I had a great talk with Chelsea Marelle for today’s podcast interview about how special ed teachers can set up their classrooms to prevent common behavior problems such as impulsive behavior or refusing to work. I have broken up the interview into two parts.
In Part 1, Chelsea describes how she designs the physical environment of her classroom, including having structure and routines built into the schedule, which will encourage on-task behavior.
We give tips on listening centers and recording your own stories for kids to listen to on CD, or even having kids record themselves reading their own books.
We discuss how to teach routines and expectations in class, as well as prepare kids to go out of class to specialed such as music or general ed classes. Chelsea shares ideas on rotation groups for literacy and math.
Chelsea talks about and compares different positions she has had: Resource with more academics, self-contained for intellectual disabilities, and a class focused on autism for this coming year. You will love Chelsea’s enthusiasm and love for her students and special ed!!!
This discussion on classroom setup continues in Part 2 with ideas for setting up class decor, flexible seating, setting up opportunities for children to practice making choices, and so much more! Chelsea also talks about moving and getting a new job in the middle of the school year.
Episode Show Notes
Guest: Chelsea Marelle
Hi! My name is Chelsea Marelle and I am starting year 5 of teaching! I have known that I wanted to be a teacher since second grade and special education drew me in from the start and I’ve never looked back. I was very fortunate to earn my Master’s Degree in Special Education (with some focus in ABA) from Vanderbilt University where I was able to work with some of the brightest minds in education. I have taught k-5 resource, k-5 cross-category self-contained, moved halfway across the country in the middle of the school year, taught 2nd and 3rd grade SLD self-contained, and now will be teaching an Autism level 3 self-contained class for 4th and 5th grade. I am a complete NERD when it comes to special education, behavior, and scheduling! I’m that teacher that has a T-shirt, costume, decoration, window cling, or craft for everything. If there’s a costume contest, guarantee I’m winning it! I have never worked a day because teaching isn’t a job for me… it’s my passion!
Links and Resources
- Chelsea’s color-coded schedules on TpT
- Interactive Literacy Journal
- Leveled Literacy Intervention
- Chelsea on Instagram: @mrs_specialeducation
- Chelsea’s TeachersPayTeachers Store
- Lisa’s Blog Post on Schedules
- Listen to Part 2 of my conversation with Chelsea Marelle
- To sign up for Lisa’s Email List to get free ideas and strategies, use the “Subscribe” sign-up on the right sidebar of the page (or scroll down if using a mobile device). Plus, you get a free resource!
Disclaimer: The views expressed, and resources/links provided on this podcast are that of each guest and do not always represent the views of this podcast or the host. In addition, each listener is encouraged to research all strategies, lessons, curriculum, etc. before using them with students to be sure they are in line with their beliefs, their school district policies, etc.
Host: Lisa Goodell
Lisa Goodell, M.A., launched the “Help for Special Educators” Podcast on April 1, 2019. She has taught for over 24 years, including third grade, resource/inclusion (RSP), and mild/moderate self-contained (SDC). Currently, she is an itinerant orthopedic impairment (OI) specialist/teacher for students birth to 21 years old in all general ed and special ed settings.
Lisa has a master’s degree in special education and six special ed and general ed teaching credentials. She has been honored as “Teacher of the Year” at both the elementary (2014) and secondary level (1994). She lives in rural Central California with her family and a bunch of cats. Connect with Lisa here. You can also get more information about Lisa by listening to the beginning of Episode 1.
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