Hello! My name is Erica Male and I have been teaching for 10 years, in the same classroom, at the Cedar Rapids Community School District. I graduated from Iowa State University with and Early Childhood Special Education Degree. I am also working on a Special Education Consulting Degree through Morningside College. I hope to use it someday to help other teachers learn the strategies I use that I know are effective!
I have enjoyed developing my skills to help students with special needs learn to communicate effectively, interact socially, and learn the academic skills they need to succeed in school!
Details About My Classroom:
My classroom is an Early Childhood Special Education Room at Jackson Elementary School in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. The room is dedicated to students with Autism and/or students with large delays in communication. This means we focus on Communication and Social Skills first and foremost. We work on communication all day long with the use of Picture Exchange Communication and Pivotal Response Training. We work on Social Skills through play and also our formal curriculum: The Incredible Flexible You. We also work with positive peer role models during inclusive opportunities during center time and recess time to work on social skills. My two paraprofessionals and I are dedicated to helping our students succeed and learn. We love to see the students learn new skills and except all the challenges that comes along with that.
We also cover the typical preschool academics in the classroom during our circle time and skills groups. These topics include: letter recognition, letter sounds, number recognition, counting, shape recognition, pre-reading skill development, basic math skills.
The Teaching Tools I use in my room:
Assessment: Teaching Strategies Gold
Literacy Curriculum: Read it Again
Math Curriculum: Preschool Everyday Math
Social Emotional Curriculum: Incredible Flexible You
Language and Academic Curriculum: The STAR program
Hand Writing Curriculum: Hand Writing Without Tears
Room Organization: Creative Curriculum and TEACCH Strategies
Wow! Just reading about your job responsibilities is exhausting! I know that a 'typical' pre-school and classroom is demanding with just focusing on learning academics, I can't imagine adding on teaching communication skills as well. I'm sure you have your hands full!
ReplyDeleteI love the design/colors of your blog! It is visually appealing to read. I also love that you added information about your personal life because we all know that impacts us as a teacher! Congrats on your upcoming child! :)