As a special education teacher, you understand that finding the right resources for each student isn’t necessarily easy or within the budget. That is why it is so important that special education teachers – and teachers in general – utilize any free resources they can find. These five resources offer a variety of free material which can be used to supplement a child’s core curriculum.
- ABC Teach – This website has many free resources. They also offer membership programs for a more extensive collection of resources. While the membership fee is modest, it may still be too much for your school. If so explore the great free options which include worksheets for the core subjects, reading comprehension, ABC activities, holidays, seasons, and more. There are materials for all grade levels.
- Busy Teacher Cafe – This is another great all-purpose site with resources for virtually every educational niche. In addition to an extensive collection of free printable material there are also sections for themed lessons, strategies, and resources. The theme area allows visitors to select what type of lesson they want to cover and then provides in depth planning suggestions and links to printable materials and other resources. The strategies section has another collection of teaching methodologies and lesson plan suggestions along with links to bring it all together. The resource section is broken down into manageable categories such as classroom management, resource pages, back to school, and new teacher tips.
- Star Fall – This is a phenomenal free site that helps children learn their ABCs, learn to read, or learn to read more fluently. There are interactive stories, animated stories, and stories the child can customize to be about themselves. If a student clicks on a word or a sound icon the word, or story, is read to them while being highlighted making it a great tool for those who need a bit of extra help as well as for children who are just learning to read.
- RubiStar – It isn’t always going to be your students who need your help. The general classroom teacher may not have much experience with special needs students and may not be prepared to offer accommodations. One of the best tools for any student, especially one with special needs, is an easy to understand rubric. For new teachers, or those unfamiliar with rubrics, this can be a difficult skill to master. RubiStar makes rubrics very easy to create by offering drop down boxes with all of the information you need to customize a rubric for any subject or grade level.
- Michelle’s Special Education Blog – This blog was created by a special education teacher in Florida who has been helping students for more than a decade. On her blog she features great tools and resources, most available online, for students, parents, and other educators.
Sometimes as a special education teacher it is necessary to think outside the box to help your students succeed. Usually your job is to help the students but sometimes to do that you will also need to help other teachers and the parents. Use these free resources to help all of the people who are depending on you. Are there other free online resources that you use as a special education teacher? Share them so others can utilize them as well!