Search Results for: social skills

10 Ways to Involve Young Adults in their IEP Meetings

September 17, 2017 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

A huge part of our job as special educators is empowering kids and young adults to make positive decisions in their own lives. One simple way to involve our students in some of those important decisions is getting them involved in their own IEP meetings. I always tell kids that they are the most important member of the IEP team, since the entire meeting is really all about them. So, it just makes sense to conference with them before the meeting, discuss their plan with them, invite them, encourage them to report on their own progress, and eventually even have them lead the whole meeting.

When kids and young adults are involved in their own IEP meetings, it helps them understand their own disability, strengths, areas to work on, goals, and modifications. Ultimately, this practice leads to greater confidence and increased self-advocacy skills for our students. Here are ten easy ways you can involve kids and young adults in their IEP meetings:

#1 Be transparent about the student’s disability and needs. Kids need to know and understand their disability in order to fully develop strategies to help them overcome their challenges. Contact families before and let them know you plan to discuss the student’s disability and needs with the child. Sometimes parents may want to address these topics at home first. Regardless of who discusses the topic first, it’s an important conversation to have. Remember to highlight the positive elements of their disability, too! For example, many kids with ADHD might struggle with focusing on a specific task at hand, but they are usually the best builders and hands-on workers of all. Similarly, kids with autism often struggle socially, but are the best to think of solutions outside of the box that no one else has thought of. Highlighting these elements can help kids come to terms with their disability in a positive way.

#2 Go over the student’s current IEP with them, explaining it as you go. Students need to understand their current plan and what it means. This will involve actually handing the student a copy of their own IEP to see the language and format of their plan. For a fun activity, kids can even learn about their IEP with an IEP Scavenger Hunt.

#3 Conference with students prior to their IEP meeting. Get feedback from the student to find out what is working for them and what could be improved. Use this time to talk with the student about how the IEP meeting will work and why their role is so important. So often, kids feel that adults make these plans for them. They sometimes feel that they have no control. This is now the time that they can have a voice! Many times, this can be very motivating for kids and young adults.

#4 Review the student’s goals and progress with them on a quarterly basis. The students should have a very clear understanding of the goals that are expected of them. So often we write goals for students and work on them in isolation. It makes so much more sense to involve our students in the process! A great way to do this is to add the student’s goals and objectives to an individual binder. Take time to check through the goals with the student and review progress on a regular basis. You can choose to review them quarterly or even more frequently is better. Discuss what’s working, what isn’t, and ways to make improvements. You can make your own binder with the student or use a Student Data Reflection Binder to start right away.

#5 Invite the student to the IEP meeting. Regardless of age, kids can always be part of their IEP meeting at least by attending. This gives them a greater understanding of what the meetings are all about. There may be topics and information the adults aren’t 100% comfortable sharing with the student, and that’s okay. Have the student wait in the office, a nearby classroom, or sitting in a chair right outside the room if sensitive information needs to be shared. Whenever possible, though, kids should be at the table listening and participating in their own meetings.

#6 Encourage students to complete a report or progress review to present at the IEP meeting. Have students themselves fill out this free self-assessment to help identify their growth, what went well, and what changes could be made for the future. If possible, have the student bring that form to the IEP meeting to report out on their own progress. This is a great way to get kids comfortable with attending and presenting at their IEP meetings. It also gives them a chance to have their voice heard. As an alternative to a written report, students can create their own PowerPoint presentation.

#7 Hold practice or mock IEP meetings in a resource room setting. Mock IEP meetings are a fun and interactive way to get kids comfortable with joining their IEP meetings. Sometimes we forget that a student joining a big meeting with several adults can be really scary! By practicing a meeting, kids can get a good idea of what will happen in the meeting and understand their role. Just run through what a meeting will be like. Best of all, you can do this in a resource room with other students who will need to participate in their IEP meetings at some point later on in the year.

#8 Use a script to help students read at the IEP meeting. Student-led IEP meetings are a practice that allows kids and young adults to actually lead their own meetings using a script that has been created with them. A script will help the student participate without feeling confused or anxious about what to say. The student can always go off script when they are feeling comfortable. You can write your own script for your students or you can use this Student-Led IEP Meetings guide that includes scripts for both fully and partially student-led meetings. The research is clear that student-led IEP meetings can be extremely beneficial for kids and young adults. When a student leads their own meeting, they learn more about their disability, rights, and accommodations. It also helps to build confidence, strengthens self-advocacy skills, and helps kids’ voices be heard.

#9 Listen to the student at the IEP meeting. Really give the student a chance to share their concerns and needs. Strongly consider their suggestions and input. Even if all of their requests can’t be met, the student needs to know that they do have a voice at the table. Consider ways to compromise or have a trial-period to give something a try. You can write these in the plan and can always change the IEP if those recommendations aren’t working. So often, young adults feel that they have no control over the plans that adults make for them. This is our chance to help those kids realize we are there to listen to them and hear them out.

#10 Reflect on the IEP meeting with the student. After the IEP meeting, discuss what went well and what could go better. Kids and young adults are going to need time to get comfortable with participating in their IEP meetings. Remember to celebrate the student’s success along the way as they learn how to be their own best advocate.

No matter how you choose to start, it’s important to give young adults an opportunity to be part of their own IEP team. If you’re not sure about it, just choose one students to do a “trial run” with! See how that one meeting goes with the student more involved and learn as you go. Whether it’s bringing a self-evaluation progress report or running the entire meeting, kids deserve to know and understand their IEPs and IEP meetings. After all, they truly are the most important member of the team!

50+ Free SEL Resources

September 1, 2017 by pathway2success 20 Comments

Use this list of free resources to use as 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 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.

If you are looking for more information on what SEL is and why it is important, make sure to read up on the basics of social emotional learning.

– 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. SEL Read Aloud List – Free printable read aloud list arranged by social emotional learning skill.

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. Relationship-Building Questions – Three printable pages filled with meaningful relationship-building questions.

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. Executive Functioning Skills Poster – Fun printable list of executive functioning skills learners need for academic and social success.

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. Kindness Activity – Free kindness lesson and activity with a coloring page.

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. Morning Meeting Rules Sign – Simple poster to go over rules for morning meeting.

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.

Modifications and Accommodations.. What’s the Difference?

July 1, 2017 by pathway2success 4 Comments

The discussion comes up a lot about the difference between modifications and accommodations in the classroom. In the shortest terms, a modification is a significant change to the curriculum for students who are far below grade level expectations. It is changing WHAT kids are learning. An accommodation is a support or tweak to the environment or instruction. It is changing HOW kids are learning.

Accommodations keep the academic expectations the same while giving a boost to help kids get there. On the other hand, modifications actually alter the academic expectations themselves. Here are a few examples:

Situation #1 – Reading

Samantha has a reading disability and is reading significantly below grade level. While working on a reading unit, the teacher gives her a lower grade level text to read on the same topic as the class. That would be a modification because it is changing the actual content and learning.
Trey is in reading intervention, as he is a year below grade level. He has been making good progress in his intervention class, though. During the same reading unit, the teacher gives Trey a shortened version of the class text so he does not fatigue while reading the grade-level assignment. That would be an accommodation because he is still expected to read the same grade-level material, just shortened a bit.

Situation #2 – Math

Larissa has an intellectual disability. She joins the regular education class for group activities, science, social studies, centers, and breaks. When it is time for math, Larissa goes with the special education teacher to work 1:1 with basic foundational math skills. This is while the rest of her class learns fractions. That would be a modification because Larissa is working on a completely different modified math curriculum with unique expectations.
Jimmy has ADHD and struggles to pay attention during math class. His teacher gives him a daily point sheet where he earns points for every time he completes a problem correctly in math. This would be an accommodation because Jimmy is still expected to complete the same math concepts, but he is given supports to help him focus.

Situation #3 – Testing

Omar has an autism spectrum disorder. His class is taking an assessment on weather. Omar’s specific test is altered with more basic information about weather to allow him to be successful. This would be a modification because the expectations about Omar’s understanding of weather are changed.
Amelia has an auditory processing disorder and gets frequently distracted by outside noises. This is challenging for her during tests and quizzes, so the teacher allows her to take assessments in a more quieter resource room. This would be an accommodation because she is taking the same test as everyone else, but needs a quieter setting to help her get through it.

Sometimes understanding the differences between modifications and accommodations can be very confusing. This is especially true when you are working with a variety of children at all different levels. Some students might need small accommodations to their assessments (such as word banks or reduced number of problems) while others need a significant modification to the content (such as a completely altered assessment or assignment). When in doubt, just ask yourself: “Am I changing WHAT the student is learning or HOW the student is learning it?” If you are changing the WHAT, that means it is a modification and if you are changing the HOW, then it is an accommodation.

To special educators looking for more resources, take a peek at this Special Education Teacher Binder. It is a huge complication of materials focused all on special education. Materials focus on everything including IEPs, team meetings, progress monitoring, accommodations and modifications, lesson planning, writing goals, building a classroom community, and more.

10 Best Times to Practice Mindfulness in the Classroom

April 17, 2017 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Mindfulness means being present in the moment with your thoughts and feelings without making judgements. It is being aware of what is happening but not being overwhelmed. Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis can help you feel calmer, happier, and be more in tune with yourself. People of all ages and abilities can practice mindfulness, including kids and young adults. Some people practice mindfulness for different reasons, too. If a child gets nervous before a test, it can help calm them down and regain focus. If a young adult struggles with controlling their anger, it can help them control emotions. And if someone just wants to feel a bit happier (who doesn’t?), it can help take away negative thoughts. Overall, practicing mindfulness can be helpful in so many different ways.

There are many different ways mindfulness can be practiced. Some strategies include practicing slow breathing, mindful observance, mindful listening, walking meditation, yoga, or even mindful coloring. If you need specific materials to start teaching mindfulness, consider this ready-to-go mindfulness activities guide. The mindfulness activities include listening to music, coloring, making crafts, and much more. Best of all, activities are specifically tailored to kids and young adults.

Here are the 10 best times to practice mindfulness in the classroom:

1. At the beginning of a morning meeting. Start the day together with a positive intention. This helps kids to get centered for the day ahead while leaving any emotional challenges they have at the door. It’s a great way to begin a fresh start.

2. After lunch or recess to help bring the class back together. It’s easy to say that lunch and recess are two of the biggest sensory-overloads kids experience all day. Rather than trying to fight that, turn the day around by meditating for a few minutes. It can become a signal that “we are back in the classroom now”.

3. Before high-stakes testing to help focus and calm the mind. So many kids and young adults get extremely stressed over high-stakes testing. Even the ones who don’t say anything may be experiencing a high level of anxiety and worry. Spending a few minutes mindfully relaxing can help kids de-stress and do their best on the test.

4. In small group counseling sessions to promote relaxation. Many kids and young adults just do not know HOW to relax. Much of their time is spent at school, playing sports, playing games, being online, and checking their phone. Unfortunately, none of those activities promote relaxation. Arrange a small group of kids that meets on a regular basis to practice mindfulness strategies. Anyone can do this, including a special education teacher, counselor, psychologist, social worker, or even regular education teacher. By setting up this small group to practice mindfulness, you can explicitly teach these relaxation skills that so many kids desperately need to cope with stressors in their lives.

5. In between class transitions to provide a mental break. Transitioning from one task to another can throw an entire class off. Transitions provide the perfect natural break to practice mindfulness and relaxations.

6. At the beginning of a resource class or independent work session. One of the greatest elements to mindfulness is that it can help clear the mind. Dedicate five minutes or so to practicing mindfulness just before an independent working session and the benefits will last.

7. Small group counseling sessions to teach strategies for anxiety. Kids and young adults with anxiety need to learn coping strategies to help them through their challenges. Mindfulness and meditation are some of the best ways to deal with anxiety. Remember to try several different techniques to help find ones that work best for individual students. Also, note that many kids struggle with “invisible anxiety” and may benefit from these strategies without ever having the actual anxiety label documented.

8. Let partners or small groups practice before a test or quiz. Any type of assessment can be overwhelming for a number of students. Practicing mindfulness techniques just before a test or quiz can help kids get their thoughts together and feel more confident before they take on an assessment.

9. Just before an assembly or guest speaker. Big assemblies can be extra-challenging for many kids. Some students may feel anxious about the change in schedule, while others may have an extreme difficulty in keeping their thoughts to themselves for that whole time. Try practicing some mindfulness and relaxation strategies before such an effort to reduce challenges.

10. Anytime (just for no reason) to show that mindfulness can be done anytime and anywhere. While there are many times that are ideal to practice mindfulness strategies, it’s important to recognize that you can practice it anywhere and anytime! Use it when the class is getting a bit loud, a group of students are having trouble focusing, or you just need to set a calm tone. Sometimes just taking a mindfulness break can do the trick. And best of all, you don’t really need a reason to do it.

Use this Mindfulness Activities resource to teach and practice mindfulness with kids and young adults right away!

Save with TpT’s 2-Day Sale (And a Giveaway)!

February 6, 2017 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

This February 7th and 8th will mark TpT’s 2-Day Sale! Using the code LoveTpT, you’ll be able to save up to 28% on all resources. All resources in my store will be on sale. This even includes bundles, which gives a huge savings on top of already discounted resources. To celebrate, I’m giving away a $10 TpT gift card. Scroll down to enter to win the gift card below.

Here are just a few of the hottest bundles you may wish to snag!

#1 Executive Functioning MEGA Bundle

These resources make targeting executive functioning and study skills easy. These are the skills necessary for academic success at the middle and high school level. The bundle includes over 300 pages full of lessons, templates, and workbook pages to teach study strategies and ways to improve executive functioning skills. The materials can be supports for resource room, guided study halls, or even a full curriculum for advisory periods.

#2 Guidance and Counseling MEGA Bundle

This bundle is ideal for guidance counselors, school counselors, social workers, and school psychologists looking to get all of their materials in one place. It focuses on academic skills, executive functioning, study strategies, anger management skills, confidence building, perspective taking, developing goals, dealing with divorce, and encouraging kindness to others.

#3 Self-Confidence, Anxiety, and Positive Thinking Bundle

This is a bundle focused on helping students build self-confidence, increase positive thinking skills, and reduce anxiety and worrying. All kids could use ea boost in self-esteem and positive thinking! The materials are a blend of printable no-prep worksheets, activities, lessons, and task cards. This bundle would be valuable to social workers, guidance/school counselors, special education teachers, school psychologists, and even regular education teachers aiming to help kids build their self-esteem and positive thinking skills.

Enter to WIN a TpT Gift Card!

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5+ Ways to Encourage Gratitude

December 26, 2016 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Gratitude means feeling thankful and appreciative for what you already have. By just taking the time to recognize what we are grateful for, we can become happier, more relaxed, and keep a positive mindset. Encouraging kids and young adults to develop gratitude has been an interesting area of study. Some research highlights that getting in tune with your gratitude help social, health, and emotional well-being. Just a few examples include better relationship skills, more trusting of others, fewer feelings of stress, better ability to bounce back from challenges, reduced feelings of jealousy, and improved quality of sleep. In order to really teach and encourage gratitude with kids and young adults, we have to first understand it ourselves, though.

So how does gratitude really make us happier? It just makes sense, really. The more you pay attention to the positive things in your life, the happier you will be. Best of all, there are truly SO many things to be grateful for each and every day. Too often, we overlook the small things (and even the big things) that add to our lives. You might be grateful for: Your sister helping to clean up after a family dinner, the smell of rain in the spring, how great you feel after a morning workout, the taste of your favorite dessert, or the ability to stay in touch with your cousin who is thousands of miles away. Talking and writing about those things we are grateful for really brings them back to life. Once you do, you realize how much you really have to be grateful for.

Here are some simple ways you can encourage gratitude with kids and young adults:

1. Start a daily practice. Have students write down at least one thing they are grateful for every day. This can be a simple routine first thing in the morning or before students go home at the end of the day. It doesn’t have to take long, but it will start to positively impact kids and young adults. By recognizing what they are grateful for, both big and small, students will see that there is so much positive around them. You can start with this free Gratitude A to Z printable.

2. Say “thank you”. And encourage others to say it, too. Make it a normal routine to express gratitude when someone does something kind. Not only will it help you express your gratitude, but it can be a quick statement that means a lot to someone else. Best of all, it really doesn’t take any time at all.

3. Use gratitude slips. These are a simple and really fun way to tell someone else you appreciate them. Print these free gratitude slips on different colored paper and hang them around. When someone wants to use one, they can just simply rip the slip off and kindly say “thank you”.

4. Start gratitude journals. One of the best ways to practice showing your gratitude is by writing in a gratitude journal. All it takes is 5-10 minutes per day that you dedicate to writing in a journal about what you are thankful for. If kids struggle with writing skills, they can simply make bullet points or lists. Gratitude journal writing is a fantastic activity to do in the morning to start the day off with a positive mindset, or in the afternoon to bring positive closure to the day. Teach kids that they can write about anything: feeling healthy, a certain best friend who can be trusted, or being able to watch the phases of the moon. Over time, research indicates that gratitude journals help build positive thinking skills and increase happiness. These effects don’t just happen overnight, but are grown over time.

Strategies for practicing gratitude with kids and young adults do not have to be challenging! Have students use an empty jar or tissue box and add their gratitude slips to it every day. They can read the slips when they are feeling anxious, worried, upset, or just need some extra positive in their lives! #gratitude #pathway2success

5. Make a gratitude jar. Just use any old jar. Clean it up and place it somewhere special. Once in a while (or every day, if you choose) practice writing down at least one thing you are grateful for. Write your gratitude note on a small slip of paper, fold it up, and place it in the jar. When the jar gets filled, open the jar and read all the things you are grateful for. Not only does it encourage kids to find and write more things to be grateful for so they can fill the jar, but it’s fun to reminisce and remember all the little things we have in our lives when we review them. This is also something easy that kids can do at home with their families.

6. Create a gratitude club. Find some eager students who want to work together to create a more positive community in your school or organization. Students can develop ways to share and encourage kindness and gratitude with others.

Teachers, parents, support professionals, and other adults can get a lot out of teaching gratitude to kids and young adults. If you focus on the positive things in life, you are just more likely to feel happy. In turn, you will return that happiness by being kind to others. It really becomes a cycle of kindness and a positive climate. While focusing on gratitude is great for all students, it can be especially beneficial for kids with special needs or emotional struggles. This includes kids struggling with managing their emotions or behavior. By focusing on the positive, kids can build their confidence levels over time. I have created a Gratitude Workbook where you can get all of these ideas and more resources for teaching gratitude. Best of all, not only will kids benefit from practicing gratitude, but all adults will, too.

Executive Functioning Strategies for the Classroom

October 8, 2016 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Many kids and young adults would benefit academically and socially by improving their executive functioning skills. These skills include: planning, organization, time management, task initation, working memory, metacognition, self-control, sustained attention, flexibility, and perseverance. If you need more background on each of these specific skills, read my post on Executive Functioning Skills Explained.

Teach all executive functioning skills with a no-prep workbook.

Strategies to help support and strengthen executive functioning skills don’t need to be complicated. There are many strategies and activities teachers, paraprofessionals, and counselors can do in the classroom right away. If you want a guide to help you teach all executive functioning skills without any prep, consider my Executive Functioning Advanced Workbook, which includes over 100 pages packed with executive functioning lessons and practice.

Here are some simple ideas for practicing and strengthening executive functioning skills in the classroom that you can start right away:

Planning – People with weaker planning skills may jump into assignments or projects without thinking things through, or may forget to begin tasks when needed. Strategies for those who struggle with planning include making lists, writing short-term goals, and using a calendar or planner. Homework logs can be a huge help. Teachers can also support kids by setting up specific routines such as a daily homework bin, daily homework board, and schedule for the day.

Organization – Those who lack this skills might have disorganized binders/lockers, misplace important assignments, and forget to do assignments entirely. Many kids who struggle with organization need to be taught and shown how to systematically organize their binders and materials. Then, planning for weekly binder checks can help kids stay organized, too. Teachers can help by giving extra time in the beginning and end of class to write down homework, take papers out, and put papers away in the right spot. Organizational checklists can help, too.

Time Management – Kids and adults with weak time management skills might over- or under- estimate the time it takes to complete something, have trouble prioritizing tasks, and ultimately not meet critical deadlines. Strategies for time management include teaching kids to estimate time needed for tasks, setting specific time-based goals, and learning to prioritize the importance of tasks/assignments. One huge help from teachers can be to incorporate mini-deadlines into long-term assignments.

Task Initiation – Those who struggle with task initiation often feel they “can’t” start an assignment, even when they want to. In turn, this leaves many tasks incomplete or never even started. To support kids with this weakness, help them to make a specific list or plan for each assignment. For longer assignments, chunking into smaller ones can make a huge difference.

Working Memory – Kids and adults with weaker working memory often struggle to remember directions when said aloud, complete mental math, and even copy information from one place to another. Tips for working memory are mainly to develop compensatory strategies, such as repeating information back and learning to paraphrase information while reading or listening to a lecture. Teachers can give these kids a copy of clean notes to follow along in class, which will reduce the need to go back and forth while taking notes.

Metacognition – Those who struggle with this skill often have no clue on how they did on a recent test or quiz, or have no idea what material to study right before. One excellent strategy is to learn to self-monitor your own learning. Teaching kids to stop and answer, “What did I just learn?” can allow them to develop an understanding of what they know and what they still need help on. Sticky notes are great for this! After an assessment or unit, it might also be helpful for the teacher to conference with the student to determine what he or she learned, what worked well, and what they need to work on more.

Self-Control – Kids with weak self-control skills might call out in class frequently, make impulsive decisions without thinking, or have anger management problems. These kids need extra support in learning to manage their emotions. You can practice self-control with games. My favorite is to use Blurt. Kids have to practice self-control by not shouting out when it isn’t their turn. This becomes really challenging if a student knows the answer but it’s not their turn. In the classroom, teachers can help by having lots of structure and routines. You can also teach kids and young adults to use I-statements as a positive way to express emotions.

Sustained Attention – When attention skills are weaker, kids and young adults might struggle to pay attention to a class lesson, miss out on directions, or appear to daze off during a working session. One of the shortest but most effective ways to help increase attention is to help kids become aware of their personal distractors and work with them to reduce those distractions. To teach and practice paying attention, you can also play a fun game of Simon Says! It’s a great way to have a brain break serve as practice for focus and attention.

Flexibility – People who lack flexibility skills struggle significantly with change. Changes in the schedule or plans can cause emotional outbursts or an inability to cope. This might include when there is a substitute or if an assembly changes the daily schedule. To help support these kids, it’s helpful to prepare them for changes to the schedule ahead of time. Teaching perspective-taking skills also goes a long way with learning flexibility skills, as kids can learn to understand different points of view and make sense of them. Most of all, encourage these types of kids to try new things and go outside of their comfort zone.

Perseverance – Those who struggle with perseverance often give up on tasks and assignments before they are done. They are the kids who ask for help before trying sufficient strategies on their own, making them usually over-reliant on support or not finishing tasks at all. To strengthen this skill, teachers can teach specific strategies for what to do when a student is stuck. Also, riddles of the day and brainteasers can be a fun challenge to incorporate into your class.

As a next step, you might want to read up on some top games to improve these executive functioning skills. The key is to continue practicing and reinforcing these skills over and over!

Executive Functioning Free Workbook Sampler

If you need a place to start right away, download my free Executive Functioning Workbook Sampler. If you like that, consider the full product, my Executive Functioning Advanced Workbook. With over 100 pages, it includes comprehensive information and practice for every executive functioning skill with no prep for the teacher.

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.