Table Time! (AKA Structured Work Systems)

Teachers strive to keep routine, organization and structured time in their classrooms. All of these are extremely important for students on the Autism Spectrum. One way to accomplish this is to incorporate workstations into students’ daily routines. Workstations are easy to make, can be individualized for students to meet Individualized Educational Program (IEP) objectives, and help to keep a classroom running smoothly.
As a new teacher in a community class, the majority of my summer paychecks went towards creating my Table Time station.  It currently stores over 40 different academic, fine motor and vocational work tasks and is used by my students who are both higher functioning and lower functioning.  It rocks my world… and yes, I’m bragging a bit.  I've been loving watching my students grow and master Table Time!

What are Structured Work Systems?
Structured work systems were developed by Division TEACCH at UNC Chapel Hill as part of the structured teaching programmatic approach to working with individuals with ASD.  A structured work system, sometimes called an independent work systems or work systems, is a set up of work to be done within a visually cued system that answers four questions:
1.             What work needs to be done?
2.             How much work needs to be done?
3.             How do I know when I'm finished?
4.             What do I do next?
 
In my classroom, we call this station “Table Time.”  Take a look at the set up below.

The purpose of table time:

There are MANY reasons why Table Time is SO ESSENTIAL in my classroom:

• My students spend so much of their time with high levels of support from adults in the room. Addressing their ability to complete tasks independently is a critical skills to teach

• Who doesn’t love a little me time?  I have noticed that table time is often my student’s favourite time of the day

•  It gives my students a sense of accomplishment

•  It allows me to work one-to-one with my other students

•  It help students practice mastered tasks to assure they maintain the skills with a variety of materials

• Can be adapted to introduce new tasks in a variety of settings

So… how does it all work?

Students take their individual table time schedule with 3 separate boxes on it (one box for each task). 

Each task is represented by a symbol (alphabet A-Z, number 1-10 or basic shape), and is Velcroed to the schedule. 

Students take the first task (symbol), and match it to the bin with the same symbol.  They then bring the bin to the table time desk, complete the task in the bin, and then put the bin back in the location they found it. 

Students repeat this process for task 2 and 3. 

The visual schedule usually includes the choice of a reinforcer at the end (which is iPad time most of the time in room 125)

What’s in a task bin?

The number of bins and the amount of work in the bins can change dependent upon the amount of work the student can do independently.  The level of difficulty can be increased by increasing the amount of work or the number of tasks.

Below are some examples of some of my tasks.
 

Label coloured clothing:  Match label of colored clothing to clothing picture. Great for students with emerging sight word comprehension.
 

Put together nuts, bolts, and washers: Durable and age appropriate fine motor tasks that can be put together and taken apart! Self re-setting!  My boys love it.

Sort coins: Sort coins using the visual cues. Use real money or play money and use all coin types or only 2 or 3.

Sort silverware in this pre-vocational task that is appropriate for a wide range of learners.
 

Match letters: Match letters to spell breakfast food. Improve and enhance letter identification and matching skills.

Match socks:  Match and fold socks in household based activity. Make easier by using all of the same types of socks or more difficult by using similar socks.

Identify missing letter:  Identify the missing letter in each section of the alphabet using clothes pins.

Identify initial consonant  Match picture to initial consonant in this interactive literacy based activity. Use all of the alphabet or break into smaller groups.

Pattern beads:  Working on patterning and fine motor skills using these visual directions. Students load little and big beads to match the pattern card.

Puzzles:  This is a great vocational puzzle that I purchased from Master Mind.  So worth the money spent!!  

Resources:

If you want to create tasks and have no idea where to start, this resource by the Autism Helper is absolutely amazing!!  Check HERE for the link.


I also suggest checking out Pinterest boards by searching TEACCH Tasks.


WOW!! What a post.


Keep calm and teach on!

- S

Parent Communication

Parent communication is a topic that I believe really differs from teacher to teacher.  Am I communicating with parents too much?  Not enough?  Is there even a way to find a balance between making parents happy and not completely stressing yourself out.  

Home-school communication is even more essential in a community classroom.  Imagine how frustrating it is to have your child come home each day and not be able to hear about his/her day?

I have chosen to use a daily note home with my parents and so far, it has been working wonderfully.  I love the picture format because my students can help fill it out.  Even my non-verbal students can assist in the process!  See an example below.

I make an effort to call my parents about once a week to check in.  I also am a HUGE believer in sending home photos with anecdotes.  It's a quick and easy way to show parents work examples, celebrate an accomplishment or even share a funny story throughout the school day.

I also really recommend tracking all communication with parents. It may seem like extra work that is not necessary… but there will be a day when you will be happy to have crossed your t's and dotted your i's.  It's also a great way to take note of which parents you haven't connected with in a while.  I've included an example of the template that has worked for me in the past!

Keep calm and teach on!
- S

A Classroom Tour

The key to success in any classroom is consistency. When students are provided with structure, routines, clear expectations, and an organized learning environment the classroom quite often runs itself!

I spent hours planning my classroom before I moved a single piece of furniture!  I started by determining what I would need to make my room fit my needs and the needs of my students.  I jotted down some ideas and ended up creating a list of all the areas in the classroom I thought I might need.

A weeks worth of work (and A LOT of friends/family helping along the way)… and I present you with Room 125.

The Meeting Area:  The meeting area is the hub of the classroom. It is where everyone comes together as a community to learn, share and celebrate! I am lucky enough to have a SMARTBoard here, so this area will serve as our morning meeting area, sensory break area and work with SMARTBoard area.

Schedule Area:  Visual schedules are extremely important in my classroom.  I have my individual schedules posted along our wall of cupboards.

Student Seating:  Each student has their own space to work, as well as their own set of drawers to help them keep organized.  Students in my classroom will be completing their desk work here individually with the support of one of the staff.

Computers/iPads:  We are lucky enough to have two sets of classroom computers and 5 classroom iPads!!

Listening Centre:  While listening centers are common in primary classrooms, they are also very beneficial with the intermediate grades as well.

Work with Teacher Table:  This is an area where I can work one-to-one with my students.  I have one drawer for each student behind the table to keep organized.

Table Time:  These are my independent work stations… but that’s a whole other post in itself!  Stay tuned!!

White boards/Bulletin Boards:  Each board has a very specific purpose in my classroom.  A small tip:  Create a more organized look and make it easier for students to locate the information they need by sectioning off your white board.

Home-School Communication Books:  In any classroom, especially an Autism Community Class, establishing a consistent means of daily home-school communication is so incredibly important.  These mailboxes and communication binders have helped establish a systematic and organized method of communication (and my students are involved in the process too!)

Group Area:  The group table will serve two purposes:  an area to have snack/lunch, and an area for our special activities (social skills, cooking, board game competitions, etc.

Staff Area:  When it comes to a Community Classroom, there’s a lot of team members who come and go (EAs, OTs, supply EAs, etc).  I wanted to dedicate a board solely for the staff of the room to make sure all the information needed to be successful in our classroom was readily available!

That wraps up my classroom tour!  I will leave you with some tips that I've jotted down along the way:

- put centers that require plugs near outlets

- use shelves, dividers, or tables to divide centers

- create physical visual boundaries for all areas of the classroom (using furniture, book shelves, tape on the floor, desks, room dividers, etc.)

- put chairs of the same color & size at the same tables

- ensure that there is sufficient space and chairs for all groups at each classroom center

- use bookshelves as dividers near classroom centers that will need materials during the school day

- limit clutter by storing all materials in bins with covers

- label all material bins

- leave space for students to wait in line when entering & leaving the room

- ensure that all furniture is age appropriate in size and appearance

- leave space for schedules and communication devices that can accessed easily throughout the day without disruption to other centers

- store items that are not commonly used out of the way

- remove or hide all distracting items

- designate a safe space to be used when students need to calm down and/or regulate behaviour

**Special thanks to:  My Mommabear and Daddio, Angela D, Jessica K, Chris S, Kennedy C, Jessica L, Skylar L and Kylie L for all your help laminating, cutting and velcroing! 

Keep clam and teach on!
- S