Weekly Lesson Plans

What

Weekly Lesson Plans

When

3/17/2025

My classroom is part of the District’s ACCESS (Academics, Communication, Community, Employment, Self Help, Social Skills) Program. “The program’s primary focus is on developing the student’s independent functioning within his/her home, school, and community environments. This focus is accomplished through the use of research based materials, teaching strategies and techniques, and components considered as best practice for students with significant cognitive disabilities and autism.”

Given the educational profile of my students, they require a self-contained/substantially separate classroom with specialized instruction and a multidisciplinary team approach. These learners are accessing the general education curriculum (Georgia Standards of Excellence) substantially below grade level via the Extended Content Standards and require significant accommodations, modifications and specially designed instruction in order to make effective progress (i.e. acquire, maintain and generalize skills).

At the onset of the school year and throughout, the students will be learning the schoolwide, classroom and individualized behavioral expectations (adapted as needed). The developed classroom schedule will be revised as needed and routines taught. The refinement of operational definitions and baseline data will be collected for appropriate and maladaptive behaviors relative to each students’ Individual Education Program. Data relating to functional academics, students' independence with communication (multimodal) and Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) will be collected and analyzed in order to inform instruction. Social skills will be assessed informally as well as play skills. Informal data relating to students preferences will be obtained to identify potential reinforcers. As students demonstrate and/or acquire the prerequisite skills relating to whole group instruction, students will begin participating in grade level specials of music, art, physical education (and some STEAM+ classes). Preview, and when possible pre-teaching, for scheduled CBI (Community Based Instruction) occurs when appropriate.

Skill specific baseline and current performance data will be used to inform accommodations, modifications, behavioral interventions and specially designed instruction including functional academic skills, activities of daily living and adaptive skill development. The specially designed instruction for academic and adaptive skills will prioritize skills that promote independence in routines of daily living (e.g. toileting, basic meal prep, dressing, etc.), functional academic skills (e.g. letter identification, number identification, money skills, sight words, etc.) and social interactions (e.g. cooperative play, waiting, turn taking, etc.). Direct instruction and supplemental supports will be provided to enhance students communication skills (e.g. high and low tech devices, CORE boards, visuals and daily schedules, etc.) as well as visual and fine motor skills (via instruction relating to handwriting, fasteners, opening packages, etc.) and assistive technology needs. Behavioral interventions will be implemented to facilitate independence and skill acquisition. Incidental and formal learning opportunities for goals, objectives and benchmarks relating to students' IEPs will be presented on a daily basis. Student data is frequently reviewed and interventions are modified based on analysis.