Heather Pfrunder

"Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students.

What better books can there be than the book of humanity?"

-- Cesar Chavez

Heather Pfrunder, M.A.Ed. & Doctoral Candidate

4-6 SDC Teacher/Autism Program

El Camino Elementary

Focus: Self-Regulation, Classroom Management, & Curriculum Adaptations

Hello and Welcome! This year will be my 8th year at OMSD and my 10th year in Education. However, I have over 20 years experience working with individuals with a variety of unique needs (general education to profoundly disabled.) in diverse settings (from preschool to adult-transition).

It is exciting and special to teach students techniques to access curriculum and learning. Whether is it adapting the common core practices (i.e. Eureka Math & Close Reading), exploring AVID techniques, or simply teaching students to value their own personal learning styles, it is a joy to celebrate each baby step!

I am excited to partner with my colleagues here at OMSD and share my research and exploration of self-regulation. My focus for the 2021-2022 school year is using brain-based techniques to help students self-regulate. This endeavor is the cornerstone for all pieces of my classroom: from the simplicity of décor and organization to the complexities of schedules allowing for "time-in" behavior supports, and learning scaffolds. Many of my visual aids and scaffolds are uniquely created and can only be found in my classroom.

I am excited to share evidence-based strategies with you!

Teacher Created Resources

(See my Blog-posts on How-To's)

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Close Reading Strategies for Exceptional Learners

Common Core RUNNS Visual

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Additional Resources

That I Love:

Flocabulary - Educational Hip-Hop

https://www.readinga-z.com/

Expectations and Advocating Kit.LogoFree.pdf

Click to See:

2021-2022 Schedule for Pfrunder (SDC - Autism)

Blog Posts

Week One Completed and We are Already Ready for a Break

By Heather Pfrunder, M.A.Ed.

SDC Teacher and Ed Specialist

August 18, 2021

We knew it would be interesting to transition back to in person learning. We knew students would need to remember what it means to wake up early, wear a full uniform, and attend for a full six hours. As teachers, we also knew it was going to take some serious preparation and an open mind to change, as well as patience as we put school norms back into place. However, I’m not talking about the taboo subject of teacher burn-out or the restlessness before Spring Break. No, I am talking about proactive solutions to ensure a healthy classroom environment.

Read More At: https://spotlightclassrooms.blogspot.com/2021/08/week-one-completed-and-we-are-already.html

The Mega Task Demand: Metacognition...Oh, We are Thinking About Thinking, I Think…

By Heather Pfrunder, M.A.Ed.

SDC Teacher and Education Specialist

September 20, 2021

It’s a mantra in my SDC classroom where I am verbally redirecting students on how to work attentively: “looking eyes, listening ears, eyes on paper, moving pencil on paper, thinking about your work,...no, try first then I can help you”...and repeat. And repeat. ....So, I must ask myself: Am I really teaching thinking about thinking?...

So, I’ve come face-to-face with this large mental image of a K-W-L chart. So let’s break it down:

Digging Deeper Into Learning Strategies: Close Reading for Exceptional Learners

By Heather Pfrunder, M.A.Ed.

SDC Teacher and Education Specialist

October 25, 2021

.... However, implementing strategies which include writing to learn seemed daunting to students that barely acquired phonics skills and were challenged to learn vocabulary. So I went down checklists: What do my students need to learn? What is required that they have exposure and learn to use strategies comparable to their typical peers -- particularly AVID? How do I select texts? So hang tight - because this post has every resource I’ve ever created (and 2 I gathered) for ELA -- all downloadable!