laminate these visuals to correspond with your science or geography lesson about the Artic and Antarctic areas. You could print two sets, and build a matching file folder game. Print the name of each animal and have students match the name with the correct image. Add a magnet or piece of Velcro to display the visuals on your white or felt board. Other than a zoo, most students will never see these cold environment animals up close. Realistic images provide a way for students t

This cute little rhyme can be used for counting and science (caterpillar life cycle). You can print, laminate and cut out the caterpillars. By adding a piece of Velcro, you can use the pieces on a felt board or glove. You can also add a piece of magnet to the back for your white board or use a cookie sheet as a display board. To create an interactive book simply print each page and two of the first page. Laminate all the pages and cut out the five caterpillars. Bind the book pages together. Put

Fine motor skills can be difficult for young learners and special service students. Incorporate the skills into your daily lesson plans and let the students have fun while increase hand strength and coordination. After reading the story, bring in real straw, sticks and a brick. Encourage sensory and visual exploration. You can do the entire activity in one ELAR block or spread the story over a week by focusing on one pig and one house each day. Cutting and gluing are great skills for primary lev

Christmas is a great time to incorporate songs into your circle/carpet time. My preschool and life skills students loved the music and learning the words with motions to these six songs. We would sing them at our Christmas party for the parents. It would always amaze the adults when a child that was usually nonverbal would mouth or actually sing the words. Like most my activities, the visuals are also beneficial for second language learners. This is a just for fun activity. Enjoy!

Print the pages. You can make copies of each worksheet or laminate for continued use. For long term use, print, cut, laminate,  and cut again. You can add magnets for use on a white board or cookie sheet. Instead you could add Velcro for use on a felt board or storytelling glove. My students enjoyed laminated file folder activities for each thematic unit and I could use them for multiple years. Dry erase markers are easy to clean up from laminated pages. Students could also use Wiki Stix or Play

Not all children get to experience seeing real farm animals face to face. Providing visuals is a way to engage all learners. Use with Old Macdonald or other farm songs, rhymes and stories. See if students can sequence the animals from your story or song. Some students can orally name each animal or the sound it makes. Other students can use the cards to identify each animal by it's teacher provided name or sound. Print two sets to create a match game or file folder activity. Also, visual images

Large set of shape visuals. Great for circle time or station work. Depending on the level of your students, use Wiki sticks, Play Dough or dry erase makers to outline the laminated shapes. Print two copies and have students make matches. Let verbal students name each shape or let nonverbal students identify each shape on request. Visual and tactile are greats ways to young children to learn.

Writing IEPs has come a long way in the 20 years I have been teaching special education. Here is a power point presentation I created for my team. The ideas are universal no matter what state you live in or what special education classes you teach. Our students deserve the best we can give them. This presentation guides new and old teachers to create the best objectives for all children.