29 Resources Special Education Teachers Use to Help Students Learn

Most educators agree that the best place for students with learning disabilities is in the general education setting. Therefore, accommodating special education students in general education classrooms is imperative. This calls for increased differentiation of general instruction to make content accessible to special education students. While Teacher of Students with Disabilities-certified educators specializes in supporting students with learning disabilities, teachers in all content areas share the responsibility for their success as well. That's why New Jersey Special Education teachers enrolled with Rutgers Alternate Route are sharing the go-to resources they use to plan great lessons and enhance their teaching for students with learning disabilities. 


Autism New Jersey 
This is the link to the webinar section of Autism NJ, which is a great resource for ABA and autism-related topics. (Megan D., 9-12) 

Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules 
The AFIRM Modules provide amazing training for implementing evidence-based practices that have proven to work well for students with Autism. It is free professional development along with some supplemental materials! (Kelly S., K-5)

BookFlix 
This is a site set up like Netflix but for books and it adds a visual and audio component to storytime for students who struggle with attending or engaging in read-alouds or group stories. It really grasps the students' attention and keeps them focused. We use this for seasonal stories or holiday stories in my classroom and then do a comprehension project after. (Rachel P, K-5) 

Boom Cards 
Gamified learning for any subject - create your own "deck" or search library. (Lindsey B., 9-12) 

Common Lit 
Offers differentiation tools to help struggling readers. Has standards-aligned lessons. Engaging content for students. (Lisa B., 6-8) 

Digital P 
Site designed to provide insight and resources specific to online learning.  However, they have a great section specific to special education online resources that are great resources for supplemental and independent activities when keeping students of various learning levels engaged in a collective classroom setting.  You can have students working on several different platforms while giving one-on-one attention. (Jennifer A., K-5;6-8) 

Easy CBM 
Reading and math benchmarks by grade level. (Lindsey B., 9-12) 

Education.com 
This site provides comprehensive math and reading instruction games for Pre-K through 8th grade as well as lots of lesson plans, worksheets, and learning resources. (Kyle M., K-5;6-8) 

Embarc Online 
For teachers using Eureka Math, Embarc has lesson plans, slides, games, and step-by-step guides for lesson implementation. For special education teachers, Embarc shows how to modify lessons. (Nicey W., K-5) 

ERIC 
ERIC has many research articles, including peer-reviewed ones, all about education. It is a good resource for educators doing research about a specific topic. (Alexa W., K-5) 

Google Arts and Culture 
As a Science teacher, having a website that is engaging not only for me but also for my students is a help. Google Arts and Culture provides engaging lessons (from partnered museums from around the world!) to help promote further engagement with topics to help with pre-learning for educators but also to provide additional knowledge for students to take in alongside their curriculum-based lessons. (Gianna C., 6-8) 

LD Online:  All About Learning Disabilities and ADHD 
Excellent site for all things related to understanding, supporting, and effectively teaching the LD/ADHD student population. (Jennifer A., K-5;6-8) 

Learning Forward 
Provides standards, readings, and materials aligned to producing success in learners and how we as educators can create an environment and lessons to push this success. (Gianna C., 6-8) 

Math Artics 
Math Antics is a series of basic math videos that can be used to review primary math skills. Math Antics is a series of introductory math videos for k-12. These videos can be used in intro lessons or review lessons. (Jana K., 9-12) 

Nearpod 
Nearpod is an excellent site that allows teachers to create lessons using innovative tools. You can take advantage of hundreds of ready-made lessons in every subject area. More importantly, you can link your lesson to Google Classroom, or Google Slides. (Nicey W., K-5)  

News2You 
News2You provides weekly adaptive articles on current events with picture supports, lesson plans, and adaptive worksheets. The site provides adaptive informational packets on holidays along with or without picture supports. In addition, you can download their symbol stix to customize materials or picture supports needed for students. (Caitli M., K-5) 

New Visions 
Free!  Ready-to-use lessons, best used with computers, include embedded multimedia (short clips), though most can be done in one class (Anthony S., 9-12) 

NJ Transition Toolkit 
Tips for how to help families prepare for post-graduation, how to conduct vocational assessments, etc. (Megan D., 9-12) 

Paul V. Sherlock Center for Disabilities - Adapted Books & Lessons 
This is a free website that has a HUGE catalog of adapted books & lessons for grades K-12. These books range from classic literature to popular kids' books. The text is adapted to add pictures and it makes reading much more accessible to my students with ASD. (Kelly S., K-5) 

Read Works 
Provides scaffolds for students who cannot read access to the same texts as their on-level peers. Features an audio version of the text, highlights and annotates, adjustable text size and guided reading stripe. (Lisa B., 6-8)  

RethinkED 
This site helps organize data, graph and create individualized student programs, gives materials to go along with programs, gives lesson plans for teachers, and even includes visuals and videos for the teacher or aides to watch before trying to teach the students. (Rachel P., K-5) 

Robin H. Daniels 
Dr. Daniels did a PD for our social studies department this month, her personal website had a TON of useful resources, so this is a resource of other resources for middle school/high school, all departments including special education. (Anthony S., 9-12)  

Saddleback Educational Publishing  
Many special education students read at levels well below their typical age range. This website has a lot of great books that are still on the students' reading level, but more closely match their interest than the typical books at their level. (Brigida C., K-5)  

Simply Special Ed 
Contains resources that can be used both in and out of the classroom. Includes a section for new teachers. (Angela G., 6-8) 

Splashlearn.com 
This site provides learning games to practice a variety of K-5 skills in Math and ELA. (Kyle M., K-5;6-8) 

Starfall 
My students love the Starfall app on the classroom iPads. Many of them choose to use this app during their reward time. The app and website are embedded with songs and games that my students enjoy. My students use this site to target letter identification, phonological awareness, counting, addition, and technology goals. (Caitli M., K-5)

Teachers Pay Teachers 
Easy to navigate. Loads of usable content for every grade level and subject, including special education. (Angela G., 6-8) 

Technology 
This website provides free lesson plans and printable worksheets for K to 12 students (Jana K., 9-12)  

Understood 
Understood explains many disabilities students may have. It is a good resource for educators who want to better understand all of their students (Alexa W., K-5)

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