And We're Done!

Well, this week was a big one for me. I just got back from the Georgia Autism Conference in Atlanta, I had training for the new SEAS program that we just started using in our district, and my GAAs were due! I am so relieved to be finished with those assessments. I feel like I have learned so much over the past 6 months or so and I definitely want to remember a few tips for myself *if* I have to do them again next year. Here are my top three things that I learned to help me:

1. Plan, Plan, Plan. Since I had never completed GAAs before and wasn't very familiar with what the finished products would look like, I looked at each activity in each standard in each content area in each collection separately. At the end I was able to see how it all fit together. Next time, I would sit down and and plan out EVERYTHING using a graphic organizer. I think if I started earlier and took more time in the beginning, I would not feel as stressed throughout the process. I like the tables included in the manual but I think I would prefer to create my own.

2. Write it up ASAP. This go round, I completed all-or almost all- of my activities before beginning on the writing/documenting process. Next time, I hope to immediately write up the activities after the assessments. Not only will I be able to stay more organized but I won't have to take as many notes on the activities while implementing them because the details will be fresh on my mind.

3. Use my info chart from the beginning. I started using a color-coded chart that included all of my activities for each student. Between creating, implementing, writing, printing, and filing all of the activities, things got a little confusing. For the second collection period, I created the chart and color-coded each activity to remind myself where I was. If it was highlighted green, it was created and ready to implement, red meant it was written and ready to print, yellow meant it was completed finished and filed, etc. The chart included the student name, the content area, the full standard, and each activity. This was so helpful, given my inability to remember anything!

Now that I am finally finished and have tons of free time (ha!), I plan on finishing up a few products I've been slowly working on and getting those over to my TPT store. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often- stay tuned!