BSE Bulletin for Educators
July 2022
Would you like to see your school featured in an upcoming issue of BSE Bulletin?
We are looking for quick tips and tangible tools that teachers can begin using in their classrooms right away. If you are using a strategy or tool that you would like to share with others, we’d love to hear from you! Send an email to bsebulletin@pattankop.net to submit your story.
At George Crothers Memorial School, in Swarthmore PA, occupational therapist Kimberly Smith uses gear ties (reusable rubber twist ties) to adapt writing materials for students.
"Teachers are always looking for new ways to adapt materials for students to help them succeed. At GCMS, occupational therapists work with teachers to incorporate an inexpensive gear tie to adapt writing materials for our students. The gear ties eliminate hand-over-hand prompting while allowing the students to be more independent."
Livestream Animals in Natural Environments
Allow youth to choose a livestream video and watch animals in their natural environment. Allowing students to remove themselves mentally from the situation can help reduce anxiety and help them to re-focus. You can find sites through a google search, or on PDE’s Self-Care for Families and Youth Site.
"Hot Soup" Breathing Technique
Provide students with these directions:
1. Think about having a hot cup of soup in your hands.2. Cup your hands in front of your face holding your “cup of soup.”
3. Breathe in the smell of the soup through your nose.
4. Hold that smell in for a few seconds.
5. Blow out through your mouth to cool the soup off.
6. Do this three times to help calm your nervous system.
Progressive Relaxation of the Body
Provide students with these directions:
1. Pay attention to where you feel heavy or tight in your body.
3. Tense and relax muscles through your head, face, neck, shoulders, arms, stomach, legs, and feet.
4. Now imagine a waterfall coming over your body and washing away the remaining tension.
5. Shake out your muscles and take a deep breath.
DIY Glitter Bottle
Have students create a glitter bottle to help them when they are anxious or upset. When they have strong feelings, they can shake the jar and watch the glitter fall to the bottom to help calm themselves.
Making the bottle:
1. Fill a plastic bottle or jar 1/8 to 1/4 full with glue (clear school glue works well). The more glue you use, the slower the glitter falls. If you skip this step, the glitter will swirl and fall faster, but it will still work.2. Add glitter (1-2 Tbs works well).
3. Fill the bottle with warm water.
4. Add food coloring or small items of interest (e.g., beads).
5. Glue the cap on the bottle and let it dry (you can use hot glue for an immediate, strong seal).
6. Shake the bottle and watch the glitter fall.
DIY Stress Ball
Using a squeeze ball when stressed can give a physical outlet to help focus our breathing and release tension in the moment. You can buy stress balls, or you can have students make their own!
Making a stress ball:
2. Use a funnel to fill the balloon with squeezable filling, such as corn starch, flour, rice, or beads.
3. Tie the balloons and squeeze!
Calling all special education teachers, special education administrators, and school psychologists with 5+ years of experience!
We need current and retired educators to serve as mentors for the 2022-2023 school year to novice (3 or less years) special education teachers, administrators, and school psychologists.
Participating mentors will receive training and ongoing support from PaTTAN educational consultants beginning in September 2022. Stipends will be provided to all mentors.
Access the application to learn more about the project. Applications will be accepted through Friday, July 29, 2022.
Continue to check the APR Repository for announcements and resources. Questions regarding this project may be directed to the APR State Lead, Christine Moon at cmoon@pattanpgh.net.
The Attract-Prepare-Retain (APR) Developing Future Special Educators grantees have been announced!
Thirty-eight Local Education Agencies and eight Institutes of Higher Education have been awarded grants from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education to establish or expand opportunities for secondary and postsecondary students to work with students with disabilities.
The goal of the grant is to increase interest in pursuing a career in special education. Click the button below for a list of all grantees.
Visit the APR Repository to find out how YOU can get involved! Questions regarding this project may be directed to the APR State Lead, Christine Moon at cmoon@pattanpgh.net.
In partnership with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR), the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has developed and published a set of High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) for special educators and teacher candidates.
These practices are intended to address the most critical practices that every K–12 special education teacher should master and be able to demonstrate. The selected practices are used frequently in classrooms and have been shown to improve student outcomes when successfully implemented.
This content was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Award No. H325A170003 & S283B120021-12A. Kennedy, M. J., Peeples, K. N., Romig, J. E., Mathews, H. M., Rodgers, W. J. (2018). High-leverage practice #18: Use strategies to promote active student engagement. [Online]. Available: https://highleveragepractices.org/hlp-18-use-strategies-promote-active-student-engagement
