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Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Planning

December 2, 2018 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Planning is a critical executive functioning skill that helps kids and young adults achieve success in and outside of the classroom. Executive functioning skills are the complex mental processes that work together to help us accomplish tasks and goals. When learners struggle with these skills, daily life activities can become particularly challenging. While all executive functioning skills are important in their own way, this post targets interventions specifically for kids who struggle with the ability to plan.

What is planning? Planning is the ability to think about an end-goal and create a roadmap to help you get there. Someone who plans well is more likely to achieve their goals effectively and efficiently, since making a plan allows us to think through what we want to ultimate accomplish. I like to think of planning as one of the more foundational executive functioning skills, as it sets the stage for success. It’s always best to figure out a thorough plan before starting a task.

• Examples of Planning •

It’s important to note that planning can impact all areas of someone’s life, including academically, socially, and personally. Here are several examples of planning in real life:

Filling out a graphic organizer before writing an essay.
Taking a few extra minutes to think about what needs to be done today.
Writing down homework in an agenda before class is over.
Planning out times for events so activities do not overlap.
Figuring out which college to attend to enter into a specific career.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Planning •

Identifying possible challenging with executive functioning skills can make the difference between success and struggle for a student. All kids have bad days once in a while, but if some of these behaviors occur on a regular basis, it should be an indicator to provide interventions and supports.

Possible signs of challenges with planning include:

Having difficulty starting or completing long-term assignments.
Forgetting to bring home necessary books, binders, or materials.
Writing papers, essays, or stories that are difficult to follow.
Just start tasks without considering the best strategies to completing the task.
Make impulsive decisions without considering consequences.
Have to frequently re-do assignments because they didn’t follow the guidelines.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Planning •

Work can always be done to help kids and young adults strengthen their executive functioning skills. Here are some activities, tasks, and ideas to help with planning needs:

Teach planning explicitly by explaining the skill, real life examples, and why it matters.
Discuss the plans of the day during morning meeting.
Use graphic organizers for writing assignments.
Set students up with a homework binder and daily homework agenda (use this free homework binder to get started).
Have students make a to-do list before starting longer assignments.
Provide a rubric for larger assignments.
Show models and visuals of what finished assignments should look like.
Use apps for planning, like Trello and Evernote.
Use a calendar regularly.
Have students place their daily schedules on their binders.
Post the daily objectives and schedule in view.
Keep important dates listed in sight on a regular basis.
Practice developing SMART goals and steps to follow through with them.
Use behavior reflection pages to help consider possible choices.
Use an end-of-the-day reminder sheet to help students think about what materials they need (try this free checklist).
Highlight positive examples of planning in the classroom.

• Strategies for Parents to Support Planning at Home •

Parents can play a huge role in supporting and encouraging executive functioning skills in the home environment. Since EF skills impact all areas on a person’s life, it’s extremely helpful for learners to practice these skills in different environments. Here are some activities parents and families can do to strengthen skills for planning:

Practice making to-do lists together for various tasks.
Create a structured homework time and space at home.
Choose a recipe together and plan out how to cook the meal.
Make a household grocery list together.
Help list out materials, steps, and due dates for long-term projects together.
Use a calendar to plan weekly and monthly family events.
Discuss the day’s plans at morning breakfast or on the ride to school.
Plan a vacation or short weekend trip together.
Develop and write down weekly goals for school work, cleaning, or other tasks.
Have kids list three steps for an activity before they can start it (i.e. going out to the movies or having a friend over the house).
Encourage kids and young adults to gather school materials and clothes for the next day the night before.
Discuss examples of planning at jobs in real life.

If you notice this is an area your learners struggle with, get started by teaching executive functioning skills explicitly today. I have created units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and for younger learners. Targeting these skills will take a little bit extra time, but will be worth the effort!

5 Daily Struggles for Kids with Executive Functioning Challenges

September 4, 2018 by pathway2success 1 Comment

A number of kids struggle with executive functioning skills on a daily basis. Sometimes these struggles are obvious, like having a messy binder or forgetting to turn homework in, but other times they are more hidden. This is a critical topic because all educators have these kids in our classrooms every single day. Here are five daily struggles for kids with executive functioning challenges and what you can do to help:

STAYING ORGANIZED. To me, this is one of the biggest challenges I’ve seen after teaching middle school especially. In school, kids are expected to juggle and organize so many different papers, binders, journals, and books. So often, students don’t know the right place to put materials or organize in the first place. Other times, even when students do understand how to organize, there is often just not enough time. The bell rings and it’s time to transition to the next class, so what does the student do? Shove all their papers into the closest folder and heads out right away. Finally, for many kids, disorganization has been the only way they’ve ever known! Some of these kids don’t realize how much easier and orderly life would be if they just learned a few extra skills and tricks.

What you can do:

Explicitly teach organization. Always spend time teaching organization. No matter the age, your learners are going to need to learn your system of organization. That takes time and practice! I developed an Organization Boot Camp specifically for kids and young adults who struggle and need a more in-depth set of activities to teach these skills.
Set up a homework binder. Helping kids set up a specific spot for homework only can make a huge difference for organization. This should be the dedicated spot where all current homework goes. It helps kids differentiate what work needs to be done tonight and what work needs to be filed away in another spot. You can use this free homework binder template to start your students off.
Give time to organize. I would say this is one of the easiest things you can do that is often forgotten about! When you ask students to change from one binder to another, give your struggling organizers sufficient time to do it. Moving on too fast only reinforces kids who shove papers away in a messy manner. These kids are going to take more time putting materials away in the right spot, and they deserve that time to do it.
Use visuals. Take a picture of a model desk to show how it should be organized. Tape the photo on the wall or on a certain student’s desk to help remind them.

TRANSITIONS. Many kids with EF challenges struggle when it’s time to stop something and move on to something else. This task switching really takes a lot of brain power! You have to have self-control to stop what you are already engaged in, use organizational skills to put things away in their correct places, initiate the switch, and be mentally flexible to move on to something new. This can be especially difficult when adults are expecting a learner to transition to a new task or class within just a few minutes. While many students have have routines and strategies to help them during transition times, there is a large portion of kids who just never put those puzzle pieces together. This can often leave them even more disorganized, confused, and behind schedule.

What you can do:

Create routines. Practice your transitions several times with students so they become second nature. Kids who are inflexible and struggle with changing from one activity to another will do considerably better when the transition is practiced and more comfortable.
Give countdowns. Let students know how much time they have left to work on their research papers or during break time. This at least gives a concrete warning. For kids who struggle with time management, setting a backwards timer can be helpful, too.
Use a chime. Using a calming sound like a chime when it’s time for transitions can help prime kids and young adults for the change. It will gain their attention and help serve as a memorable indicator that it’s time to change what we’re doing.
Use visuals. Make a list of steps for transitions that are particularly difficult and keep them posted. This will serve as a visual reminder when it is time to move from one activity to another or switch classes.
Use social scripts. Previewing the steps of a transition can be extremely helpful for kids. A social script is a short narrative a child or young adult can read to themselves prior to the transition to remind them of the expectations and plan. You can create your own or use these social scripts to help kids who need this extra support.

HOMEWORK. The whole idea of homework is that it should be extended practice kids and young adults can do independently. When a learner has a difficulty with executive functioning skills, that is often not the case at first. So often, kids with EF challenges don’t ever stop to write the homework down in class in the first place, or stop to make sure they have all their materials before they head home. This is the first thing that sets them back. Further, starting homework independently takes a good amount of task initiation skills mixed with self-control. For kids with already-weak inhibition skills, playing videogames, chatting with friends, or playing outside seems a lot more enticing than opening up a math book. Finally, when learners do finally start the homework, it can be challenging and, let’s be honest, boring. Sticking with it, or perseverance, is a skill that many students don’t always have on their own. If they come to a task that’s perceived as challenging, it’s often easier to abort the mission than to seek out solutions and work though.

What you can do:

Be consistent. Keep homework written in the exact same spot in your classroom every day. Teach students that this is the one homework spot and keep it consistent throughout the year. This makes a huge difference for kids who struggle with EF skills, since it can become a lot of mental energy and work to figure out where the homework is before even starting the process of writing it down.
Give prompts. Take time to prompt students to write homework down, especially the ones you know struggle to do it. Instead of just telling them to write it down, encourage them to think on their own by saying, “What should you be doing down right now?” or “Look around and notice what others are writing down.”
Make an end of the day checklist. Help kids come up with a list detailing what they need when they walk out the door. This can help students review their homework planners, make sure they know what assignments to work on, and bring home the necessary materials. Use this free end of the day checklist to get started.
Talk to families. Help set up more positive supports at home for kids who struggle with getting their work done. Talk to families about a dedicated workspace for homework and strategies for when the child gets stuck on assignments.

FOCUSING IN CLASS. Attention is a fascinating skill. It’s not something we just keep on permanently. Instead, it’s a skill we learn to focus and re-adjust constantly when we find ourselves starting to zone out. Kids with weak executive functioning often don’t know this secret, though. In a class, these are the students who are frequently looking out the window, playing with something in their desk, or just daydreaming to themselves. It’s not that they mean to not pay attention. It’s often that they don’t know how and when to refocus themselves in the right way. This becomes especially challenging in long classes with lots of lecture and talking. Of course, a child or young adult can also become extremely frustrated when they can’t focus, as it causes them to feel confused and not know what is going on. Sometimes, this can unfortunately snowball into a child who gives up easily and doesn’t try. Again, it’s not that they want to be unfocused, but they are severely lacking the skills to get there.

What you can do:

Incorporate movement. Learning doesn’t have to be stationary! Kids learn better when they are moving. Have students working while standing up at the board during math time, or moving from center to center when completing writing prompt questions. If you have a specific student who needs even more movement, give them specific jobs to deliver messages to another teacher or the office just to get their legs moving throughout the day.
Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a great strategy to help kids improve their focus while also learning skills for managing emotions and feeling calm. You can use mindfulness activities just before a test, after a transition, or any other time to calm kids feel more focused and in control. Note that mindfulness is a long-term practice and not a quick fix, but can really help kids over time!
Give time for brain breaks. Brain breaks are another great option to get kids moving. They are quick activities that help break up the learning and let the brain recharge for a short period of time. You can do anything from having kids do 10 jumping jacks to practicing a few yoga postures. These activities can be done anytime between transitions to help keep kids alert. I love these executive functioning games and play activities, mainly because they provide a fun brain break while still working on the skills kids need!
Teach attention skills. Explicitly teach what it means to focus in class, what behaviors students can engage in to help them stay focused, and how to refocus when attention wanes.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. Sometimes when we think of executive functioning, we only think of academics. That’s actually not always the case! Kids and young adults who struggle with EF skills also can experience big challenges when it comes to social skills and dealing with others. Lots of social situations require us to understand social rules, use self-control, plan our responses, have flexibility when things don’t go our way, and use coping skills to manage our emotions when we are upset. For kids who lack these skills, social interactions can be especially difficult.

What you can do:

Openly express social expectations. If you are having group work, make sure you go over what it means to be a good partners ahead of time. I love using visuals for this because they are something you can keep up to remind students, as needed. Just a simple list for what you do when you are playing games with others or a visual to show group work expectations can go a long way.
Explicitly teach social skills. All kids can benefit from social skill instruction, though some need it more explicitly than others. You can use social skills lessons for younger students or social skills lessons for older kids to teach the skills they need. These lessons and activities can be taught in morning meeting, during a lunch group, or advisory periods.
Use social scripts. Some students really benefit from previewing social expectations right before a situation occurs. You can have social scripts for before recess, lunch, group work, and other social times to help remind students what will happen and what they can do. You can develop your own or use these pre-made social scripts to help support students’ needs.
Give opportunities for positive social interactions. Kids need practice in applying social skills! You can always integrate your content into games and group activities to give students this time with their peers. I also love these games and play activities for executive functioning skills as a way to specifically target the EF skills these kids need.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING RESOURCES & IDEAS. If you are seeking more information about executive functioning skills and how you can support your learners, consider the following blog posts and resources:

Blog Posts:

Resources to Teach EF Skills:

An Open Letter to Administrators of Special Educators

July 2, 2018 by pathway2success 3 Comments

Dear administrators,

Let me start off by saying that I write this letter on behalf of special educators. While it’s true that I might not speak for every single special ed teacher, after spending 10 years in the classroom, I like to think I speak for many.

First off, we truly appreciate all that you do. As a special educator, our caseloads are often so small compared to the number of students you must interact with on a daily basis. We understand that the mandates, challenging behaviors, and needs of a whole school are a lot to handle. We respect your role and want to be there to support you to make the best possible impact on our school community together. But in order to do this together, there are a few things you need to know from the special educators you work with.

Please respect that what we do is different from the average classroom teacher. And when I say that, I don’t mean better or worse. We’re just different. While a teacher might have multiple report card comments and grades to enter, we spend time updating our IEP goals. While a regular educator grades a stack of tests, we are scoring, analyzing, and writing reports for our educational evaluations. Please value the work that we do every day, even though it doesn’t look exactly the same as other teachers.

When you walk into our classrooms, please don’t judge us right off the bat. Special educators must be masters of going with the flow and putting out a fire before it becomes an inferno. You might not even realize we are using these skills in the moment, but we are. If you walk in and we’re playing Uno or talking about our dogs, trust me, there’s a really good reason. If you see us blissfully walking past a behavior that another student would probably get a detention for, we’re not clueless. We’re using planned ignoring in an effort to extinguish that behavior. When you notice we are celebrating something that seems like a small task, it’s because it took that child a lot to get there. And yes, the classroom might be a complete disaster at any given moment. Whether that’s because a child had an emotional meltdown or because we just haven’t had a moment to clean up from our craft activity, know that we are working on it.

Understand that relationship-building is an essential part of our job. We are expected to help kids work on their weaknesses every day, pushing them to go further and further. This takes a truly special type of bond between an educator and the students. Sometimes that means we have to do silly things or just spend time building those relationships up. This isn’t wasted time. It’s an investment in building confidence and relationships with our students so we can help them get to where they need to be.

Know that there are parts to our job you may never “see”. While some of these are not specific to special ed, I do think it’s important to note them. We spend countless hours communicating with parents through email, on the phone, and in person to build strong home-school connections. We tirelessly collaborate with regular education teachers to try and find a balance between the appropriate level of supports and modifications. Many special educators also spend nights answering additional parent emails to update on a child’s day, writing educational reports for an upcoming IEP meeting, and finding materials to bring our lessons to live for our students. To be quite honest, there’s not enough time to do everything during the school day. So, even though you don’t see these things happening, just know that they are and we’re working really hard to make a difference every day.

Give us positive feedback. Of course, you should tell us you appreciate us and that we’re an asset to the building, but do more than that. Let us know specifically what you saw that showed us what a great job we’re doing. Write us a quick note expressing how you saw how we interacted with a student who was having a tough moment and helped to turn that child’s day around. Send a quick email recognizing how organized we were for a really challenging IEP meeting that went on.

Spend time in our classrooms. Get to know our students and how amazing they are every single day. At the next IEP meeting for each child, we would love nothing more than for you to share something positive you saw that child doing or discuss a strength you’ve seen in action. Being in our classrooms helps you understand our needs, too. Special educators have a way of solving problems without ever making an issue out of it. We would love for you to see how innovative and creative we are, but also to recognize the needs for things in our room we don’t have.

Recognize the amazing work of our paraprofessionals. I even like to call them paraeducators because that’s what they are. Educators. So often, the paraeducators in a school go unnoticed. They work magic with our students and our the true backbone to a strong special education department. While they don’t often want the spotlight, it would mean so much to us if you could recognize the hard work they do day in and day out.

Encourage us to grow. We are specialized in special education, but that doesn’t mean we know everything. Offer us new strategies, share recent articles about techniques you’ve heard of, and even encourage us to attend an outside professional development session on a topic that would make a difference for our learners.

Most importantly, know we love our students. In special ed, it is absolutely always about the kids. With that, we know what’s best for our kids. When we suggest a reading program, modification, or communication device for our learners, it’s because they really need it. When we mention that a student really needs paraprofessional support, it’s because we professionally know this is the right step to be made. We’re not trying to make things easier for our kids or make our own lives easier either. We are always trying to push our kids forward. Sometimes that means taking one step back before a leap can be made. Know that in every single decision we make, it’s for our kids.

The job of a special educator is seriously challenging. So much so that half of special ed teachers will quit within the first 5 years. And half of those teachers who make it will leave the profession within 10 years. This isn’t said to scare anyone, but instead to prove that it’s important to listen to the voices of special educators across the country. Start with the ones in your own school and community. Talk to them. Ask them how they’re doing and what they need. Give them the support, encouragement, and autonomy to make the best choices they can for their learners.

Sincerely,

Special Education Teachers

10 Ways to Build Relationships with Kids

June 17, 2018 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Relationship building is the single most important way you can impact a child’s life. So often, kids actually can’t learn from someone they can’t connect with. I’m also convinced that building a strong relationship with a kid or young adult diminishes a huge number of behavior challenges. Many times I worked with students who were “behavior problems” in the classes of several teachers. Those teachers would think I was crazy when I would say, “They worked great for me!” and I’d even invite them to come to see those students work in the resource room with me. Building that connection is the best proactive strategy to support learning and classroom management. It’s a no brainer.

It’s critical to work on building those relationships early, because it gets harder if a student acts out in a class first. At that point, so often the teacher and student are already not getting along. Resentment builds and fixing that relationship becomes more and more challenging. It can be done, but it starts with us as the adults. So, whether you are just starting the school year or in the middle of one, use these strategies to work on building and strengthening your bonds with each of your students.

1. Talk to them about non-school related subjects. Ask about the local fair in town, how the pizza at the new restaurant in town is, and even debate what the best phone is at the moment.

2. Let them teach you about their interests. Letting kids teach their teacher can be very empowering for them. A few years ago, I worked with an 8th grade boy who knew everything about dirt-biking. He taught me about dirt-bike races, customizing bikes, and where the local places to practice were. I will be the first to tell you that you will never see me on a dirt-bike, but that did not stop me from learning! I even picked out my would-be biking gear if I ever did race. In my past years as an educator, I’ve learned about everything from My Little Pony and makeup to robotics and basketball. Find out what each student is an expert in, and let them teach you.

3. Remember things about their lives. During a lesson, activity, discussion, or just interaction in the hall, bring up something that you remember about that student. During passing time, ask them how their team did during the game over the weekend. During afternoon homeroom, strike up a conversation about a students’ family or trip they are taking soon. These small gestures remind kids that you really know and care about them.

4. Share about your own life. This is one of the strongest ways to build connections early on. Share about your family, pets, vacations, and activities you do outside of school. My middle schoolers loved hearing about my dog, Nova. In fact, we had an ongoing joke that if you wanted to distract me from class, just bring up Nova. This really helps kids to see you as a real person. It’s important to keep boundaries, of course, but a balance can and should be done.

5. Engage in activities with them. If you are after school and see kids practicing basketball, run in and take a few shots. It’s fine if you’re not a basketball star. Kids won’t care about that. Instead, they will love that you joined in. Maybe they can even give you tips about playing. Check-in with students during art club or cheer on a student at the track and field meet. I know the educators are busy. Note that you don’t have to stay the whole time or dedicate yourself to leading one of these activities. Just stopping in and showing you care will help strengthen those relationships over time.

6. Tell hilarious (and even embarrassing) stories. Sharing funny stories helps you show vulnerability in front of your students. It shows you are a real person. The time my dog barked ferociously at a snowman on a walk. When I spent a lot of money on concert tickets only to stand directly behind a 6’5” man (note that I’m 4’11”). The time I slid completely into a mud pile from my arms all the way to my toes. These real-life stories are great to bring up when you need to get kids’ attention or shift the energy in the energy in the room. And trust me, kids will remember these!

7. Share inspirational stories from your life. I loved sharing with my learners that I was the first in my family to go to college and paid for it myself. I let them know that it was actually my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Therrien, who told me that I could be the first in my family to get there, and she was right. I also loved sharing with my students about planning my trip to California, somewhere I’ve always dreamed of going. These stories help kids see you as a real person, but also remind kids that they, too, can achieve their goals and dreams.

8. Do crazy things. Don’t be afraid to do something different or wild in the classroom to get kids attention! Stand on a desk or chair while giving important directions, sing a song about a lesson, or . I’m pretty sure I embarrassed my middle schoolers with my songs, such “Write your name,” (to the tune of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’) and “Who Let the Students Out,” (to the tune of ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’). Most importantly though, these experiences stood out for the kids. It’s fine if you’re not super comfortable going all out. Start with just one thing outside your comfort zone!

9. Use their interests in your lessons and activities. Sometimes this takes a little bit of planning but can go a long way! If you’re studying percentages in math, talk about the percentages of shots someone on a basketball team makes. If you’re learning about energy in science, discuss the energy used in a race car. There are so many options for this throughout the year.

10. Apologize when you mess up. Making mistakes does not make you a bad teacher. It happens to everyone – even the best and most seasoned educators. We do need to own up to our mistakes when we make them, though. Really apologize when you make a mistake. For whatever reason, sometimes adults don’t like to do this, but it truly goes a long way in building trust.

If you need more ideas, check out my store for lots of resources and freebies you can use with your learners right away. You might also want to read up on other blog posts I’ve written, including:

If you love the 10 Ways to Build Relationships poster below, you can now get it as a free poster in my Free Social Emotional Learning Posters.

50+ Free Counseling and SEL Resources

September 1, 2017 by pathway2success 13 Comments

Use this list of free resources to use in counseling and social emotional learning activities to help you work with kids and young adults. As a special educator for 10 years, I can say without a doubt that we need more counseling and social emotional learning supports for kids and young adults. Some of my best days in the classroom involved collaborating with the school counselor, social worker, and school psychologist to create lessons and activities for our kids. Whether you are a school counselor, outside therapist, psychologist, social worker, or special educator, many of these resources might be able to help you as you work with kids. Free resources include printable materials, websites, Pinterest boards to follow, apps, and videos.

– Free Printable Resources –

1. 100 Free Coping Strategies List – A 2-page printable with 100 coping strategies.

2. Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards – Task cards that highlight social scenarios and situations for kids to solve.

3. Growth Mindset Task Cards – Task cards that help teach hard work, persistence, grit, dedication, and a positive mindset.

4. 101 Free Positive Affirmations List – A 2-page printable list with 101 positive statements for kids to read.

5. Mindfulness Breathe Boards – Two free printable breathe boards to help focus on deep breathing techniques.

6. Think Feel Act Worksheets – Free worksheets to help explain the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

7. Power of Yet Posters – Three simple posters that encourage hard work and dedication.

8. Free Overcoming Adversity Activities – Worksheets and lessons to help kids and young adults overcome challenges and adversity.

9. Free Coping Strategies Notebook – Use this resource to help kids set up their own individualized coping strategies binders.

10. Mindfulness Coloring Pages – Free mindfulness coloring pages with positive sayings.

11. Daily Planner Page – A few simple pages to help keep you on track for the day.

12. Middle School Keys to Success – Worksheet and activity to help kids succeed at middle school.

13. Conversation Starter Cards – Mix of questions regarding self, home, friends, school, family, and more to get to know kids.

14. All About Me – Free 1-page worksheet for kids to share interesting facts about themselves.

15. Free Divorce Worksheets – Information explaining what divorce means for kids and families.

16. What Pushes Your Buttons: Anger Triggers – Checklist of possible triggers for anger.

17. Anger Management Worksheets – Printables including anger trigger worksheets and an anger log.

18. Free Positive Posters – Set of 8 simple posters to help encourage, calm, and soothe kids.

19. Break Cards – Three sets of break cards that encourage kids to take breaks in positive ways.

20. How Big Is My Problem? Task Cards – Task cards that help kids determine how “big” each problem is in a variety of scenarios.

21. Life-Skills Discussion Checklist – Checklist to survey young adults and help determine areas to talk about for support.

22. Free Executive Functioning Workbook – Guide and workbook to help teach kids executive functioning and study skills.

23. Self Esteem Bookmarks – Bookmarks for kids to color while helping them learn positive self-talk and a growth mindset.

24. Counseling Planning Forms – Free worksheets to help you organize and plan counseling sessions.

25. Gratitude Activities – Worksheets and activities to help focus on gratitude and positive thinking.

– Free Apps –

26. Headspace: Guided Meditation & Mindfulness – This app provides meditation exercises with a coach that helps you learn as you go.

27. The Mindfulness App – A mindfulness app that helps you become more present in your daily life with guided and silent meditation sessions.

28. Aware – This app leads you through daily mindfulness meditation techniques, including energizing activities and breathing practice.

29. Stop Breathe & Think: Meditate – Tailored to your specific emotions, this app helps you take a break and reduce stress through meditation.

30. MyCalmBeat – This app provides training and practice in slow, deep breathing for stress reduction.

31. Breathe – An app that assists in controlling your breathing.

32. Gratitude Journal – This app helps you focus on the positive by identifying what you are thankful for each day.

33. Pacifica – Stress & Anxiety – Tools for mindfulness, meditation, relaxation, and health/mood tracking.

34. Affirmation Reminder – Select from a list of positive affirmations or make your own to add as reminders.

35. ColorMe – Free coloring app to help reduce stress.

36. Relax Melodies – Free app with white noise and calming sounds for sleeping and meditation.

Free Websites

37. The Calm Clinic – Website with articles specifically focused on anxiety.

38. National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens – Lots of free resources and information for parents, educators, counselors, and teens themselves.

39. Love Is Respect – Website that teaches young adults about health relationships.

40. PsychCentral – Detailed information, resources, and articles on a number of mental health disorders and disabilities.

41. American Psychological Association – Large assortment of free information on topics and latest research.

42. College Board – Website to help young adults, parents, and counselors navigate through college decisions.

– Free Videos –

43. Creating a Coping Strategies Notebook

44. School Counselor Office Must Haves

45. Developing a School Counseling Program

46. Clipboard Progress Monitoring

– Pinterest Boards –

47. Counseling & Mental Health for Young Adults

48. Child Anxiety

49. Guidance, Counseling, & Social Work

50. Therapist Community Board

51. Coping Strategies

52. School Counseling

I hope these free resources and materials are helpful to you and the kids you are working with! If you are looking for even more resources, consider checking out all of my free and paid resources in my store here.

Making a “Getting to Know You” Fortune Teller

August 13, 2017 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

The start of the school year is the most critical time to help build positive relationships in your classroom. That’s why I’m always seeking new and fun ways to incorporate “getting to know you” activities for the back to school season. This is the best time to help all students feel part of the classroom community. Using a Getting to Know You Fortune Teller is a perfect activity for this. It’s a hands-on, fun, and interactive way to get your kids talking, sharing ideas, and bonding as a community of learners. It’s also important to mention that the activity also incorporates art, following directions, fine motor skills, taking turns, and writing.

First, kids use a list of over 100 getting to know you questions to come up with their top 8 questions to ask peers. They must choose two questions from each category: school, silly & fun, yourself, and activities. This helps so that kids ask each other a wide variety of questions.

Kids will write their questions in the fortune teller. It’s interesting to see what questions kids want to ask others!

If you need an accommodation for some students, you can hand out pre-made fortune teller sheets with the questions already written down. You might even choose to do this for the whole class if you need a time saver! Just simply pass out a different page to each student so that different questions are being asked around the room.

Kids will then spend time creativity coloring and designing their fortune tellers. This is also a great time for small group discussions at tables and desks.

Once they are colored, kids will cut out their fortune tellers around the dotted lines.

Next, they will fold their fortune tellers. It’s helpful to use the picture directions so that kids can follow along easily and efficiently. You may also want to have a few student helpers (who you have already trained!) walking around the room. This part of the activity is a great way to assess following directions early on!

Once the fortune tellers are made, kids should work with a partner and ask questions as they use their fortune tellers. Encourage students to take turns with using the fortune teller but also remember to allow lots of student conversations! This is the best time for kids to get to know each other, laugh, listen, and just feel part of the classroom community. You can choose whether to have students work with just one partner, or to go around the room and travel from partner to partner.

Kids should also write down information they learn about their partner(s) on a worksheet. This is helpful so that at the end of the lesson, different students can share out interesting things they’ve learned about their peers.

If you love the idea of this Getting to Know You Fortune Teller activity, give it a try this back to school season! It includes 4 lists of over 130 questions for kids, a blank fortune teller, 16 pre-made fortune tellers, and many student response sheets. An educator guide with steps to take before and during the lesson, detailed student directions with photos, and student directions posters during the lesson are also included to keep everyone on track. Whether you are a regular educator, special educator, counselor, or other specialist, this craft will help your kids get to know each other and build the positive community every classroom needs.

Clipboard Progress Monitoring

August 2, 2017 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Progress monitoring is often a lot of work for educators. In this video, I explain how how to use clipboards in your classroom to help you manage student data and progress monitoring. I love this tip because it’s a simple solution for how to take quick and easy student data on the go! After watching the video, check out the links below to find the right progress monitoring forms for you and your learners.

Resources I discussed in the video:
Free Progress Monitoring – A free set of progress monitoring forms you can use to help track student goals and progress.

Editable Progress Monitoring – An editable set of progress monitoring forms for tracking student data. The benefit to editable forms is that you can copy and paste your students’ goals right into the forms, save them on your computer, and print them. This gives you a computer file of student goals as well as a printed form for on the go progress monitoring.

Progress monitoring should help you track trends and make critical educational decisions for kids. It shouldn’t take up all of your time! Find a method for tracking data that works for you and stick with it to help your kids grow.

12 Things Special Educators Need

August 1, 2017 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Being a special educator is an amazing title that comes with lots of prep work and responsibility! There are just some resources that a special educator really needs to have in their classroom to help keep them organized, data-driven, and their students on track. Whether you are prepping your classroom for the back to school season

Here are 12 things special education teachers need for back to school:

1. A timer. These come in all shapes and sizes. My personal favorite is a visual timer that shows how much time has passed. These are just critical when you are timing a transition, a lesson, or during a student’s time out period. I like to have multiple timers all around the room. Encourage students to use them, too! It’s great to have kids timing themselves on how long an assignment will take or seeing if they can beat their past fluency rate.

2. A hanging file folder. Words cannot express how critical a hanging file folder can be! They are the perfect place to add folders with individual student names. I like to add any outstanding work, assessments to be finished, or important materials to go home to these files. Kids know when they walk in the door to check their files first. If there is anything in that file, it is a “do now”. Hanging file folders are also a great place to store reflection sheets, goal pages, homework logs, or any other resources you’re going to need frequently.

3. Extra pencils. I mean LOTS of extra pencils. Buy so many you think you will never use them and then stockpile them in a cabinet. You will probably be out by halfway through the year!

4. Magnetic tape. This stuff is the best for putting posters, index cards, artwork, and more up on your board. I personally love making an index card for each class I teach and then putting it up on the board with magnetic taper. Underneath, I’ll list the expectations and plans for the day in that class. These are great because you can use them over and over throughout the years.

5. Coping strategies notebooks. These are extremely helpful for kids with emotional challenges. A coping strategies notebook is just a binder with individualized coping strategies inside for each student. Kids can develop their notebooks with the help of an adult and use it on their own in times of stress. Use this free coping strategies notebook to get started with one in your classroom.

6. A craft bin. Add any assorted craft materials and add them to a bin or cabinet in your classroom. You just never know when a project is going to require popsicle sticks, shoe boxes, or yarn. As a special ed teacher, I end up saving everything for that one time I might need it. It comes in really handy when you do!

7. Books. A classroom library really should have a bunch of books. As a special educator, you are going to need many different levels to meet the needs of your students. Consider asking your friends and family member to donate any old childrens or teens books that they have. My first year, I was very lucky to have a friend set up donation bins at their work and church for me. I ended up bringing about ten big boxes of books into school completely free. If that’s not an option, consider checking out tag sales or sales at your local library for some deals.

8. A binder for every student. I love to use reflection binders to help kids chart their progress over time. It’s important that every student has their own individual binder to store their goals, progress, charts, data, and anything they are proud of and what to keep throughout the year.

9. Alternative seating options. In the past I’ve used mini-rugs, exercise balls, bean bags, beach chairs, and wiggle stools. Kids just love having the option to sit a different way. This is especially important for kids with ADHD. While some seating options can be on the expensive side, you don’t have to go broke to invest in some seating options in your classroom. Many options exist at your local dollar store or discount store.

10. Progress monitoring sheets. Every special ed teacher needs a simple and easy way to take data. Use these free progress monitoring sheets to print, fill out, and clip to clipboards. This makes them easily accessible for you or a paraprofessional to utilize and fill out data throughout the day. If you need an even easier solution, use these editable progress monitoring forms to copy and paste your students’ goals into, print, and go.

11. A reward system. The options are really endless with reward systems. You can choose whether you want a classwide behavior system or reward systems that are more individually based. This might also depend on your age/grade level. I’ve found that the best reward systems are developed WITH your students. That means involving them on how they can earn points or classroom currency and having a class discussion for what types of rewards can be earned. The best types of rewards are really free: listening to music, a half homework pass, lunch with a friend, taking a walk, leading the class, and a free time pass.

12. Task cards. I love task cards because you can get them on any subject you need. They’re so helpful in the special education classroom because you can have students working on different sets of activities with task cards simultaneously. They are small and can fit in a folder or bin for safe keeping. It’s helpful to have a variety of task cards on subjects like reading comprehension, vocabulary, social skills, writing, math, and even study skills.

What else do you think special educators must have in their classroom? Let me know!

Top 10 Middle School Keys to Success

February 7, 2016 by pathway2success 8 Comments

I absolutely love teaching middle school. Sometimes, though, when people hear that I teach middle school, they seem to feel bad for me. Like middle school is some type of unknown vortex for kids. Maybe that’s why I love it so much. It’s a time of creativity, instability, and the unknown. It’s a time when kids are going from being children to young adults. So much happens from 6th to 8th grade, and as a special education teacher, I have the unique experience of working with kids all the way through their middle school years. It’s truly a blast (granted, there are really hard days, but overall, it’s a blast!).

I’m noticing more and more that kids are having significant difficulty transitioning over from elementary school to middle school. Trust me, it’s always been a challenge for both the kids and the parents. Lately, though, it’s been downright crazy. I’m not sure if it’s due to increased standards, busy and challenging home lives, or something unseen. Regardless, I see a big need to increase our kids more for middle school years.

These middle school transition activities will help young adults start the middle school years off right. Middle school hacks for success focus on staying organized, getting involved in activities, and more. #middleschool #teens #pathway2success

Middle School Transition Kit

With that, I recently put together a Middle School Transition Kit. It outlines everything a first year middle schooler needs to know about, including staying engaged in classes, dealing with different teachers, effective study habits, study halls, the importance of grades, lunch time, knowing the rules, changing for gym, and so much more. It’s amazing to see it all with a different lens, since there are such huge changes from elementary to middle.

I also put together the top 10 keys to middle school success:

#1 Sleep well. Teens and young adults should be getting 8 to 10 hours per night. Enough sleep is critical for your body and brain to function well.

#2 Eat right. Healthy and balanced meals give your body and mind energy to work well throughout the day. Take extra time and effort to make sure you’re not only eating enough, but eating a mix of everything you need (fruits, veggies, dairy, and whole grains).

#3 Do your homework. Making it a habit to do your homework each night will help you practice skills and be ready for the quizzes and tests. It also helps to show your teacher that you care, which may come in handy when you need his or her help.

#4 Pay attention in class. Focusing and using class time wisely is one of the best ways to get ahead in middle school. Since you’ll be switching around from class to class, it’s important to pay attention and follow along for every minute that you can.

#5 Get involved. Research shows that school involvement can be a big determining factor for your success. Kids who are involved with after school activities, sports, and clubs are more likely to do well inside and outside of school.

#6 Think positive. Things are going to get tough and overwhelming at times. It’s important to stay positive and know that you CAN do whatever you put your mind to.

#7 Ask for help. Whether it is academic, social, or emotional help, there are adults at the school ready and willing to help you. Seek out and ask for help when you feel you might need it.

#8 Stay organized. A little organization goes a LONG way in middle school. Writing down homework in a consistent place and keeping pages organized in the right spots will help you study, turn in work, and do better on tests/quizzes.

#9 Make goals. Give yourself something that you want to attain by the end of the marking term. Then, make a plan and stick with it to get there.

#10 Take risks. Middle school is the time when you start to grow up and figure out who you are in the world. Take risks and be brave. It will pay off in the end!

If you’re interested in teaching these keys to success to your middle schoolers (or future middle schoolers), get your own student-friendly free Middle School Keys to Success worksheet here:

Do you have any more keys to success that you think are necessary for your middle schoolers? Please share!

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Why It’s Okay to Reduce Homework

September 11, 2015 by pathway2success 3 Comments

Why It's Okay to Reduce Homework As teachers, we all want our students to learn, practice skills, and thrive. Time is certainly limited in our classes. Even critical academic time gets interrupted with so much from assemblies, to guest speakers, and even standardized assessments themselves. So, homework often seems to be a great way to get kids to practice those skills we have taught. It’s a deceiving idea, though. There is substantial research that extra homework is NOT the answer to getting children and young adults to learning more. In fact, sometimes overdoing the homework can have a pretty negative result, overflowing to the home and school the next day. Here are some thought provoking reasons why it is okay to reduce the homework.

Not All Kids are Created Equal – For some students, doing homework might be fairly quick. I know several students who enjoy homework, even. It comes easy to them and they can finish with their assignments within an hour of getting home. For other students, though, that same homework is a significant and painful challenge. Students with reading disabilities and weaknesses may struggle with just reading the directions. Children without access to computers or technology may lack the ability to find information online or access websites. Kids with limited attention may sit for 30 minutes and only get one problem done. Since not all kids are created equal, it seems insane to assign homework that is a one-size-fits-all. Simply put, kids who struggle are going to need less.

Home Time is Important – Working families are so busy. Parents come home, do chores, and start dinner. Time is really so limited to spend with kids. Consider that single hour left before bed time. Do you really want the only family time being used struggled with homework? While this could serve as family time, in many families it is probably more important for children to sit with their parents and talk, watch the news, or play a board game together.

Kids are Busy, Too – Children and young adults are so busy with their own activities that homework is often quite a struggle to fit in. Some who disagree with this mentality might say that academics should come before sports. It’s true! That is why kids spend six or seven hours a day in a school learning. It’s extremely important to a child’s social, emotional, and academic well-being to be involved outside of school in all sorts of ways. This might include sports, music, drama, dance, and a variety of other extracurrricular activities. Of course we want our kids to be academically solid learners, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals who can balance all aspects of their lives.

Homework is About Practice, Not Endurance – Imagine doing the same type of math problems over and over again thirty times. It gets old pretty quickly! At some point, it becomes only a race for endurance and no longer practicing the actual skill. So many kids burn out this way. Reducing homework to a minimum, though, is one simple way to get around this. You can still provide the practice and allow for independence while keeping the work to a reasonable level.

These points are not at all to say that some homework is not helpful- it is! Homework, in moderation, can help children and young adults practice skills, learn their weaknesses and strengths, build confidence, and come to class the following day prepared to ask questions and get necessary support. However, some points need to be remembered when you do in fact assign homework.

1. Give homework as practice, not a graded assessment. Homework should not be graded for accuracy. This is the time when kids should be practicing the skills. They should feel free to try new things and take risks. It’s perfectly find if students come to class with homework that is wrong, as long as they made a genuine effort. Homework should aid in the learning process and be a tool to help teachers guide instruction. It shouldn’t serve as an assessment.

2. Homework should be independent work. Some students have extremely supportive homes with parents available to sit with their children through the homework. Others simply do not, for a variety of reasons. The reasons really aren’t important. What is important is that homework shouldn’t need to be something a child does with their parent. The ultimate goal is that homework is done independently. If the homework is too challenging for a student to do on their own, consider changing that student’s assignment or the homework entirely.

3. Accommodate or modify for your struggling learners. The students needing specialized instruction or intervention support in specific subjects will need different and lower level assignments to help them through. As stated above, since not all kids are created equal, it’s impossible to think that a student reading two grades below grade level should be able to read and complete the same passage as someone reading on grade level or above. Consider your learners and allow differentiation. It’s also an important lesson for the kids to learn that sometimes what is fair doesn’t mean exactly the same.

4. Make homework meaningful. If you assign homework, you should definitely give time to go over problems, provide extended examples, and allow students to ask questions. Show students that the homework assignments are extensions of your learning during the day.

5. Be comfortable assigning just a few questions or problems. Sometimes teachers feel like they have to assign twenty or thirty questions for a homework assignment. If the goal is some practice to see if students really understand a skill or idea, just a few problems will often do.

6. If a student is struggling, ask them why. Recently, I had a student who was not completing any math assignments. When I talked to her about her lack of homework, she told me that the math was too challenging for her and she lost her calculator. What an easy fix! I immediately gave her what she deemed to be a “fancy” calculator. Within a week, her math work was caught up and her confidence zoomed through the roof. The lessons here is that if you have a student who is not turning in homework, talk to him or her personally. Find out why. It will give you so much insight to the student’s life and give you ideas for how you can help him or her along the way.

As the school year rolls on by, remember that homework is just one small part of the big equation. Students who are in our classrooms and schools are there for several hours each day. Homework should help reinforce skills, encourage independence, build confidence, and encourage questions for upcoming classes so that students are even more ready to learn. Always come back to these core principles with homework and you can’t go wrong.

If you are a parent struggling with homework completion at home, or a teacher who wants to help parents with this, consider the Parent Homework Helper to save you some time.

An Open Letter to Administrators of Special Educators

Making a “Getting to Know You” Fortune Teller

Clipboard Progress Monitoring

12 Things Special Educators Need

Top 10 Middle School Keys to Success

Why It’s Okay to Reduce Homework

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