Tips on how to create a Basic Skills Folder Activity

Folder activities are engaging and a fun way to enhance the learning experiences for preschoolers and students in special education. I find these type of hands-on activities can be easily tailored for individual learning needs and can cover a wide range of skills, from colors and shapes to math and language concepts. In this instructional blog, I'll guide you through the process of how I create and use folder activities to support the development of young minds in my special education settings.

Materials Needed:

1. File folders (preferably in different colors for easy identification)
2. Construction paper or cardstock
3. Scissors
4. Glue stick
5. Markers or crayons
6. Velcro dots or adhesive Velcro strips
7. Laminator (for durability)

My Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Choose a Target Skill or Concept First I decide on the specific skill or concept I want to address through the file folder activity. I might focus on colors, shapes, numbers, letters, matching, sorting, or even basic math operations, keeping in mind the age and needs of my students.

Step 2: Design the File Folder Activity I create the activity by designing the contents of the file folder. Sometimes I use construction paper or cardstock to cut out various shapes, images, or letters that relate to the chosen skill. For instance, if the activity is about colors, cut out different colored circles. If it's about matching, create pairs of matching objects.

Step 3: Decorate and Label Markers to decorate the elements you've cut out to make them stand out. If you're working on numbers, print out the numbers on each card. If it's a sorting activity, label the sorting categories with clear, easy-to-read words or pictures.

Step 4: Prepare the File Folder Take an empty folder and glue the main background elements on the inside of the folder. These elements will form the base of the activity. You can create multiple activities by using both sides of the file folder or use it as a holding page for detachable shapes and pictures.

Step 5: Add Velcro Strips or Dots Attach Velcro dots or adhesive Velcro strips on both the background elements and the individual cards or shapes. This will allow the children to stick the cards to the correct places, making the activity interactive and reusable.

Step 6: Laminate the File Folder (Optional) Consider laminating the entire folder to ensure durability and extend the life of your activity. Lamination makes the activity more resistant to wear and tear, spills, and sticky fingers.

Step 7: Store and Organize Keep your folder activities organized by labeling them and storing them in a safe place. You can use a file cabinet, plastic bins, or shelves to maintain an easily accessible collection.

Step 8: Introduce and Guide the Activity Introduce the file folder activity to the children during group or one-on-one sessions. Explain the objective of the activity and demonstrate how to use it. Encourage the children to explore and engage with the activity independently, but be available to provide support and guidance as needed.

Step 9: Observe and Assess Observe the children as they interact with the file folder activity. Note their progress and areas where they may need additional support. Folder activities provide valuable insights into a child's development and understanding of specific concepts.

Step 10: Rotate and Refresh To keep the learning experience exciting and fresh, rotate the folder activities regularly. Introduce new activities that target different skills or concepts, ensuring a stimulating learning environment.

Folder activities are a fantastic addition to any preschool or special education classroom. These interactive and customizable tools provide children with opportunities to practice essential skills while having fun. By following this step-by-step guide, you can create a diverse range of file folder activities to cater to the individual needs of your students and support their overall development. Happy teaching!

Anger Management for Kids

A Self Regulation Strategy using a Social Narrative

Finding an Anger Management technique that worked was so time consuming, I found myself reading tumps of tips and scrolling through never ending strategies.  Hunting the internet for that one great resource was taking to much of my time while my tiny tots rampaged through class.  

So I sat down with my laptop and decided to write a Story support... what did I have to loose? 

Anger issues were arising with a number of students and I realised I needed to teach  coping skills that my young learners could try out.

I started thinking of strategies my kids could practice even before behaviours happened, such as counting to 10, deep breathing etc. 

 I wanted my kids to understand and be motivated. I started with some visual supports then added basic sentences and before long I had created my short story

The class love to see the angry faces turn into happy faces when I read the story and will now join in (after a couple of prompts) with role play coping skills.....  

       Self Regulation is well under way!

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Tips for Visual Schedules

 

 

Visual Schedules are designed to support students throughout the day and help you to manage your Classroom more effectively.                   Here are 7 tips for setting up and getting started!

VISUAL TIPS FOR SCHEDULES

1. Start Simple

Make visuals for just the key times of the day eg, morning work, break, lunch etc,  for your young learners to learn to recognise and correspond with the days activities.

2. Have a laminator

Make the laminator your best friend! If you want all your hard work to last, laminate all mounts and visuals because they are going to go through a tough time!

3. Use wall mounted 

Use a wall mounted schedule that is low enough for your student to access and add detachable symbols of the daily routine. 

4. Use a finished Box

Attach a finished box at the end or side of the schedule to drop in the finished activities as you go along throughout the day. 

5. Use a file folder

A portable schedule can be used in a file folder in the same way as a wall mounted one. I find these easier with older children and more efficient in busy classrooms. Pop their name on it and keep all their individual support visuals in one place. 

6. Make it with tick off boxes

Remind students to check off as tasks are completed. Tick off boxes are great with portable type schedules.  

7. Use a flip schedule

Flip a cover over to hide the finished task. 

8. Model and Practice

Always model, practice and remind your busy students at the beginning of each activity to, "check schedule".  Make a plan to pull back on all prompting until they begin to use this system independently!

For more schedules check out the links :-

My Visual Supports

Visuals Folder Supports

Daily Planner Binder

Teaching Feelings and Emotions

Many parents and teachers find it difficult to teach young learners with special Ed how to recognise their feelings and emotions.

Teaching young learners how to label their emotions is a difficult skill to learn, and being prepared to seize opportunities when these present naturally is sometimes lengthy. 

In my class I've arranged a number of  activities and Social Stories where students can begin to recognise someone happy, sad, angry and practice labeling facial expressions with visual cues.

The Task cards I created gives my kiddos the opportunity to practice identifying facial expressions and emotions as well as being able to label them correctly with answer sheets! 

To make this activity more fun and interactive my kiddos used pegs to answer first, then dabbers to complete assessments sheets!

 I have also added this resource to my Social Story Bundle!

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Visuals for Behavior Management

 Classroom Cue Cards - 

I use visuals with my non verbal students that's finding it difficult to understand, process and follow verbal directions. 

The most tricky situations I find sometimes arise when transitioning at lunch time, outside recess/playtime and in the classroom setting.   So clipping the visuals that I might need to my wrist has become a must!

I've hooked up three keyrings full of the visuals  that I can grab and change when I'm in a hurry.

1. for the classroom

2. for the dinning hall

3. for outside at recess/playtime

The visuals help my kiddos to understand and follow directions while transitioning and help with any frustrations that might rise! 

I've included 41 Visuals which I popped on to lanyard's and wrist bands, that are divided into these 3 areas and in 3 different sizes to suit.

These Visual Cue Cards are perfect to reinforce verbal directions and in my opinion great for any kindergarten, preschool or Special Ed Classroom setting with non verbal kids!

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Communication Visuals for non -verbal students with Autism

 Critical Communication -

Teaching students new skills such as requesting "break", "help" and "wait" can be tricky for some kids with Special Education Needs.

I  wanted to  support each of my non verbal students with  self -management strategies and tools that were easy to implement, so i created these 

visual support cards. 

To aid communication, avoid frustration and control behavior in my classroom I knew i had to incorporate these critical skills. 

I added handy visuals on the bottom for my student to tell me.....

• how they were feeling, by pointing or ticking the box when they needed a "Break", 
• directions on what to do while they were "waiting" 
• what they need "help" with

Producing these before behavior starts makes a huge difference in redirecting students as what to do. Support staff love the power of the cards!

I made them in three different sizes, in colour and black & white. 

I use these cards to provide structure in my behaviour support plans and they run in conjunction with ABA Management'.

 

Daily Planner

Using Visual Supports in Special Education! -

Working in a busy special Ed, Autism Classroom I soon realised I needed to find useful strategies for my young learners to access learning and keep on task in class. 

Being visual learners I needed to provide them with suitable strategies to promote independence, important to their learning success. 

So I listed what I thought were relevant!  

• A daily schedule
• Motivator choices
• Rules to follow
• Reward system
• Resources needed for tasks

From this I created "My Daily Planner"

Once laminated or placed in plastic pockets my students used dry wipe markers to personalise their own binders with their name, grade and class, followed by their teachers name, their friends name, things they like and things they don't.

I tagged all the important pages with visuals for quick access. 

SO NEXT I ADDED EXTRAS!

There are pages with the days of the week for your student to practice and tick off what day it is and same for seasons. 

Handy pages for students to write out their daily schedule and tick off as they go though it. Working for cards with a reward choice section for that day. 

Behavior Regulation strategies "first and then" 

Visuals for self regulation to help before any behavior build up.

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