The Power of Playing Games in the Classroom
09/15/21 • 31 min
Episode 52: The Power of Playing Games in the Classroom
Let's have some FUN!!
Today’s show was so much fun to record and it just so happens to be all about having fun! On this episode, we are chatting with Nicole Manley from Teaching in a Top Knot about how to implement game playing in a special education classroom. Nicole shares all the pros of playing games with your students from...learning social & emotional skills to incorporating content to teaching those life long lessons of how to be a good loser and a graceful winner.
And then she also gives us tips of how to address some of the challenges that come up with game playing like managing student behaviors during this more unstructured time, how to pay for the games in your classroom and what to say to others when they tell you you’re students can’t be learning because they’re playing.
After recording the show, I got to thinking about how playing board games with kids at home is most likely a lost art in a lot of families because of technology. Kids gravitate to those fast paced, instant gratification activities like video games and phone apps instead of old-fashioned board games and card games, but there are only so many skills you can learn while engaging in technology.
That's why implementing game playing within your classroom is so super important!
Nicole shares with us...
- What role playing games in the classroom has
- The social & emotional benefits
- Challenges teachers might face as they implement game playing in the classroom
- How to get set up and stock your game closet
- How to support academic content through the use of game playing
- And MORE!!
Tune in to hear all about the benefits of game playing in the classroom!
Nicole was named Teacher of the Year for her district by the local Lions’ Club. She was also recognized as Outstanding Teacher by the PTA and as a leader for individuals with disabilities by GASELPA. Nicole is active in special education reform at the district level and is a charter member serving on the Special Education Advisory Committee where she helped to create her district’s Special Education Manual. Nicole is responsible for single-handedly getting her school recognized as a Unified Champion School by Special Olympics Southern California. As part of this program, she hosts an annual Abilities Awareness Week on her campus. A week-long event that includes lunch activities, classroom learning, unified games and sports and raffles. This event receives support not only from teachers, families and administration but also from local businesses.
You can connect with Nicole on Instagram
And check out her TPT store to find resources to support the games in your classroom
Mentioned in the Show...
Resource Library
Episode 52: The Power of Playing Games in the Classroom
Let's have some FUN!!
Today’s show was so much fun to record and it just so happens to be all about having fun! On this episode, we are chatting with Nicole Manley from Teaching in a Top Knot about how to implement game playing in a special education classroom. Nicole shares all the pros of playing games with your students from...learning social & emotional skills to incorporating content to teaching those life long lessons of how to be a good loser and a graceful winner.
And then she also gives us tips of how to address some of the challenges that come up with game playing like managing student behaviors during this more unstructured time, how to pay for the games in your classroom and what to say to others when they tell you you’re students can’t be learning because they’re playing.
After recording the show, I got to thinking about how playing board games with kids at home is most likely a lost art in a lot of families because of technology. Kids gravitate to those fast paced, instant gratification activities like video games and phone apps instead of old-fashioned board games and card games, but there are only so many skills you can learn while engaging in technology.
That's why implementing game playing within your classroom is so super important!
Nicole shares with us...
- What role playing games in the classroom has
- The social & emotional benefits
- Challenges teachers might face as they implement game playing in the classroom
- How to get set up and stock your game closet
- How to support academic content through the use of game playing
- And MORE!!
Tune in to hear all about the benefits of game playing in the classroom!
Nicole was named Teacher of the Year for her district by the local Lions’ Club. She was also recognized as Outstanding Teacher by the PTA and as a leader for individuals with disabilities by GASELPA. Nicole is active in special education reform at the district level and is a charter member serving on the Special Education Advisory Committee where she helped to create her district’s Special Education Manual. Nicole is responsible for single-handedly getting her school recognized as a Unified Champion School by Special Olympics Southern California. As part of this program, she hosts an annual Abilities Awareness Week on her campus. A week-long event that includes lunch activities, classroom learning, unified games and sports and raffles. This event receives support not only from teachers, families and administration but also from local businesses.
You can connect with Nicole on Instagram
And check out her TPT store to find resources to support the games in your classroom
Mentioned in the Show...
Resource Library
Previous Episode
How to Get Excited for a New School Year
Episode 51: How to Get Excited for a New School Year
Today’s episode is all about making the 21-22 school year a great one!
During a "normal" school year, there seems to be two camps when it comes time to head back into the classroom each year.
- The first group includes the teachers who are stoked for a new school year. They are in their rooms early July putting everything together, making plans and decorating their rooms to be Pinterest worthy.
- Then there are those, and I have always been in this camp, who want to squeeze every drop out of their summer vacation and don’t prep or plan for a new school year until they are on the clock to do so.
But it has been my experience that even for those teachers who don’t seem ready to head back to school, once they get there, the excitement of a new year kicks in and we do what we teachers do best...
We prepare to make the school year exciting and fun for our students.
We do this because it’s in our blood and it’s in our hearts. We know teaching is a demanding profession. We juggle policies, co-workers, administration and parents all while trying to do what is in the best interest of the students. But in spite of all the hardships that come with being a teacher, It is encouraging to know that the majority of teachers look forward to starting the process all over again every August & September. And that’s where today’s guest fits in.
Mandi Nash from The Nerdy Speducator is a middle school self-contained special education teacher. She has trained under state department officials in the areas of special education compliance and special education law and is currently working towards becoming a certified Master IEP Coach.
Today Mandi shares with us...
- Her favorite part of starting a new school year
- What routines and procedures she puts into place before the students arrive
- Suggestions for those who might not be quite ready to head back just yet
- And how to regain the excitement for each new school year
You can definitely feel Mandi’s excitement about getting back into the classroom and hopefully some of that excitement will wear off on you as well.
Mentioned in the Show...
Resource Library
Back to School Parent Brochure
Connect with Mandi:
Instagram
Next Episode
Episode 53: How to Prepare Families for Transition and Beyond
Episode 53: How to Prepare Families for Transition and Beyond
I'm not going to lie...I learned a whole lot of information today and I'm a little jealous of my guest. Working in the area of transition where I would get to prepare students to move from the world of school to the world of adulthood sounds so rewarding.
On today's episode of the Sped Prep Academy Podcast, we will be chatting with Heather from A Love of Special Learning about all things transition. This is not an area that I know a lot about because being a K-5 teacher, it isn’t a section of the IEP that I currently deal with.
With that being said, my state mandates that IEPs begin addressing transition by the age of 14 so when I used to have 6th graders, it was possible...uncommon, but possible...that I would have a student who was sneaking up on their 14th birthday and I had to begin the transition process on my IEPs. So I have done the basics for it and I actually have a product in my TPT store that uses student questionnaires and parent surveys to begin the transition process.
But Heather is going to help us truly understand how to begin the process of preparing families for transition and beyond.
Heather talks about...
- How to engage families in the transition process
- How the transition process applies to students other than just those in high school
- When IEP teams should begin looking at transition
- How to prepare and support the students through the process
- Suggestions to help parents move through this difficult & confusing time
- and Resources that can help facilitate the process more smoothly
Heather lives in Chicago and teaches special education transition and serves as a transition facilitator for her program. She is the teacher-author behind A Love for Special Learning on Teachers Pay Teachers with resources for consumer math, life skills, and transition. Heather has created the Confused to Connected Professional Development after realizing how undergraduate and graduate programs don’t adequately prepare educators with understanding available benefits or how to support students and families in accessing community and government benefits. Having seen first hand how vital benefits, services, and supports are to long term success for her students and their families, she knew she had to help other educators by sharing her process with others.
You can connect with her here:
Instagram- @ALoveForSpecialLearning
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ALoveforSpecialLearning/
Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/aloveforspeciallearning/
Website- https://www.aloveforspeciallearning.com/
And if you are interested in continuing your learning with Heather you can find out more here
Resource- Informal Transition Meeting resource: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/IEP-Transition-Plan-Parent-Meeting-Conversation-Guide-Special-Education-4876234
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