Michelle Fenn Advocacy for change, agency, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Equity, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, self reflection, Social Justice, Wellness

Holiday Break Assumptions

December is stressful for so many reasons.  Seasonal concerts and plays, crafts and the general hustle and bustle around this time of year.  While teachers attempt to make things fun and engaging for the last few weeks before the holiday, there are a few things to consider about assumptions that as educators we might make about our students.

Not every child is looking forward to the holidays.

As working adults we look forward to the break from our daily occupations at this time of year.  For us it means a chance to regroup and reconnect.  However, for some students it may mean a lack of routine and structure which can provoke anxiety.  The reality is that some students may find school the safest place in their lives.  The two weeks off of school at the end of the December will inevitably happen for everyone however, not every kid is looking forward to it.  So it may be best not to focus on the “Countdown to Break.”

Children living in poverty.

For those children living in families who celebrate the season with any kind of gift giving, this can be a time of stress and anxiety for parents and invariably children.  According to parenting expert Alyson Schafer, “Parents of low-income families will often put themselves last in order to shield their kids from poverty and the parents’ health and well-being suffers for it.”  Some parents may even skip meals or prescription medication in order to have enough money to buy gifts.  Whether the children are aware of their family’s financial situation or not, they will witness wealthier classmates getting more at this time of year and it can be difficult for those children.   While this is the time of year that many schools engage in a food drive, teachers need to remember that some students may not be able to donate and in fact, there may be students in your class or school whose family accesses the food bank.  It doesn’t mean that would need to stop these charitable acts.  As educators we just need to be aware of the assumptions that we make about our students when we engage in the activities.

Those “fun” activities aren’t always “fun” for everyone.

This time of year gets busy in a school.  There are often more announcements, events and things for sale or collection.  Students who already struggle in school find this time of year difficult because of the multitude of interruptions to regular routines.  When possible, keep things as simple as possible for your students.  I have always found that keeping as much routine as possible in my classroom at this time of year provided much needed comfort and predictability.

 

 

 

Will Gourley General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection, Teaching as a public profession

Shoulders of giants.

There is a wonderful quote from Sir Isaac Newton that goes, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” To me, this is nothing less than a gigantic nod to everyone who “tried and paved the way” before him, and a reminder of his then obligation to do the same for the generations to follow-including you and me.

I think Newton was right to pay tribute to his predecessors, but he did so implying that he was focused on the future. He knew that the past played an important part in his understanding of all things Math and Physics(Natural Law), but he was also keanly aware that there was still much work to do during his life in order to prepare for something far beyond his time, work, failures, and accomplishments. This was Newton’s way to say to his successors, “My shoulders are ready for you to stand upon and see further”. Like all teachers, Newton created the conditions where his lessons would go far into the future to a time, space, and place where he himself would never visit.

And now to the classroom

Imagine this repeating itself around the world everyday where a class is in session? We see the future everyday as we prepare students to stand on our shoulders to see further. In some ways, teachers are like conduits of time that possess the ability to bridge the past and present in service of the future. In the process, we continually build and strengthen the foundations on which we all stand and seek to see further than before.

To me, this is one of the coolest places to be as an educator because we have the ability to see through multiple states of time. This is a gift from the past, and it is important for us all to take a moment to enjoy the 360 view atop the shoulders of giants on which we now stand.*

Think about the beauty of looking back at where we’ve been a.k.a hindsight. In education it’s better known as ongoing professional reflection. In itself, reflection will always be an important tool in our collective kit. However, if we’re not careful, we can dwell too much on the past, which could then mire us in the present, and ultimately cause us to lose focus on the future – our students. That’s why we need to keep our eyes looking forward and further as we stand together to protect education from fundamentalist firestarters trying to burn its foundations with fiscal forest fires in order to fleece the future.

Despite the acrimonious arson taking place, we stand firm and united in the fight against cuts to education. Our solidarity, current WTR focus on government, and willingness to wait at the negotiating table are clear indicators to families that ETFO members are rallying around our learners even as the government burns bridges to benefit a bogus budget dilemma. Our shoulders are squared and strong.

It’s time we douse the doubt and the doubters by continuing our amazing and impactful work in education which has placed Ontario among the best in the world. Imagine what heights our students will reach when each one has equitable access to learning at all phases of their educational evolution from JK to post-secondary? Imagine underserved and under-performing students who will never fall through the cracks because there are shoulders for them to stand on too?

Stand strong. Stand together.

*This is never more meaningful when I think about the educators who stood up for teachers in the past to fight for the benefits, pay, and working conditions we have now. There is no doubt that things are better for educators in some areas, but have deteriorated in other areas. It is now our turn to clear the way and make new roads for those to come in the future. I am so thankful for those who fought for me. Even though I may never meet them in person, I am here standing on their shoulders.

An image of a person in a circle surrounded by icons representing life skills
Tammy Axt General, Special Education

Life Skills Assessment

Life skills are a broad topic to teach students. They can range from communication, safety, meal prep to managing money. Throughout our week, life skills are integrated into many activities we do. Our life skills program also changes as the need arises. We added a section in our life skills program about menstruation after our girls begun to get their period and we also added safety conversations after we learned about incidents at home and in the community.

Some common books to get you started with life skills program design and assessment are the FISH (Functional Independence Skills Handbook) and the Carolina Curriculum.

After connecting with parents early in the year about some life skills goals they had for their children, we developed a little 20 minute life skills time after lunch each day that looks like this:

Each student is assigned a life skill for two weeks. The assignment chart looks like this:

 

 

Each staff member is assigned two students to train in their life skill. The goal over the course of the two weeks is to move the student as close to independence as possible. Below is a portion of our assessment chart that helps us focus on where our students need assistance.  We may start with verbal and gestural prompts earlier in the process but by the end of their time on their assignment the need for prompts is reduced.

The goal of this life skills time is to have the student be contributing members of their family and the classroom. We have heard from many parents who are seeing the impact at home with students taking over responsibility of their own living space and helping with the care of shared space. My students feel good when they know that they have achieved a level of independence.

Will Gourley Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Equal Pay in Unions, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Standardized testing, Teaching as a public profession, Violence in Schools, Why unions matter

In loco contractus

It has taken a lot of restraint to ignore the volumes of micro-aggressive, passive aggressive, aggressive, and macro-aggressive comments flying around the Twitterverse about education since our most recent contract with the government expired this past August.

And then there is the elected official du jour with the education portfolio.

I have tried not to focus on the orchards of low hanging fruit being grown by our current Education Minister at the behest of his leader and his agenda. Elected or not, it is imperative of this incumbent and every other MPP to serve the public better. This means, any disinegenous attempts to villify our profession through weak one-liners and scripted media apperances as a scare tactic have to end. Saying you want a deal and then not bargaining will never be deemed as negotiating.

Despite not having a contract, all educators continue their tireless work on behalf of students to educate, encourage, and move forward even though our government managed to cut teachers and course offerings, and then wrote themselves a nearly 5 month absence note with a retro-active pay raise for good measure. This is not a sustainable situation. It is however, a recipe for a toxic and uncertain future.

What the province’s students need now is a government that sees, supports, and serves them and not the interests of corporate bullies or privateers bent on profiting from manufactured crises in public education. Instead they are blasted with a daily dose of misinformation without consideration of the present or the future. Our youth deserve a future and the truth.

This is what they are getting.

In between not negotiating, there have been absolutely zero authentic moments when this elected official sat at the table, conducted meaningful dialogue with teachers, or made an unscripted appearance at a public school without a camera crew. Maybe he should read my Undercover Boss post.

Instead it’s a steady stream of steamy slurry being served to the public via social media and scripted segments. #somethingsmells

Ontario education minister deletes tweet after social media backlash

“Lecce’s office told Global News on Thursday that the location of the photos was chosen due to timing and convenience, saying the decision was not made in an effort to avoid going to one of the province’s public schools but instead so as not to create a disruption.”

https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2019/11/minister-of-education-statement-on-first-day-of-work-to-rule.html

“My negotiating team stands ready for meaningful, good-faith bargaining 24/7, to reach the deals Ontario students and families deserve. There is a path to a deal, and it requires all parties to be reasonable and fair and put the needs of our children first.”

https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2019/11/statement-from-education-minister-on-osstf-strike.html

“Strikes hurt kids. Our Government has been clear, we want deals that keep students in class. For teacher unions to leave the table, to turn their back on our children, and to escalate to the point of compromising their education, is deeply troubling for parents and our Government.”

Cue Dr Carol Campbell from OISE and a litany of very committed educators who, to no surprise, have provided the corrections and descriptive feedback. Follow the thread all the way through. I especially like the part where the OntGov will never leave the table and be available 24/7. The OSSTF is also working hard at fact checking the M.O.Ed’s claims. #onceateacheralwaysateacher

There is nothing helpful about using the hashtag #strikeshurtkids that could ever be considered conscionable compared to the budget cuts being inflicted in our province. For so many people concerned about the public purse, a vision prescription update may be forthcoming to help them see the red ink that will stain the ledgers of future generations of Ontarians. When the people are denied adequate and equitable access to the world class education system that already exists in Ontario, the costs will make the current deficit look like an OLG winfall. The shortsightedness of this will end up costing us all. #antithetical #malfeasance or #unethical #incompetance

Think of overburdened social service systems, the disenfranchisement of students who have had their course options stolen, or of the marginalized/at-risk youth who deserve more interactions with opportunities and adults who are equipped to support them. Think about the danger to the economy of an underprepared/underserved workforce. This is why we need to keep up the struggle and fight against the visionless economic tyranny of the day. #cutshurtkids

Cuts Hurt Us All

Not to be overlooked, our collective rights as a union are being threatened by a pack of budget wolves that is blind to all but the bottom line. Few if any, have ever dared to step foot into the very institutions they wish to “save” and witness the magic and miracles being performed by teachers and support staff everyday without a press conference or a contract. Now that’s putting students first. #ETFOStrong

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Behaviour Management, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Constant Learning, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Inclusion, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, self reflection, Teacher Appreciation, Teacher Wellness, Wellness, wellness

Daring Classrooms

I state the obvious when I say that teaching is a demanding job.  If you are reading this, you are most likely a teacher and this is not news to you.  I’d like to highlight a resource that feeds the soul of a teacher (and quite frankly a human being) while also providing some strategies for integrating that soul feeding into your classroom practice for your students.  Wait, what…that exists?  It is a website from Brene Brown called Daring Classrooms.  If you haven’t heard of her yet, you can find “The Call to Courage” on Netflix and/or her Ted Talk on Vulnerability.  She is inspirational in leadership, in life and in work.  Here is a snippet from her #DaringClassrooms website:

“Teachers are some of our most important leaders. We know that we can’t always ask our students to take off the armor at home, or even on their way to school, because their emotional and physical safety may require self-protection.

But what we can do, and what we are ethically called to do as teachers, is create a space in our schools and classrooms where all students can walk in and, for that day or hour, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly being seen.

Teachers are the guardians of spaces that allow students to breathe and be curious and explore the world and be who they are without suffocation. Students deserve one place where they can rumble with vulnerability and their hearts can exhale.

And what I know from the research is that we should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong—even one—where they can take off their armor. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life.

Teachers: Everyday should be Teacher Appreciation Day. I am so grateful for you and your willingness to show up and create brave, safe spaces where our children can learn, grow, and be seen.”

Some of the short (8-12 minute) video resources from Daring Classrooms include:

How do we avoid the pressure to please?

How do teachers manage oversharing?

How do we help parents understand failing as part of the learning process?

Does the word “disappointed” shame students?

In addition to the video resources there are free downloads for resources, parenting the classroom and daily life.  There are pdfs that you can print out for working with students.  My favourite one is the list of core emotions.  Sometimes when students have triggers they can’t always name or explain the emotion that caused the trigger in behaviour.  Being able to learn about the names and the definitions of core emotions is helpful for students to self-regulate.

Every year in a classroom brings new challenges.  In fact, every day in a classroom will bring on a new challenge.  I hope that as you lead your own #DaringClassroom you will find this resource helpful and that it may feed your teacher soul.

Laura Bottrell General

What Can We Learn From Halloween Candy?

Math talks encourage participation, nurture intuition, build fluency, and enhance mental math strategies. Most importantly, math talks improve students’ ability to justify and defend their thinking. In my own practice, this instructional strategy has been the most valuable window into my students’ thinking.

Sometimes the best math talks come from things that seemingly involve no math at all. One of my class’ favourite math activities is to play “Which One Doesn’t Belong?”, where students examine four pictures (or shapes, or numbers) side by side and must decide which one does not belong with the set, justifying their answers. These are open-ended, high-ceiling prompts with multiple access points which allow the teacher to meet students where they’re at in the conversation, and other students’ more complex thinking to challenge their peers. You can access these images for use in your own classroom here.

I want my students to see that math is everywhere in their lives. Taking a bit of a Kindergarten approach, I’ve been going out of my way to point out math concepts that occur naturally throughout our day. On Halloween, before sending them home for their night of trick-or-treating, I asked them what they usually do with their candy when they get back home. Most said that they dump it on the floor (of course!).

I asked, “well, what do you do next?”. About half of them shared that they sort or count their candy. We talked a little bit about the different ways that everyone usually sorts their candy. I invited them to have their families take a picture of their sorted candy piles and send it to me! They seemed pretty excited about their “candy homework”.

That night, almost all of the families in my class submitted a picture! The following day, I used their pictures for one of the most engaging and valuable math talks we’ve had this year.


We took our time looking at each of the submitted photos, noticing and naming math concepts that were visible in each one. Their best ideas came from my simple prompt, “What math can you see here?“. Some of the concepts and skills that we touched upon include:

Number Sense – subitizing, estimating (when a full set is visible and when parts of a set are buried – for example, what could be the answer when we can’t see what is underneath the pile?), counting, least/greatest, mental math addition and subtraction

Patterning – patterning by different attributes (shape, colour, kind of candy)

Measurement – measurement with non-standard units (the way we line up the candy along the floor affects how the quantity appears – for example, if the same amount of different sized bars are lined up touching one another, it may appear that there are more of the larger sized bars because they create a longer line)

Data Management – different rules for sorting and classifying, different ways of arranging the candy to make their thinking clear, discussions about the most and least popular types of candy given out

Geometry – sorting and classifying by geometric properties of the candy packaging (rectangular candy, square packages, spheres, 2D vs. 3D packaging, etc)

Our wonderfully rich math talk also lead us into a media literacy discussion about packaging, advertising and marketing, and why certain candy brands appeared to be more popular than others.

They had so much to share that we will have to continue on Monday!

 

Will Gourley General, Making a Difference Through Education, self reflection

Seedlings, trees, and fallen leaves

It’s Fall. Ugh.

As the last leaves drop, it is a good opportunity to share some recent thoughts inspired by the change of seasons beyond the sub-joyous feelings from cold, wet, and grey days. It is a season that offers a lot of natural analogies about education as well.

Around my neighbourhood, as in most, the trees have shed their fashionable foliage, trading in their shade and shelter for a minimalist cover of bark. Thankfully, the ground continues to accept the last colourful leaves without a fuss. This cover provides much needed nutrients and insulation to seeds burrowed beneath the surface.

I have cut my lawn for the last time this year and made sure the leaf litter was mulched back into the soil, not removed. No raking for this homeowner. I would never have known this without teaching a unit on ecosystems. Think of all the time I could have saved?

I have accepted that wearing shorts and a golf shirt to school is no longer a viable option. Like Fall, change is all around. Time to dig out the sweaters, toques, and other winter wear. Summerlike weather is gone, I know this because more students are trying to find excuses to hide indoors as temps dip or by the behaviour challenges arising from a number of weather related indoor recess days in a row.

Speaking of weather, the other week, I was really reminded of Fall’s arrival during an end of day bus supervision where the wind was so strong it felt like it was raining under my umbrella which then collapsed into uselessness shortly thereafter. Nothing like looking like a wet rag for meet the parent night, eh?
It’s a busy time of year at home and at school. Reluctantly, my patio furniture has been forced into hibernation. My class furniture has also been arranged, unarranged, and rearranged. There’s lots going on in and outside of schools.

Everyone is in motion and even though 20% of the year is on the books it feels like the work is just getting started – not to mention progress reports. Like squirrels living in a local ecosystem, teachers are busy gathering and storing marks for progress reports and Winter. UGH!

Well enough about that. I want to spring forward to Spring because I need to have something to look forward to as the cold sets in. This means a lot of front loading with students now as we have established many solid classroom norms and daily learning opportunities. The energy and effort we are all planting into our students now will quickly grow and become so much more visible when the sun finally melts the snow and our parkas are put away.

By Spring time, seeds which have been hiding under ground have become sun seeking sprouts that quickly turn into saplings in a matter of months. Soon enough these little trees will reveal their own little canopies, provide shade, and photosynthesize like their taller neighbours. Like the classroom, with time, our students are empowered to grow and contribute to the classroom first and then the learning community.

This can get scary sometimes. Not for students, they usually take everything in stride. My fear comes from not being able to clear the weeds away or worse, inadvertantly standing on the spot where they are trying to grow. And then I remind myself to just plant the seeds, clear the rubble, and get out of the way to watch them grow. Next, prune the branches with clear expectations and feedback and above all, keep the pests away.

By Summer, you will see new seeds floating to the ground and the process has come full circle. Until September.

In the meantime, take time to enjoy every moment as you plant the seeds this Fall. Stay warm and get ready for an amazing Spring.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General, Special Education

Lenses

Take a moment to imagine something. Please and thank you.
What comes to your mind? Was it difficult to shut out the world for a moment?

For me the freedom to take time to imagine something came as a shock to my senses at first. Shouldn’t I be working and not sitting still in my chair with my eyes closed? However, after some permission(self-authorized) and intentional practice, a pause for imagination has become quite productive in my professional and creative life.

Oddly enough, whenever I intentionally do this, there is a barrage of thoughts projected onto my internal IMAX screen. My mind is parsing out billions of accumulated bits of known and unknown datum. It’s incredible how, more often than not, this exercise usually causes the mind to quicken rather than slow down.

Now do it again, but this time think of your classroom or school.
Who immediately came to mind?
Why them?

Whenever I do this, it comes as no surprise that the most frequent faces are those who are viewed as hard to manage and or struggle with interpersonal interactions. Oddly enough, it is never the most “behaved” or “successful”, although each of these descriptors are relative, who come to mind. I am working hard to change this.

To be honest, I struggle at times to understand how best to serve the enigmatic students in my community. That’s not a cry for help, but it is a lens that I look through in order to provoke the deepest reflections and change in my practice. After IEP season in my school, my SERT partner and I are now working to add another 8 to 10 students to our caseloads and as the leaves have fallen, a number of new faces have come clearer into focus.

The other day, a student who is new to our school decided to elope from class and then from school. Thankfully, the outcome of this behaviour ended positively without the student leaving the property or being injured. There and then, new plans needed to be laid to support this bright and conversive student who possesses a great sense of humour.

This meant changing our view as a team to include “eyes on” check-ins, intentional movement management(let’s call it logistics), and the use of supportive strategies that will ensure safety at all times. Viewing a child with the “eyes on” lens can take a lot of energy, training, and practice. In many cases, the training comes on the job. For me, it’s like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle while on top of a speeding train. Sure there’s plenty of room and there’s a nice breeze, but do all of the pieces have to be flying around?

As I reflect on this student and their behaviours at school, I am constantly reminding myself of the lenses we must all wear in order to effectively serve the diverse social, emotional, intellectual, and behavioural needs of our students. There have been many days when every fibre of my existence fights against the way my own teachers used to handle things in order to concentrate on seeing events and actions as pieces to a much bigger puzzle.

I didn’t ask to see things that way, but I do have the capacity to leave antiquated practices in the past in order to update my prescription to see the present and future. This comes from teamwork, experience, and imaginative approaches to solving new problems and challenges as they appear.

We need to wear different lenses in order to find and place the smallest pieces not easily visible to the senses. We learn what we’re taught. So, we can also unlearn what we’re taught in order to blend, bend, and break past practices. What worked when we were kids rarely works today because that was then and this is now. That’s where taking some time to imagine and reimagine the lenses we choose through which our students are seen and served.

 

 

Laura Bottrell General

A Beginning Teacher’s Journey: Part Four

Since I started blogging with Heart & Art three years ago, I like to think I’ve had an ongoing storyline in my “A Beginning Teacher’s Journey” posts. So far, I’ve written three instalments.

A Beginning Teacher’s Journey: Part One reminisces about the day I found out I had been hired to the Occasional Teacher list in my board. I still remember that moment clear as day – the moment that began my career. I wrote about accepting my first LTO position, and how it felt to finally, truly be a teacher. I was so excited, and still feel that excitement today.

In A Beginning Teachers’ Journey: Part Two, I shared some of the struggles and joys of being a brand new teacher. As I’m reading that post again today, I’m proud of myself for how I’ve grown but also humbled by how much I am still thinking those same things. Even three and a half years in, I’m still feeling like a new teacher. I’m still learning as I go.

I wrote A Beginning Teacher’s Journey: Part Three at the end of my first significantly long LTO position. I wrote about the sense of loss teacher feels when they must leave a class or a school, moving between different assignments throughout the first few years of teaching. As an LTO teacher, this has been the hardest part of my job. Since writing that post, I have taught in two full-year long LTO positions at two different schools. I felt the exact same way leaving at the end of the year each of those times, too.

Today, I’m writing part four as a permanent teacher! I have finally accepted a full time, permanent position teaching grade 3/4 at a wonderful school.

There’s still a part of me that can’t quite believe it. It was only recently that I wrote this post, sharing how many of my colleagues, myself included, were concerned about the prospects of permanent employment.

I had just started my first day of a full-year LTO assignment when I received the call to interview for the permanent position I had applied for. When asking a good friend and colleague for interview advice, she simply told me to speak from the heart and exude who I was as a teacher. So that’s what I did. I think it was pretty good advice! The phone call I received officially offering me the position is yet another moment that I will always remember!

Tomorrow will mark four weeks since beginning my new position. Beginning at a new school isn’t new territory for me, as this is the fifth school I’ve now called home. Only this time, it feels a lot more like home. I have learned a lot already and I know that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve spent late nights and early mornings setting up my classroom, planning my program and settling in. I’ve focused the most on building relationships. I am so excited to watch my students grow even beyond my year with them. I am so eager to build my second home and become a part of the school community. I am so relieved that I no longer have to worry about job security, and maybe even more relieved about not having to pack up and bring home my classroom with me this summer.

At first when writing this post, I thought I might title it “A Beginning Teacher’s Journey: The Final Part”, or something more clever but along those lines. However, that’s not how I see it. The journey is still continuing and a lot of new things are ahead for me. I’ll be going through the New Teacher Induction Program process, which will include two Teacher Performance Appraisals and building a portfolio of professional growth. I look forward to writing and sharing all about it!

I’ve still got a long way to go with this whole “beginning teacher” thing, but my journey so far has been the most rewarding, exciting and challenging experience I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t change a thing!

And this girl? She’s pretty happy. My first class photo as a teacher, circa 1995.

 

A graphic of a coffee cup steaming.
Tammy Axt General

Starting a class business

Starting a Class Business has been an awesome experience for my students. We go around every Friday and sell coffee, tea, cold drinks and snacks to the teachers in our school. It has been a great way for my students to get out of the classroom and visit the rest of the school and work on their communication skills.

Starting Out:

We started by doing a very simple survey with the staff that included questions like:

  1. How often would you buy something?
  2. What kind of drink would you buy?
  3. What kind of snack would you buy?
  4. How much would you be willing to pay?

Our Cart:

Once we had decided how often to go, we gathered all the necessary items to run our business. We gathered coffee makers, kettles, a cart and a few bins we had lying around. Our cart looks like this…

 

 

What to charge:

After explaining the purpose of the coffee cart to the staff, we encourage staff to contribute any amount. I have taught my students the phrase “We takes ones or twos but no I owe yous” which we proudly display on the front of our cart.

Roles:

My students are assigned roles according to the goals that they are working on. The roles include cart pusher, greeter, money collector, cream and milk leader, sugar and sweetener leader and salesperson. The goal is to work the students towards independence in interacting and completing their assigned roles.

Assessment:

I have made a simple checklist for things to look for when my students are selling coffee to the teachers on Friday. Many of the goals on the checklist are embedded into their IEP goals.

 

Greets teacher (eg.hello)
Explains choices available
Explains cost

 
Listens to order and gets cream or milk correctly
Listens to order and gets sugar or sweetener correctly
Identifies coins correctly (loonie/toonie)
Verbally Says goodbye to teacher

 

Adding Funds To Your Program:

Money is important to our program.  We take many trips and do many activities that require additional funds. This business allows us to increase our allocated school budget to make our program super fun and exciting.

If you are thinking about starting a class business or a social enterprise please feel free to reach out, I would be happy to help!