Simple and Easy To Implement Morning Work Activities In Your Special Education Classroom
9th January 2024
The morning or the beginning time of the special education classroom session is one of the important phases that set the tone for the rest of the day for special needs students. As a special education teacher, you can make a morning work routine for your special need students to follow, which will help them improve their motor skills, social skills and most importantly helps them review their previously learned skill, which will motivate them to be engaged in classroom activities for the rest of the day.
There are few factors of which you should be aware like- not every student can arrive at the same time in the morning and the morning activity's sustainability for the whole school session.
However, there’s no need to worry, because in this blog post, we will be sharing multiple unique and easy-to-implement morning work ideas in your inclusive education classroom setting which is suitable for every station.
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So, without any further delay, let’s get started.
1. Set a Dedicated Workstation
The very first step you must take is to set up a dedicated workstation in your special education classroom that can make all the morning work activities and daily routine fun and engaging for special needs students.
You can use items like- mazes, puzzles dot-to-dot sheets, and other fine motor skills activities. You can also consider using a Fine motor binder activities resource which can provide a wide range of printable pages in the workstation for students.
2. Utilize Technology
In today’s technological era, every child is connected with the internet one way to the other. As a special education teacher, you can take advantage of this for the benefit of special education students. You can use apps for morning work activities like- “Elevate” which improves memory skills, “Flocabulary” helps in improving vocabulary and “Zearn” helps to improve math-related skills to use for your morning work activities.
Another idea is you can make a student scavenger hunt using Google images. These activities improve their technology skills and make the morning work activities interactive and exciting.
3. Taking a Break is Necessary
One of the most important factors you must remember is that don’t get too involved in arranging morning work activities that you forget to give a necessary break to your students. Timely breaks can prove to be beneficial for students, which will not let them feel exhausted, and they can get engaged in activities with more focus. You can consider using activities like- yoga, stretching exercises, or you can play games like “Simon Says” with students.
4. Utilize Real-Time Objects
For your morning work activities don’t only use worksheets, consider using manipulative and real-world objects because students learn better with the objects with which they can interact in the real world.
For example- You can utilize blocks to teach number-related activities you can help students build LEGO structures to solve numerical equations and you can give students Rubix Cube’s to improve their critical thinking skills.
5. Utilize Morning Work Pages
You can consider giving morning work pages to every special education student which will benefit them to become an independent thinker and come up with answers on their own to solve the work pages. You must consider that “No pages independent work pages” can be an ideal tool that will improve their motor skills and to follow directions.
6. Independent Reading
School daily routine can become hectic for your special needs students which leaves them no time to read a book with full focus. You can consider the morning arrival time of students and take your group of students to the library; exchange books and you can even read story books to students in a quiet environment.
Additionally, you may also consider using audio books, which can be a suitable option for those students who learn better by listening at their own pace. Encouraging independent reading during the start of the day in a quiet environment will improve literacy skills and the love of reading.
7. Utilize Visual Calendar
You can utilize a visual calendar as a part of your morning daily routine. You can help students plan their to-do lists for the whole day. This will help them to be organized and they will be more comfortable doing any activities within the time frame which is being set already in the visual calendar.
8. Incorporate Morning Message
You can consider including a morning message to improve the engagement rate of students. Spending on the age bracket of students, you can create messages related to social-emotional learning, critical thinking, and even questions for the day. You can incorporate a smart board display where students can respond using their independent writing journals or with a digital version.
Morning Routine Can Prepare Students For Rest Of Their Day
The beginning of the school day is one of the most crucial times for special needs classrooms where you can consider utilizing morning work activities for special needs students, which will set the tone for the rest of the day. Those teachers, who have pursued courses like the International Diploma in Inclusive Teaching and Special Educational Needs, know some of the effective morning work activities that help their special needs students to thrive in every aspect of life.
However, in this blog post also, we have shared various morning work activities that you can use to improve your special needs student's motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills as well which ultimately motivates them to engage better in the special classroom activities for the rest of the day.
Furthermore, remember to consider factors like student arrival time and sustainability when designing morning work routines. With these creative morning work ideas, special education classrooms can establish a productive and enjoyable start to each day.
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