Binder Tasks in the Special Education Classroom

My name is Melissa, and I’m addicted to binder tasks 🙂

binder work visual supports for a special education classroom

It’s a no brainer that task boxes are a favorite in the special education setting. They help to build independence, generalize skills and offer an alternative to direct instruction. Today I am going to talk about a different kind of task, I’m going to talk all about BINDER TASKS!

If you prefer traditional task boxes for the classroom, read more here!

What are Binder Tasks?

The Binder Work system was designed to create a systematic routine system for students to work independently on already mastered skills that they learn at the math, reading, and writing centers/classes. This can be an every day work center/rotation within your classroom that requires no planning. Binder tasks are simple and are exactly what they sound like. They are simple tasks that fit inside a binder! You can teach the kiddos the routine in the beginning of the year so that your binder center can run itself once it’s up and running! A binder task is any task that fits in a binder, and this can mean multiple different things.

Worksheets in page protectors for dry erase activities
Laminated pages with velcro pieces
Pockets holding sorting/matching hands on tasks

Who Can Use These?

All students can use binder tasks! Depending on what you set up, different students will benefit depending on the skills included. As stated in this blog post, you can create various levels of binder tasks to meet the needs of all students. Reasons why some students may benefit more than others:

Avoids any paper/pencil tasks
Benefits from routine tasks
Student

How Do You Use Them?

Binder tasks can be used in a variety of ways. There is no right or wrong way to use binder tasks and can be used in many settings:

Whole group binder time (ex. morning binder work time)
Binder Center during work center rotations
1:1 Binder work
Homework

I used my binder tasks during work centers when I was in the classroom. Students rotated from table to table with a working card working for a preferred reinforcer. One table was always a binder center table. My binder center had all of my binder tasks stored in a shelf behind the table. While it was a lot of prep work up front, it also “ran itself.” I didn’t need to plan a lesson for each day. Every month I would rotate binder tasks out to keep things fresh and exciting for students.

I had an aide at that center while students worked on binders to keep confusion and mixing up pieces to a minimum! Nobody wants to find little velcro pieces floating around the classroom at the end of the day! Organization is key!

Set Expectations During Binder Time

Which ever way you decide to implement binder tasks into your classroom, there are a few things to keep in mind. Set clear expectations for procedures for students.

Will they be able to pick which binder they work from or will subject binders be assigned to them?
Is it easier for you to set up student binders that are set up each week?
Where will they put their binders when done?
Will they work for a set amount of time or complete a certain amount of pages?
Where will they work? From their seat or a table?
Will they “re-set” their own pages?
How do they ask for help?

There are no wrong answers to these questions. It is just important to have these answers for yourself and to share expectations with students and staff. When I rotated through to new binder tasks for each month, my staff assisted in helping me do so during a Fun Friday afternoon activity when I was able to work with one less staff.

How Much Work Should Students Complete?

As always, I would individualize expectations for all students. I always had an assistant at the center while kids worked from binders. Some students completed one page while others could finish the whole binder without a break. It really depends on the ability of your students and the task/skill they are working on!

This is a FREE visual in my Free Resource Library that can help you organize student expectations at the binder center. Clearly state for students:

How many pages to complete
What subject binder they are working from
What they are working for

Ways To Spice Things Up!

As always, I like to spice things up a bit for kiddos. On some Fridays, not all, I liked to change things up at the binder center. Here are some examples of ways to differentiate the binder tasks:

Sensory Bins
Sand/Rice Writing
Letter Stamps
Play Doh
Keyboard skills

What Binder Tasks I Used:

When I was in the classroom, I loved implementing binder tasks. Something about binder tasks are just reinforcing to direct instruction. Over the years I have created several different binder tasks in my TpT store to share with you. I get a lot of questions clarifying between the tasks, so let me do so here:

BINDER BASICS: These binders are sold by subject, and come with a LOT of practice for each subject. There is also a bundle too if you want all of the subjects. These subject binders have a LOT pages for each subject. Each subject has over 55 pages of activities. These binder tasks can also be set up as file folder activities if you prefer to implement file folders instead of binder tasks. There are 11 subjects you can purchase together or individually including: matching, sorting, colors, shapes, patterns, sizes, puzzles, numbers, letters, counting to 10 and counting to 20.

SEASONAL BINDER TASKS: These binders are sold by monthly theme. Each monthly theme has 11 binder tasks that include the following subjects: matching, sorting, colors, shapes, patterns, sizes, puzzles, numbers, letters, counting to 10 and counting to 20. The monthly themes included are: APPLES, PUMPKINS, TURKEYS, SNOWMEN, PENGUIN, HEARTS, SHAMROCKS, BUNNIES, FLOWERS, INSECTS, SEA ANIMALS , BEACH

Tips for Staying Organized!

To read more about organization, read the blog post below:

Supplies Used to Create Binder Tasks

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