Is it August already?

First of all, let me say that I LOVE summer vacation. But every year around mid-July I can't help but start planning and thinking about the upcoming school year. For me, it's a little exciting to start fresh, reflect on the previous school year (what worked and what didn't), and start planning for a new year. Here is a list of things that I always try to do first, before I feel ready to start lesson planning.
 
1. Create a rough whole-class schedule.

I say "rough" because there are always changes that occur within the first 2 weeks of school (i.e. students move in, students move out, instructional assistants change, little Johnny can't be grouped with little Susie, etc.). Since my students usually stay with me for a couple of years, I generally have a good idea of who I'm getting and what their needs are before the year even begins.

2. Make a list of communication needs and start prepping.

If I know which students are non-verbal or limited verbal, I start prepping my communication systems accordingly. Anyone who has ever prepped picture icons and communication books knows how tedious this can be. If I don't have access to the school resources (e.g. laminator and color printer), I at least make a chart of communication needs and which icons I need ready.   I also note things like who will need a communication book, what core boards need to be made, and are there any visuals that I need to accommodate students during activities such as circle time.

3. Classroom layout.

                                                       (photo courtesy of morguefile.com)

The dynamics in my classroom change every year. Some years I have a very Autism specific classroom and other years I hardly have any students on the spectrum. I find that I have to change the layout of my classroom almost every year to fit the needs of my students. In the past I would make a list of areas that I wanted to see in my classroom (e.g. reading area, play area, break area, sensory area, work systems, small group table, etc) and then hand draw some possibilities. But what I found is my drawings were not to scale. :) Once I moved all the furniture into place, I would have large gaps or areas that were super crowded. To solve this problem, I started using some online tools that help teachers plan the layout of their classroom. Here are a few good ones:

The Classroom Architect 
Kaplan Classroom Floorplanner 
Lakeshore Classroom Designer

4. Hang student goals

I like to make a page for each student in my class that has a shortened list of their IEP goals. I usually hang them around our group work table so that my instructional assistants and I can reference them during activities.  It helps keep ALL activities intentional.  I try not to make them too wordy so that they are easy to read on the fly. Here is a sample:

I like to make my goals pages follow a color scheme and use the same font throughout the classroom so that it looks visually nice to visitors. I also use abbreviations for all names for confidentiality purposes.

5. Rough groupings for small group

This one isn't always as doable as the other tasks, since I don't always know who will be moving into my classroom until the day before school starts. However, I like to start thinking about grouping my students by ability level so that when I am ready to start classroom rotations, I can have an idea of what the groups may look like. This also helps me think about classroom layout. If I have a group of kids with similar ability levels that have mostly language delays only, I may organize my classroom so that I have more whole group activities. If I have a more challenging group that needs much more support, I may structure my classroom so that there are more options for rotations (e.g. structured work systems, small group table, 1:1 table) to attempt to give the students more 1:1 and small group work time.

At the end of the day, I have to sometimes just wait and see what the first day of school brings me. The classroom is an ever changing environment, but a little preparation makes me feel a little more confident for what may come.