Visual Timetable

As the beginning of the school year rapidly approaches (I start on WEDNESDAY) I am trying not to panic, cry, scream, have an anxiety attack to get organised. This year I have committed to the visual timetable. I tried it last year but I hated my pictures and didn't follow through with it. That said, a few students did mention that having the pictures on their books made it easier for them so there is merit in this and there will be a lot more merit if I do it right. Right?!

So my opinion on the visual timetable is this: In my experience, visual timetables are something that are placed within a verified students Individual Education Plan and never really addressed. I know that when I first started teaching my opinion often consisted of this "Are you kidding? I have enough stuff to do, now you want me to compile a bunch of pictures for one kid?!" Now, my opinion is like this "Are you kidding? I have enough stuff to do....but I know this is important for all the kids I teach."

How I do my visual timetable:  well...as I said earlier, I didn't do it so great last year but this is the basic premise of mine. I have a large set of pictures that every morning I put on my whiteboard. I bluetack them because I'm not fancy. Some students might ask to do this job but I feel it is more important that I do it because it helps me really focus on each of the pieces I have planned for my day. My large set of pictures have an image that represent the subject and the subject name on them. The large set is slightly smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, it is laminated for durability and they live in a folder that sits on my desk.

As well as my large set of pictures I print a small set (6cmx7cm) on sticky paper. This small set I cut out at the beginning of the school year and distribute to students. Students stick the small set onto their designated subject books. This way, when the student sees we have "History"on the whiteboard they know they have to find the book that has the picture that matches the one up on the board (does that make sense - the pictures match so it is easier for students to find the right book as well as know what to expect for the day).

As an added bonus, when I was working in a rural setting, I would quite often have students who would come in late (I'm talking like, school started at 8:30 and they would be there at 11:42). Having the visual timetable allowed me to simply say "Name" or make eye contact and tap the picture of the subject we were currently doing. I find this is a timesaver and allows the student far less embarrassment than having to stop the whole class and say, "Name....we are doing Science right now, please find your book and catch up with us."

The technicalities: visual timetables take a little time. Mine took about an hour and a half. Most of that time was spent searching the internet for the appropriate visual. Some people like them basic and are happy with Word Clip Art. I like mine to be just a little bit nicer so I use Phillip Martin's Clip Art. It's free, and the way it stays free is through donations. So...donate because the pictures are great and applicable to a wide range of school related things.

This is an example of my large pictures (obviously copied from MS Word doc). I will get some shots of them displayed in my classroom and students books once the school year starts.....so....soon I guess (gulp)