Tips for Award Ceremonies

​​There are so many celebrations happening at the end of the year! One of the most common ones is the award ceremonies. I have created the perfect tool to help your students understand and learn about what is expected in award ceremonies.

In this resource, there are multiple levels of visual supports: 

• The social narrative provides the explanation of what occurs during the award ceremony, what's expected, what to do when their name is called, and what to do while waiting for others to receive awards. 
• There is a task analysis with big visuals icons providing step by step of the expectations. You can use this to guide students one at a time. 
• There are various formats of checklists differentiated to meet the varying levels of your students. Students can take this with them and go through each step in the ceremony.

Resource Link: Award Ceremony Visual Supports
 
Remember, preparing students prior to any event will be key for their success. This resource will help set up the tone and provide you the learning visual support to help your students in those ceremonies.

Additional ideas for ceremonies:

• Magic Toolbox/Backpack: Make sure to bring a backpack or bin with fidgets and engaging tools. Sometimes those ceremonies can be lengthy. A great idea is to bring student's preferred items. 
• Noise Cancelling Headphones: For students with auditory sensory overload, bring noise cancelling headphones. Those headphones were lifesavers. 
• Class goes first: Ask administration or the grade level team if you can go first in the ceremony. Sometimes, this helps in case your class or individual students become to overwhelmed and they may need to step away or go back to the classroom. 
• Class goes last:  Another option is to ask admin or the team to go last, and someone texts/calls you as your class' turn is approaching.
• Seating arrangement: Meet in advance with your admin, support staff, and grade level team to discuss where you class is sitting. You can either sit in the first row or back areas near exits. I have learned to always have exits accessible. Sometimes no matter how much brought magic tools and prepared my students, award ceremonies can be very overwhelming.
• Staff Preparedness: Set up support plans for students with behaviors, or sensory irregulation. Ask for additional help during ceremonies, or come up with plans for possible situations. At this time of the year, you most likely know which students will struggle with the event. Be prepared!
• After the ceremony: When you return to class, give your students a break, whether is in the break area, sensory input, recess, or even a preferred educational movie. This will help them regroup and calm down from the overwhelming, crowded and chaos! 

I hope these ideas help you as you wrap up the school year! 

Watch the YouTube Video about Tips for Award Ceremonies: