Using Explicit Instruction to Foster SEL
Taxonomy Connection- Student Development- Life, social, and emotional skills
We talk so much about students needing to develop self-advocacy or problem-solving skills. The question is how often do we explicitly teach these, and other, skills to our students? We get into such routines about explicitly teaching things like vocabulary, phonics, math problem-solving, and more. We need to remember the skills we wish all our students had also need to be explicitly taught. This article is a nice reminder of the importance of explicitly teaching the skills we want to see. It is written in an easy-to-follow format so that we can start teaching our expectations ASAP.
Transition IEP Checklist
Taxonomy Connection- Family Engagement- Family Preparation- Family learning and participation provided for
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Students with Disabilities has so many great resources for educators and parents. Here is a great find for them. It is a Transition IEP Checklist for parents and students. This is a great way to engage parents and help build their knowledge of the transition IEP. The more knowledgeable they are the better our team conversations will be. The checklist consists of things parents and students should know. It also gives educators ideas for best practices. The checklist is divided into sections before, during, and after the meeting. Parents and students also can find tips to help improve their transition IEP.
Supported vs Customized Employment
Taxonomy Connection- Student Development- Employment skill development provided in authentic settings
It is the goal of all your students to be in competitive integrated employment after leaving school. Just like with our school environments, our students need a continuum of placements in the world of employment too. Two examples are supported and customized employment. On the website linked above, there is PDF that you can click to open the document. Once the document is open you will see a side-by-side comparison of supported and customized employment. Some areas that are compared are the definitions of each, who each is designed for, some specific features of each, and so much more. The guide also identifies steps to identify individuals for each service. On the second to last page, there is an awesome flowchart to help with understanding the process.