Thursday, May 1, 2014

Classroom Stations and Schedule

I have had several pro-active readers email me recently asking about my classroom stations.  These readers are already planning their classrooms for next year!  And, I agree with them, this is the best time to start.  The beginning of the school year is always so stressful and crammed with things to do, so I always love prepping stuff at the end of the school year for the following year.  

These readers were mostly interested in an overview of the different stations in my classroom.  I realized that I have posted about each stations separately, but I haven't posted a summary of them as a resource for you guys.  So, below you will find a brief description as well as a link to a more detailed post about each station.

AM Group Area: Our morning circle which consists of going over the weather, calendar, social skills, and academic skills each day.  We also use this area to store our schedules (in a binder on each student's desk).  And, the kids gather here to sit and wait for transitions out of the room (recess/going home).

Independent Work Area:  This is home to "Work Station" and "Factory."  Both stations involve allowing students to work on already mastered skills to foster maintenance and independence.  

Last year's work station:

This year's work station:

Break Area:  This area has bean bags, large therapy balls, as well as a variety of other toys for kids to engage with during break times.

Reading Area:  This station is run by an assistant.  Students work on a variety of reading and spelling skills through hands-on activities.  Students read adapted books, complete daily spelling worksheets (roll a word, make a sentence, etc.), as well as other seasonal reading center activities. 

This is how my reading station was set up at the beginning of this year: http://autismtank.blogspot.com/2013/12/reading-station.html

This was my newest addition to the reading center station:

This was how my reading center was set up last year:

Language:  This station is run by an assistant.  Students work on increasing their speed and accuracy on a variety of flash card sets and fluency timing sheets.  Students also have binders of worksheets related to IEP goals which they work on when they are not involved in a fluency timing.

Teacher Time:  This is where students work with me on IEP goals that need more targeted or direct instruction.

Science: This station is run by an assistant. Students work on completing worksheets and hands-on activities about a monthly science topic.

Small Group Table:  This area is used for a variety of activities.  We have our daily math groups here;  I run a 2nd (higher level) morning group here; we use this for art projects, cooking activities, and playing small group games.

Computer Area:  Here, we have 2 classroom computers and some iPads for student use during break times as well as targeted "technology" time. 

Quiet Reading: This station is used as a structured break for my students.  The students read leveled books or adapted books independently.  http://autismtank.blogspot.com/2012/09/classroom-tour-quiet-reading.html

Life Skills:  This was a separate classroom we had where we targeted skills that could be utilized in the home/community setting.  Some examples were setting the table, sorting laundry, filing, etc.  

Schedules: I'm also posting a link to my post about schedules since this may help you understand more about how these activities fit into our day.  http://autismtank.blogspot.com/2012/09/schedules.html

Basically, my kids:
-Start with Specials (gym, music, or art) 
-Come back to the classroom and begin with Morning Group
-Rotate through a variety of the stations in pairs of 2 (usually language, reading, independent work, factory, break, teacher time, quiet reading) 
-Recess/Lunch
-Table Time (Independent Tasks in my coworkers classroom) or Life Skills
-Math Groups (these are co-taught with my coworker...more on this topic to come next week!)
-Rotate through science, social studies, and independent work.
-Inclusion
-Go Home!!

If you want more info on my schedules or to use my template, email me and I can send it your way. autismtank@gmail.com


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