Let me take you back to a time before the Consumer Math curriculum existed. I was assigned to teach a ‘brand new’ class back in the day called Math 2 (yes, very specific) and was given little to no guidance on what to cover. I knew the class was going to be the next offering in...

In your favorite chair, at the pool, feet in the water at the beach, these are all acceptable places to not be reading IEP’s, but rather a book for leisure! I've compiled my summer reading list for teachers just for you!

I’ve done a little reading this school year, some...

No, this detox isn’t like the new hair trend where you put lemon juice in your hair to deep clean it and then wait for the sun to lighten your locks (that’s so circa 1998 and no, it didn't work). This Teacher on Summer Break Challenge Checklist will get your mind clear of school and...

Three cheers for the calendar that shows that it’s that very special school-year-is-almost-over time! I know that my planning slows down, the IEP meetings are done and over, and I’ve resorted to the most boring lunches ever. The end is so close that you can basically taste the sweet...

I had a morning routine (that didn't include the Question of the Day for students) that I followed with my class and it’s so predictable that my support staff could run it without me there. Here is what it looks like this-

• “Alexa, start my day” (Yes, we have an Alexa in...

The Listen and Learn resource idea stemmed from a need; a need for a short, easy to understand information segment with a side of listening comprehension. I needed to engage my non-readers and low-level readers in the consumer math high school level curriculum I was teaching in a meaningful way....

When I think of applied learning projects there is a quote that comes to mind:

‘Tell me and I’ll forget, teach me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll learn.’ -Benjamin Franklin

To me, this quote says- ‘If I can apply the skill, then I have...

No, this Spring Cleaning Tips for Teachers blog post is not about how you should spend your precious, well-earned week of Spring Break doing work-related activities. In fact, it’s about how you should spend those periods of time BEFORE spring break when your mind can’t focus on the...

I completed the Basic Skills Assessment (read my blog post about that resource) this past August with my students and after reviewing the results, I realized that my students were weak in executing basic money math and functional math skills. Many struggled with reading an analog clock,...

First, I HIGHLY recommend you visit the great city of Chicago the next chance you get. I’m biased as I’ve lived here for over 10 years, but this city truly has a lot to offer! The sights, location, entertainment, and the food (oh, the FOOD) are all spectacular.

If you plan to...

If you recently purchased a Reading Passage with questions from my TeachersPayTeachers store or own a lesson unit or bundle and want to find new and creative ways to use this type of resource, then this blog post is for YOU! Check out 10 different ways to use the reading passage, True False...

I recently added task cards to my consumer math lessons (find them HERE and HERE) because they are so versatile! Now sure how to use task cards in the classroom? I’ve listed 10 different ways you can use them in your classroom, so that your lessons never become boring!

How to Use...

It’s usually about the end of November or early December that my fellow teachers and I realize that we should start discussing paraprofessionals and support staff gifts ideas for our incredible staff. Sadly, we’ve usually missed the prime Black Friday deals and there isn’t much...

I have never been to an IEP meeting with an unlimited amount of time and I’ve been to over 100. IEP meetings are designed to create a legal document, so they are incredibly important for the student, but they often have time limits. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lend itself to organic...

Community based instruction trips/outings (aka CBI trips) are (hopefully) part of the daily, if not weekly, schedule for your students in special education.  

CBIs can also be referred to as Community Based Learning or CBLs.   CBIs are valuable experiences for all students,...

The first week of school usually triggers thoughts of anxiety, feelings of chaos and exhaustion, and meltdowns (from adults, not necessarily students), and while some of that is true I have been doing ONE thing from the past 3 years and I’ll never go back! On day two or three, I give every...