Calendar Routine in a Special Education Classroom
Todays post is going to be all about a differentiated calendar routine in a special education classroom. It is one of the most common classroom routines we see in most elementary settings. While each classroom may do it different, the same skills are mastered in the end. In a special ducation classroom with students at various levels, differential is key. Today, I will discuss all things differentiation.
I choose to do my Calendar routine as a whole class right before the kids go to lunch. Following our second round of work centers, students check their visual daily schedule and get ready for our differentiated calendar routine. It is a great way to bring the whole group back together after rotations. Your calendar routine can take place any time during the school day that works best for you and your schedule. A lot of classrooms implement calendar as part of their morning routine first thing in the morning. As always, calendar routine is part of our visual schedule posted in front of the classroom. Students also have their individual student schedules with the calendar icon that they would check before transitioning to the whole class calendar routine.
Calendar Video Tutorial
Like I mentioned above, today’s detailed blog post is about differentiating your calendar routine so that all students get the most out of the daily routine. Below is a video walk through of how I ran calendar in my classroom of students at various levels.
Calendar Staffing
Like I mentioned above, calendar was done as a whole group in my class. Students sat at their desks while I ran the calendar routine in the front of the room. At this time I have most of my staff members take their lunch break so I’m only left with one staff member to assist. I use this time to promote independence so I have my staff member stay back and only assist on an as needed basis. (Or with bathroom emergencies!).
I prefer to have my staff take their lunch at the same time during a whole group activity because then I am able to maximize work centers with all of my staff. My staff takes their lunch once work center rotations are done and they are earning their rewards for completing their working card. To learn more about my work center rotations and visual schedules, click HERE. The time they earn their rewards from work centers plus the time it takes to clean up, run calendar and get ready for lunch is enough time for my staff to get their entire contracted lunch break.
Once my students are ready for lunch, all my staff have returned back from their lunch break. My students and staff are off to lunch, and then I get to take my lunch alone.
Calendar Bulletin Board
In the front of my classroom I have a LARGE calendar set-up on my white board to work on calendar skills. The calendar pieces are all laminated and interactive to keep my student’s engaged. Our calendar routine is all hands on, and students get a chance to help with one part of the calendar at time.
All of these pages up on my bulletin board are the individual pages from my interactive calendar books that you can grab HERE. I just mounted them on black construction paper to make them “pop” on my whiteboard. While utilizing this calendar bulletin board to drive the calendar routine, my students all participate in their own way through individualized calendar materials.
My calendar board did have a large calendar and monthly calendar numbers I got from a local teacher supply store. You can shop calendar materials HERE.
Differentiated Calendar Materials
During the calendar routine, we go through each step together. I also incorporate tons of music from YouTube and Apple Music. The number of days of the week, month and even weather songs available are unlimited.
Here are all of the variations I use during my calendar routine that get daily use!
- Calendar Books
- Calendar File Folder
- Calendar Board
- Fill in the Blank Worksheet
- Circle the Answer Worksheet
- Interactive Calendar PDF
I stored all of my calendar materials in the file cabinet that was in the front of the classroom. It made it super easy to grab materials and be efficient during the calendar routine.
Calendar Books
I use calendar books for most of my students. These books I created are printed, laminated, binded and velcro’d. During the calendar routine, student’s follow along with the rest of the class. The calendar books mirror the calendar bulletin board in the front of my classroom. As we cover each page in front of the class, students attach the correct velcro icon to their own book and read the page, “Today is ___” etc.
I use Big Mac switches for my non verbal student’s so that they are able to participate as well. In the books I have the following pages:
- Yesterday was
- Today is
- Tomorrow is
- The month is
- The date is
- The weather is
- The season is
For each page of the calendar book, I created a poster of all the visual answers to provide visual supports for the students that need it. Here are the pictures of the posters we use to complete the calendar bulletin board. Once we answer it as a class, I simply pass out the calendar piece to each student. Students read each page to me as I pass them out!
For the date page of the calendar book, I use a star icon to have the student’s mark today’s date. I found it to be much easier to manage one icon per date page rather than passing out ton’s of little numbers! I also created simple birthday, holiday and no school icons that can be attached to the date page of the calendar books!
If you want to grab calendar books for your classroom, click HERE.
Calendar File Folder
I created a calendar file folder for my students who are not yet able to write on their own but are capable of manipulating a lot of pieces on their own without getting overwhelmed. I like the calendar file folder because all pieces are built in within the file folder which makes it easy to manipulate while conducting calendar.
Students simply find the right icon to fill in each sentence frame. If you want to grab the calendar file folder for your classroom, click HERE.
Calendar Board
I created a calendar mat to match the Calendar Books that many of my student’s use during Calendar work. This calendar board is best used for students who require a visual to participate in whole group activities to stay engaged but are not yet ready to write or use materials with or use a calendar book with lot of pieces to manipulate. It is a simple paperless skill work visual. I like implementing the calendar board because it is sturdy, and this students are able to participate without being dependent on an adult for help. You can also laminate these calendar boards and have students circle the answers with dry erase markers. Students simply follow along the calendar routine and point to the days of the week/month/date/weather when I ask them. There are no velco pieces to the calendar board so it is super easy to introduce!
The calendar board mirrors the bulletin board I have set up in the classroom so everyone is still participating in the same question in different ways. If you want to grab the calendar board for your classroom, click HERE.
Calendar Worksheets
The last variation of calendar materials I use in my classroom during calendar time are calendar worksheets. I created a “circle the answer” worksheet for beginners. This double sided worksheet is great for students who are able to independently hold a pencil and circle/find objects on their own. This is a stepping stone to being able to work on the Daily Calendar Worksheet (fill in the blank.). The worksheet mirrors my bulletin board.
If you want to grab the daily calendar worksheet (circle the answer), click HERE.
Like the worksheet above, this is for students who are independently holding a pencil and able to attend to a worksheet with minimal prompting. This worksheet has fill in the blank sentence frames with a word bank to assist. This worksheet matches the calendar books and bulletin board in the front of the room as well.
If you want to grab the daily calendar worksheet (fill in the blank), click HERE.
These worksheets can also be used with a dry erase marker if you laminate the worksheets or stick them in a page protector.
Interactive Calendar Routine
If you have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, you may want to use an interactive calendar routine in your classroom. I created a clickable pdf that can be projected on your interactive smart board to make a digital calendar routine for you with little to no prep. As you click through the days it will prompt you to the next page. The interactive calendar routine is a digital version of all of the other visuals in the calendar bundle to contuse with a cohesive calendar routine that can easily be differentiated to meet the needs of your students. It was also a common option for distance learning morning meeting routines. Consider this digital calendar if you provide any instruction over zoom.
How Do Determine Which Materials to Use?
For some kiddos in your class, it might be very easy to determine which calendar materials they should use. For others, you might not know right away. Sometimes a trial and error is the best approach if you are deciding between two different levels of calendar materials for any particular student.
You also might change what materials you want to use day to day. For me, over the years, I found that there were some days we were running behind and calendar was condensed to a quick 5 minute activity. When this was the case, I would simply use my Interactive PDF on my interactive whiteboard or pass out calendar boards for all students.
There also may be days where students might need to change it up. Maybe they want to try the fill in the blank worksheet with highlighted answers some days, but other days be independent with the file folder. I also would change materials here and there to keep it exciting for students. Lastly, sometimes a student might be having a challenging day, may feel extra tired or may just need a break. If this is the case, there is no harm in giving them a “simpler” level for them so that they are able to participate successfully based on the needs of that child in that moment.
You can grab all of my calendar materials in a discounted bundle HERE.
Why is Calendar Important?
Calendar skills are an important life skill. Understanding basic calendar skills is important in every aspect of your day as you become an adult. Mastering the morning calendar routine is one way to help build independence for your students. Practicing calendar skills on a daily basis is a great way to build mastery with calendar skills. Calendar focuses on life skills and social skills at the same time. Individual students are able to progress in these basic skills throughout the school year. By differentiating the calendar materials to meet the students needs, you will boost student participation tremendously. These differentiated calendar materials are a perfect addition to your calendar routine.
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