Savanna Flakes
As an education consultant, Savanna provides professional development and coaching to support teachers with effective instructional practices for students with exceptionalities. For more information, visit Inclusion For a Better Future.
Articles by Savanna Flakes
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Celebrate the end of the school year with fun closing activities
You made it! We all made it! What a year! Though my articles usually provide instructional strategies…
Thursday, May 20, 2021 -
Inclusive practices to engage all learners
How do you define student engagement? When you think of student engagement, does a visual of every student…
Thursday, March 04, 2021 -
Building the toolkit for paraprofessional success
Paraprofessionals — you are kind of a big deal! You use your talents to inspire and to encourage students…
Monday, January 11, 2021 -
Let’s shake up special education
Don’t worry, special education isn’t broken; in fact, I’ve worked with amazing special education…
Monday, October 05, 2020 -
For the new school year, relationships first, academic content later
As teachers, we are relationship builders, forging connections with families, integrating students’…
Thursday, August 13, 2020 -
Why we need differentiated instruction now more than ever
Carol Ann Tomlinson defines differentiation as a continual process of assessing and monitoring students’…
Monday, June 01, 2020 -
At-home learning: Strategies, resources and tools
We've all seen the BBC video of the father interrupted during his important video call and the wife rushing…
Monday, April 06, 2020 -
Why self-care is a must for educators
Teaching is hard work. Period. Being in a supportive role to students who are managing the impacts of…
Friday, February 14, 2020 -
How our students can ‘RISE’ up to face the future
The world is facing monumental challenges and complex situations that require analytical problem-solving,…
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 -
Providing students opportunities to self-regulate
Our students have a lot going on inside and outside of school. Our students might be undergoing trauma,…
Monday, August 12, 2019 -
Cooperative learning is abundant in inclusive classrooms
Every student can benefit from effective cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is more than just…
Monday, May 13, 2019 -
Supporting students with self-regulation
It is no secret that our students today have a lot going on inside and outside of school. We are teaching…
Monday, March 25, 2019 -
Create — don’t deny — access to complex text
Literacy unlocks the door to opportunity. Among the top five skills for tomorrow’s jobs, as listed…
Monday, January 28, 2019 -
Lose the behavior gimmicks and try this in your classroom
A group behavior contingency (GBC) is a classroom management system designed to proactively support appropriate…
Monday, January 07, 2019 -
Refresh, refocus, and assess your students with processing breaks
Does anyone have a class in which every student is the same? Silly question, right? Of course not. Every…
Friday, October 05, 2018 -
Start with a ‘pop’ by bringing today’s culture to the beginning of the school year
Welcome back to another exciting school year! Let’s start the year off with a bang by building relationships,…
Monday, August 27, 2018 -
How a great coach makes a teacher excel
There are cultural changes in how children behave and navigate the learning experience, how standards…
Monday, June 11, 2018 -
Make math class awesome for all students
If we make math relevant (connected to everyday concepts and the real world), differentiate rigorous…
Monday, April 23, 2018 -
Cooperative learning strategies to support reading comprehension
Studies have documented the effectiveness of using cooperative learning to increase academic achievement…
Monday, March 26, 2018 -
Trauma-informed education: Teaching the whole child
The National Institute of Mental Health defines trauma as "the experience of an event by a child that…
Monday, February 26, 2018 -
Incorporating multimedia video to differentiate instruction
Looking for ways to utilize technology in your quest to create a differentiated classroom? Check out…
Monday, January 15, 2018 -
Assessment: The foundation for a differentiated classroom
Assessment is the key component of any highly effective differentiated classroom. When describing…
Friday, November 17, 2017 -
Think about it: Teach your students about mindfulness
Mindfulness is not new. It originated with Eastern meditation practices around the art of "bringing one's…
Friday, October 06, 2017 -
Inclusive practices: Welcome back, co‑teachers
We know it is important to build relationships and set expectations for our students at the beginning…
Monday, August 28, 2017 -
Cooperative learning never gets old
I read a quote the other day from the Carnegie Institute of Technology that reminded me of the importance…
Monday, August 07, 2017 -
Resource roundup: Summer planning for positive behavior management
Congratulations educators for another successful school year! I hope you've carved out lots of time this…
Monday, July 10, 2017 -
Using co-teaching models to foster student independence
Co-taught lessons should look substantively different and richer for kids than what one teacher…
Monday, June 05, 2017 -
The importance of self-regulation
An important skill that helps our students with disabilities become successful independent and expert…
Monday, April 17, 2017 -
Moving beyond ‘drill and kill’ during test prep season
"Testing season" is right around the corner! As we enter testing season, it is essential that we consider…
Monday, March 06, 2017 -
3 learning strategies to build a positive learning community
In a supportive, inclusive community, all students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive learning…
Monday, February 13, 2017 -
Got a few student behavior challenges? Not anymore
In a supportive, inclusive learning environment, all students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive…
Monday, January 16, 2017 -
How will you celebrate Inclusive Schools Week?
Each year, during the first full week of December, schools across the nation take a moment to celebrate…
Monday, November 28, 2016 -
Digital resources and tools to support vocabulary acquisition
I wrote an article in March about best practices for explicitly teaching vocabulary. Robert Marzano's…
Monday, October 10, 2016 -
Universal principles for providing meaningful PD for educators
This summer, I collaborated with Limited Resource Teacher Training (LRTT), an organization dedicated…
Monday, August 29, 2016 -
Summer reading for special education teachers
School is winding down for many educators across the country. Summer is a much needed time for teachers…
Monday, June 06, 2016 -
These Google features can help level the playing field
Technology has the potential to level the playing field for students with disabilities, English language…
Monday, May 02, 2016 -
You’ve got your students in groups — now what?
Studies have documented the effectiveness of using cooperative learning to increase academic achievement…
Monday, April 11, 2016 -
Vocabulary doesn’t have to be a bore
Do your students cringe when you say, "We have new vocabulary terms to learn"? These students may…
Monday, March 07, 2016 -
Making homework meaningful and fair
Do your students take homework seriously? Are you finding that daily student homework completion is low?…
Monday, February 08, 2016 -
Putting the ‘special’ in specially designed math instruction
Some of our students with learning disabilities have trouble with abstract reasoning. As such, they…
Monday, January 11, 2016 -
5 easy digital tools to assess student learning
The goal of assessment is to improve instruction and provide student feedback. However, many of the…
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 -
Why you should consider specially designed instruction
Strategies, such as cooperative learning, explicit instruction and blended learning are effective for…
Thursday, October 08, 2015 -
4 tips for new teachers embarking upon the journey of a lifetime
To all the new teachers starting this school year, we are so glad you are joining our team. You are entering…
Monday, August 17, 2015 -
Engage all learners: Make students think visually
One way to increase student engagement and facilitate deeper learning is to frequently check for student…
Monday, June 22, 2015 -
Positively managing student behavior in the classroom
Discipline problems and behavior issues have always been and continue to be a leading frustration…
Monday, June 01, 2015 -
3 simple strategies to increase student engagement
One way to increase student engagement is to use structures that illicit a response from all students…
Monday, April 27, 2015 -
Using choice to motivate and differentiate
Choice is one of the greatest motivators and also one of the most powerful tools in setting up a differentiated…
Monday, March 30, 2015 -
Differentiated instruction: Top 5 low-prep strategies
In January, James R. Delisle wrote a controversial commentary for Education Week titled, "Differentiation…
Monday, February 23, 2015 -
Inclusion Corner: The importance of co‑assessing
In the prior two articles, we discussed co-planning and co-teaching. The last component of an…
Monday, January 26, 2015 -
Inclusion Corner: The art of co-teaching
Co-taught lessons should look substantively different and richer for students than what one teacher would…
Monday, December 01, 2014 -
Inclusion Corner: Begin with co-planning
Co-teaching implemented with fidelity has a profound impact on a range of learners with and without disabilities…
Tuesday, October 14, 2014 -
Inclusion Corner: Encouraging our students to have a growth mindset
Have you ever found yourself wishing that you could create a community of students who are self-motivated…
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
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