Special Education Classroom Scheduling

Believe it or not it is time to start looking ahead to another school year! Over the years, although the times may change and I may add or modify some activities, my classroom schedule was pretty streamlined. I always followed the same sequence of steps when scheduling which made the process so much easier!

Steps for Scheduling

1. Develop a scheduling grid. 
• Rows: Determine best time increments (5 or 10 minutes) to develop the schedule layout. Boxes can be merged to account for longer activity blocks.
• Columns: Each person (staff and students) has their own row. Color code students for added organization. 
2. Non-Negotiables: Input any prescheduled activities that are beyond your control such as arrival/dismissal, breakfast, lunch/recess, specials (music, art, PE, library, computer lab), medical needs (medication, catheter, etc), and inclusion times. 
• Denote in red to prevent you from rearranging later. 
• It is important to schedule non-negotiables for staff too such as lunch and breaks. 
3. Daily Routines: Next, schedule time for things that need to happen daily but may have some more flexibility such as unpacking and packing backpacks, restroom breaks, self-care or hygiene time, and snack. 
4. Sensory Breaks/Input: Schedule frequency of breaks based on student needs. o 
• Calming breaks can be helpful to prime students before more sensory-rich times like lunch, specials, or inclusion or can be used to help them get regulated afterward. 
• Typically, schedule one break in morning and one in afternoon but possibly more based on student needs. 
5. Instruction: Start with working in whole group times based on where there is the most availability in the schedule. Then small groups and/or 1:1 time. Independent work can be scheduled for those students who are working towards increased independence while staff works with other students.
6. Extra Time: Extra time can be filled in with tasks students will complete independently without disrupting instruction of other students. Often these are preferred tasks to keep student attention such as computer, iPad, free play, puzzles, or watching a video. 
• For some students, it is important to be careful not to diminish the effectiveness of work time reinforcers by scheduling a time for students to have free access to that item. 
7. Staff Schedules: Once student schedules are determined, schedule staff coverage and instructional duties. 
• Include before and after school duties or prep work

Scheduling Example:

After following these steps my final result looked like this:

Scheduling Tips:

• To limit interruptions, give all staff members a copy of their schedule and post schedules for all in centrally located area of classroom. 
• Designate somewhere for staff to write down discrepancies during first couple weeks of school such as an area on the whiteboard or on a clipboard
• Determine a way to communicate schedule to students that they can interact with. In my classroom I always used a location-based schedule. 

If you are interested in implementing a location-based schedule in your classroom, head over to my TPT store to grab a premade set of location signs and matching cards by clicking on the image below!

Until Next Time!

Using Choice Boards to Increase Independence

There are several times in the day that are especially difficult for my students on the autism spectrum and these are the times where they are expected to "play" independently or when at an independent center such as listening center or reading center. I ran into two main problems with these parts of the day. First, students had NO idea what to do when presented with an entire shelf full of toys. Second, sometimes students have zero desire to listen to a book on tape especially if they don't know when to turn the page and/or they cannot read.

To solve both of these problems I developed choice boards for these parts of the day. A choice board consists of several pictures symbolizing activities and student name cards. When asked to make a choice, a student finds their name card and places it next to the picture symbol of their choice. In my room, I don't have a limit on how many people can pick one particular activity but this could be an option as well. Right now we have a literacy center choice board, indoor recess choice board, and choice time choice board.

Literacy Center Choice Board: This has been wonderful! Instead of "assigning" listening center to a student, they have options that will keep them more engaged and therefore more independent. Some options include:

• acting out stories with puppets/stuffed animals
• playing with a leap pad
• spelling sight words with magnetic letters
• listening to music and/or taking a break with sensory fidgets
• reading/looking through thematic books
• using a felt board to reenact a previously read story 

Indoor Recess Choice Board: This board can really have any activity you want to offer during indoor recess. I typically offer more interactive choices during this time. It is great too because if there is something you don't want students to do during this time then you just dont put it on the board. Some choices I offer include:

• puzzles
• board game
• kitchen set
• blocks/legos
• dolls
• cars/trains

Choice Time Choice Board: In the past, I have tried using busy bags or busy bins for students to use when they have finished an assignment early. I didn't feel like the busy bins/bags were very motivating for students and it was sometimes hard to find a variety of personalized free time activities for each student. A colleague of mine introduced me to using a choice board which provides quick activities which are easy for students to initiate and clean up. Additionally, they are activities that can be done independently and are not disruptive because many times there are still students in the room working when another student earns "choice time" Some examples of choice time activities in my room include:

• Theraputty (a class favorite!)
• drawing/coloring
• dry erase markers
• reading
• Mr. Potato Head
• sensory table

Schedule Organization

Organizing all of the cards for a visual schedule can sometimes be a challenge. This year we started using an old calendar pocket chart to store all of our extra cards. It has worked wonderfully! We store the pocket chart in the corner of the room so it is not too visually distracting. It takes up a lot less room than strips of velcro and it is much more organized than our previous file boxes full of cards. All of the cards are now so easy to see when setting up schedules each evening. Plus, collecting and sorting schedule cards is a great job for our students.

Numbered Centers

Originally when I planned our centers, I had a designated place for each specific center and none of them overlapped. For instance, the table in the back corner of the room was the "Work with Miss Allison" center so I was the only adult that used that center and kids would rotate. Well, with a very small classroom, 3 adults, and multiple activities and groupings occurring at any and all times throughout the day, restricting areas of the classroom in this way just was not practical. Eventually, we numbered the three main areas of the classroom (where all of the small group and individual instruction takes place). Now, on a student's schedule they may have the 1 card and then they know they have to go to the kidney table. The benefit to this is flexibility which is wonderful. However, one con is that students don't always know what subject they are going to be doing at the next center. Therefore, it is hard to expect them to independently bring any needed materials to their center with them. This is fine for my little kids because they don't usually need to bring anything with them, however this probably wouldn't be ideal for older kids. The main goal for my center schedules is to get students independently to where they need to be within the classroom or school. I am fine with cluing them in on what we are doing once we get there. 

Student Schedules

An important aspect of the special needs classroom is the visual schedule. In my classroom, all of my students have their own "center schedules" which help them to navigate the day.

Each schedule is on a laminated file folder with a vertical velcro strip for the morning on the front and an identical strip for the morning on the back. Currently, all of the student schedules are attached with heavy duty magnets all around my desk. However, since they are on file folders they could be portable for those kiddos that need to take their schedule with them to inclusion. The center cards are 1in x 1in picture symbols that match various centers around the classroom (computer, literacy center, sensory table, independent work) and sometimes other locations within the school building (specials, OT, lunch)

If you are interested in setting up a similar system, grab my location-based schedule resource in my TPT store by clicking the image below:

Center Pockets

One problem we ran into with our younger students was they would "read" their schedule card but then have difficulty physically transitioning to the correct area in the classroom and would stand around waiting for further assitance. To assist with making this transition more independent we now use center pockets at each center. Students must take the matching center card off their schedule and go put it in the pocket at their center.