What to Teach in October in the Elementary Special Education Classroom

I love October!! It is my favorite month. Fall is here 🍂, decorations are up🎃, and it's my birthday month 🎂! 

Halloween Theme

October is also a fun time in the classroom. We focus on lots of fun Halloween activities each year including learning new vocabulary, playing Halloween games, and sorting and graphing Halloween candy. 

These along with 9 additional Halloween-themed activities are included in my Halloween Thematic Unit in my TPT store! 

Trick or Treat Practice

Throughout the month of October, my class practices trick or treating in our weekly social skills group:

• Week 1: We start with introducing AAC for saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" within the classroom
• Week 2: Then, each staff member (myself, my paras, and our SLP) each set up a station for students to rotate through and practice while we pass out candy.
• Week 3: Next, we practice trick or treating within the office with all the office staff
• Week 4: We are ready to trick or treat with our families! 

And we connect it to this fill-in the blank writing activity.

Pumpkin Carving

One of my favorite annual traditions is hands down carving pumpkins with my class! We have made some super cute jack-o-lanterns over the years!

We also use pumpkin carving as a great opportunity to do some sensory exploration and discuss the texture and feel of the insides (affectionately referred to as the "pumpkin guts"!).

And it is also a great opportunity to work on sequencing!

Check out my previous post for my Top 5 Tips for Carving a Pumpkin in the Special Education Classroom for more details on what this looks like in my classroom. 

Halloween Picture Books

My favorite books for Halloween are Big Pumpkin and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. 

One year on our hayride at the farm they did a "spooky storytime" and did the Little Old Lady with props. It was SO MUCH FUN! And was a great way to get the kids engaged. After that year, we always acted out the story with spare clothes in the classroom. It was so fun!

Find the activities above in my Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports in my TPT store. Click the images below to get them! 

Halloween Crafts

Some fun Halloween crafts we have done was a group pumpkin pinata project for our Halloween Party and some footprint ghosts! Having classmates paint each others feet led to LOTS of giggles!

What a busy month! I love how my little class can mix in so much fun with our learning. 

Halloween Bundles in my TPT store 

The units above are available individually or in a variety of bundles! Click the images to find them in my TPT store!

What to Teach in August in the Elementary Special Education Classroom

Having a plan when heading into a new school year in the elementary special education classroom is essential to setting your year up for success. It reduces anxiety, establishes routines, and provides guidance for paraprofessionals. 

Let's face it... in August the days are LONG! Especially without related services pulling students yet. And your students have a lot to learn about being at school… especially your Kindergarten students and students transitioning to a new building or classroom. 

Don't worry! I have gathered some great ideas and resources to save you time and get you started off on the right foot this August! Click on an image or caption to find the resource in my TPT store! 

Classroom Expectations: 

Establish classroom rules and illustrate expectations using social stories, role-playing, and picture books. No, David! and David Goes to School by David Shannon are two of my favorite books for introducing the idea of rules and why they are important. Plus they are a ton of fun to read with students! 

David Goes to School Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports

No, David Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports

David Goes to School Choice Sorting Cut & Paste Activity
Back to School Thematic Unit

Schedules: 

Too often in the special education transitions can be overwhelming for staff and students with so many bodies moving at once so if you can increase independence using a location-based schedule this is win-win for everyone! Plus it has the added bonus of reducing overstimulating auditory clutter for auditorily sensitive students. 

Interactive Location-Based Schedules 

Group Routines

Establish routines that you will use during group times all year long such as read-alouds, art, cooking or snack, shared writing, and calendar/morning meeting.

Differentiated Morning Meeting Worksheet

Interactive Morning Message

Visual Recipes
Back to School Thematic Unit

Stained Glass Apple Art Activity

Vocabulary

Introduce key vocabulary words related to school routines and subjects. These will be words that your students need to know all year long. I have also introduced staff and student names during group games and activities. 

Back to School Vocabulary
Back to School Thematic Unit

Centers

Introduce centers time with fun, hands-on activities to keep students engaged such as crafts, sensory activities, games, preferred activities such as playdoh or potato head, or snack time. 

Back to School Vocabulary Games

Back to School Thematic Unit

Apple Painting Art Activity

Group Yoga Sequence
Classroom Yoga

Class Mission Statement

Set the tone for the year with a positive and inclusive mission statement. Each year my students created a joint mission statement that we all signed and hung in the classroom for easy reference throughout the school year. We also did personal mission statements as an introduction to goal setting at the start of my 1:1 IEP time with students. 

Classroom Mission Statement
Back to School Thematic Unit

If you are interested in several of these activities, I do offer a number of BUNDLES which will save you 20% in my store! 

Back to School Bundle

Morning Meeting Bundle