Project ideas for a special education class?

Question

I am a middle school severe ebd teacher. The levels of my students are about 10-12 years old. I want to start teaching through the back door. By "the back door" I mean I want to start teaching using projects. For example, do cooking because it teaches math, design a house and build it (measuring and writing), go to walgreens.com and design a calendar using pictures, turn the classroom into a mini-business, etc. My question is does anyone have any resources for these types of ideas or no where I can find more ideas. The paper and pencil thing just isn't working for my students. Thank you!

Thanks chcuda9! You seem to know a bit about what I am looking for. I am going to try and do this for every class...reading, math, writing, social skills and science. If some of those subjects overlap in the subjects that of course would be fine too. I am thinking it will be fine to do hands-on science experiments on their own their own though..

Answer 1

There are so many different things you can do! Teaching with projects, especially interdisciplinary ones, can be fun and exciting.

You might try choosing a novel and having assignments related to it. For example, How to Eat Fried Worms. Students can create a worm garden, calculate how much materials are needed for it, write letters to businesses asking for the materials and why they want them, observe the worms and create a daily log about them, and complete many creative writing assignments about worms. For social studies research what other cultures eat, and for math they can create graphs for how fast the worms grow, and measure the worms. And don't forget how worms fit into the food cycle. You can end the unit with the movie and gummy worms.

There are so many great books out there, and you can always use books on tape if students have a hard time reading them - check your local library for more.

Go with whatever topic the students are interested in and create assignments around it. Since Christmas is coming up, consider the book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Students can turn the book into a play, create scenery, calculate the cost of materials needed to build the sets, study Christmas in other countries, other holidays in December, and more. Students can also create a holdiay meal including shopping (using grocery store flyers), which can include budgeting skills, make a guest list (living or dead and why they'd invite that person) table decorations, etc. You could actually cook a meal, too. There is also a movie to go along with this book with Loretta Swit from MASH. There are so many possiblities!

If you're going to cook consider the cook book Gross Grub. It's really funny and gross with fun and easy things to make, perfect for boys.

Some authors have also come out with cookbooks to go along with their novels. There's one that's a companion to Roald Dahl's novel - kids make Mr. Twit from The Twits (another great book with lots of possibilties) and all sorts of things with different levels of difficulty.

Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook is a great source for books kids like. So is www.bn.com, the Barnes and Noble web site. Reading is so important, especially for kids with problems. If you can incorporate it and make it fun, the kids will learn so much more!

Answer 2

Have the students put the food in to the right food groups, ask them to tell/show you how to use a certain utensil, get them to cook a simple meal. It doesn't have to be something involving the microwave or oven etc. It can be as simple as making a sandwich or a cup of cocoa. You could also set up a shop in the classroom and get the students to purchase the food they think is healthy. This could work for the utensils as well. You tell them you want a utensil used to stir something or to flip something and then they have to go and purchase the correct utensil.

Answer 3

well if it's special ed and not resource....hard thing is that different kids are going to need different things. IE - autism - which has seemed to take a rise lately as opposed to down syndrome and such.

show and tell - yes, this might be young but this allows them to use their creativity and to explain things....

Bring in a picture and then have the students write a short story about it

i would use the children's parents as your resource. they have the most direct intrest in their child's success....

Answer 4

good way to teach..congrats!
the thing is wat u r going to teach..is it just maths or all subjects?
u could also look into cambidge way of teaching they do their class that way..with practical experiences...u could get many more on Internet if u search...could use geometry teaching while making models...i think 10 or 12 kids dont hav intense study in geometry but u could explain them diagonals & othes..by simple facts of crossing a road...why they would crross frm in between rather then all around....
if u could clarify on which subject exactly u need to find ..i could try put up more deatails...

Answer 5

how good are they with fractions? have them make a cake (enough for all of them, 2x or 3x the resipe) that way they learn fractions.

do tye dye and learn the chemical reations to it.

make butter(creme and sterr it till your arm just about falls off) if they are angry.....

have them all hold some string and see what shapes they can make by working together.......it might work for a while? they will learn there shapes and can learn to work as a team!

sorry for the spelling.

HOPE this helps!!!!

Answer 6

Try making christmas cards and selling 4 a charity,giving away,ect. I have a little buddy I help sometimes, and he loves making things for anybody he can