Teaching · For Teachers

Special Education Lesson Plan Builder

Plan a lesson that teaches toward one IEP goal: the specially designed instruction spelled out, prompts that fade, accommodations in place and data that counts.

Start a planWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 92 items.

Plans

Each plan keeps the goal, the SDI, the prompts and a timed lesson. Load the worked example to see a 30-minute lesson on two-step directions.

Loading the lesson plan form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A lesson plan with the paraphrased IEP goal, the specially designed instruction, the accommodations, the data method and the prompt hierarchy; a timeline that adds up against the lesson and shows practice and probe time; seven checks marked ready, not yet or not needed; and a run sheet with a five-trial data table to print.
Who it is for
Special education teachers, resource teachers and the general education teachers who co-plan with them, grades K to 12.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per lesson plan. Prints a run sheet with clock times, the full lesson plan, every lesson plan in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Paraphrase the IEP goal.
  2. Describe the SDI and the prompts.
  3. Lay out the segments with a probe.
  4. Mark the checks.
  5. Print the run sheet and fill the trial table.

Start a plan

Teaching toward the IEP goal

Accommodation or specially designed instructionAccommodationSpecially designed instructionChangesHow the student gets in or shows itWhat or how you teachExampleDirections read aloudTeaching two-step directions with picture cuesExampleExtra time on the checkPrompting that fades from gesture to noneExampleA visual scheduleSelf-monitoring taught with a checklistData onWhether it was providedProgress on the IEP goalAccommodation or specially designed instructionChangesAccommodation: How the student gets in or shows itSpecially designed instruction: What or how you teachExampleAccommodation: Directions read aloudSpecially designed instruction: Teaching two-step directions with picture cuesExampleAccommodation: Extra time on the checkSpecially designed instruction: Prompting that fades from gesture to noneExampleAccommodation: A visual scheduleSpecially designed instruction: Self-monitoring taught with a checklistData onAccommodation: Whether it was providedSpecially designed instruction: Progress on the IEP goal
A lesson plan for a student with an IEP needs both. The SDI is what the lesson teaches; the accommodations keep the disability from blocking it.

What SDI means

Federal special education regulations define specially designed instruction as adapting the content, method or delivery of instruction to address a child's needs from the disability and to ensure access to the general curriculum. Accommodations change access; SDI changes the teaching. A lesson plan for a student with an IEP should name both.

Data that counts

Collect the data the way the goal is written. If the goal says 4 of 5 trials, run five trials and record the prompt level for each; the run sheet prints the table.

Sources

  1. 34 CFR 300.39(b)(3): definition of specially designed instruction (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations).
  2. 34 CFR 300.320: definition and content of the individualized education program.
  3. McLeskey, J., Barringer, M.-D., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., Jackson, D., Kennedy, M., et al. (2017). High-Leverage Practices in Special Education. Council for Exceptional Children and CEEDAR Center.
  4. Archer, A. L., and Hughes, C. A. (2011). Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching. Guilford Press.

The worked examples are made up. The 60 percent and 10-minute flags are planning rules of thumb. A lesson plan does not change a student's IEP; the IEP team decides goals, services and accommodations. Use student codes, not names. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.