Introducing Myself

Welcome to my blog!

I teach elementary students in a school that serves students with severe to profound needs. I have been teaching for 10 years.

I believe that every person has value and has the ability (and desire) to make a contribution to their community. That is why I emphasize communication and vocational skills in my classroom.

I love my job! I love the challenge of figuring out what my students can do and pushing them to the next level. I love figuring out what they are trying to communicate to me through their behavior.

Thanks for visiting!

~Rachel

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Teaching Counting to Non-verbal Students

For our students that are non-verbal, it seems like you hit a wall in math because they cannot count out loud. However, ALL students can learn to count regardless of whether they are able to do so out loud. They can use their "inner voice" to count. I have been developing some Boom cards and a TPT resource for these kids. TPT Resource Here is a sample video of this product in use: Boom Cards The Boom cards come in decks of 1-5 and 1-10 and there are 3 levels of each. Level 1: This deck does not let the student put a counter in the wrong place. The highlight on the drop zone is a cue to students as to where to put the counters. Level 2: This deck allows the student to put counters anywhere on the 5 spaces. However, only the correct number of counters is provided. Level 3: This deck allows the student to put any number of counters anywhere on the 5 spaces. There are 5 counters available so they must pick the right number of counters based on the number shown at ...

Two Skills Your Students Need Even Before Counting - Early Numeracy

Early numeracy skills are the foundation for math success in school and beyond. These skills include counting, number recognition, comparing and manipulating quantities, and understanding patterns. But did you know that counting and number recognition are not the first math skills that students need to learn? Matching and imitating are important prerequisites to counting and number recognition. They are essential early numeracy skills. Matching Matching is a prerequisite for counting. When children are able to match two sets of objects, they are learning that each set has a corresponding number. This is an important step in understanding the concept of counting and latter skills like addition. Imitation Being able to copy models with blocks helps build a foundation for math skills. When children are able to copy a model, they are learning about spatial relationships and how to manipulate objects in space. This is an important skill for understanding concepts such as geometry and m...

Start the year off with clear expectations: Behavior Rules Posters

These behavior posters are one of my more popular items on TeachersPayTeachers. There are three basic rules which each have their own poster. On each poster, there are more illustrations so that students know exactly what each of rules looks like in action. Buy this product here for $0.99.

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