News 2 You

Our district uses the Unique Learning System (along with modifying and adapting the regular curriculum.  We also use News 2 You.  What is News 2 You, you ask?  It is a Special Education Online Weekly Newsletter!  We LOVE News 2 You.  There are So many things that you can do with the paper.  There are different levels (just like in Unique).  There are different worksheets.  There are different words.  There are different assessments.  In other words, it is a fabulous way for my students to get information from a newspaper geared towards my classroom.  

This all sounds fantastic, but can you say OVERLOAD!  Just like every other year I change things up a bit.  This year, I really  like how I have my News 2 You.

I pull my students over to the calendar area in the afternoon.   Remember, I have many different levels of learning, so I really have to make sure that I use my time wisely and get to all of my learners.  


Couple of quick things before I go into more pictures.  Every year I go shopping for school supplies.  I found these really cool clear sleeves that are heavy duty.  I bought them and then spent a good 3 months trying to figure out how I wanted to use them.  I Finally figured out that I wanted to use them for my News 2 You area.  It is great to put the worksheet inside and then add tape to make the area interactive and easy to change for the next day.  The activities on this board we do every day for a week.  On Friday's I then give my students the activity to do by themselves so I can assess.

Vocabulary Words
Every week there are new vocabulary words that go with the theme of the paper.  I print these off and on Friday's we add them to our word work books (students) and our word wall (class)
Some ideas
-we alphabetize these
-we find the beginning letters
-we point to certain pictures
-we read them


Webbing Activity
I LOVE this activity!  I have even made a larger one in my classroom for when we read books (can you say getting my kiddos ready with anchor charts and STAAR-alt and being just like every other regular ed class!)  As we read our news we fill in the blanks.




Cut and Paste Sentences
This one is another great activity for putting sentences in order.

The News
Because News 2 You is in a PDF format to download I print them on half sheets.  I make sure there are enough different levels of books for each of my students to be successful.  We read these as a group at the first of the week, and then I listen to my readers throughout the rest of the week.  For my non-verbal students to participate I have them point out pictures as we go along and supply words as able.


Other Great Things about News 2 You
-my students LOVE The Knock Knock jokes!  What a great way to teach taking turns and humor!
-on Thursday's we do the science experiment that goes with the News (yes, there is a science experiment too!)
-on Friday's we cook (we even have a special helper that comes in on Friday's to help us do that)
-on Friday's we also put the weekly News 2 You in book boxes.  Students can then color them, fill them out, and read them on their own time.

There are a TON of different things you can do with News 2 You! These are just a few of my ideas that I have used for my students to be successful.

One Last Note
I completed my first project for sewing!  I had been talking about making myself an apron all year.  I had an amazing parent make me a BEAUTIFUL apron a couple of years ago, but I have retired it to my house.  I really wanted a half apron.  Not only did I want a half apron, I wanted one with a clear pocket on the front so it could hold my badge.  I am constantly leaning over to help my kiddos, and my badge always gets in the way.  So, I did it!  I followed the pattern, and added a couple of touches of my own.  It has 2 pockets, one clear pocket, and a pen holder.  I am pretty proud.