special education recipe lessons

Special Needs for SPECIAL KIDS

Cooking in the classroom: visual recipes for special ed.

• September 16, 2018
• Classroom management

Full disclosure, I LOVE to cook.  There is not much I enjoy more than working in the kitchen.  So, I guess it is not surprising that I also LOVE cooking in the classroom with my students.  And, although it can get messy, and it takes a watchful eye and careful planning to keep it clean and safe for all involved, the kids loved it just as much as I did.

Setting a consistent cooking time and routine in the classroom

Every Friday, we would have “kitchen time.”  I would have a visual recipe ready to go that usually went along with something we were learning about.  Early in the year, it almost always revolved around the letter of the week.  I also liked to pull in seasonal and holiday themes.  In the fall, we did LOTS of cooking in the classroom with apples.  One of our favorite visual recipes was applesauce.  I liked it because we did not need access to the stove or oven in the teacher’s lounge.  We just used a crockpot, and that made it so easy.

And, you can get the recipe we used in the classroom for free at the end of this post!!

One of my goals when cooking in the classroom with my students was to make it as independent for them as possible.  I had kids from ages 5 to 12, so there were a  lot of ability levels to address if we were all cooking the same recipe.  Most of my students could not read, but they were all great at following a picture schedule. I knew a picture or visual recipe would work well for all the students. But, that meant some prep work for me.  Eventually, I came up with a system that I tweaked over the years and worked well.  Here is what we did.  (Be sure to read to the end to get your FREE copy of my Applesauce visual recipe.)

Labeling and pre-measuring ingredients

First, I would print recipe labels to put on the actual ingredients.  These would match the picture symbols I used in the recipe.

Some of the ingredients were pre-measured and some were left for the older students to measure out. This was especially helpful if we were working on measurement in math. Often, I had 2 piles of ingredients, some pre-measured and some not.

Here is a helpful tip: Place the pre-measured ingredients on one piece of colored poster board and those that need to be measured on a different piece of colored poster board. When you give each student or group their recipe, make sure it is mounted on the same color construction paper. That way, students know exactly which set of ingredients they need to be using.

Creating visual recipes

Next, each student or group got a recipe depending on their learning level. I often had 2-3 versions of the same recipe being used at the same time.

Potential modifications

• Use a visual recipe with just words and a check box. This is great for your students who are readers.
• Use a visual recipe with pictures symbols added to the words. This is where most of my students’ skills were. They were able to figure out some of the words when supported with picture symbols. These were also symbols that my students were very familiar with, so their comfort level was an important stepping stone to success.
• Use a visual recipe with actual photos. Sometimes students are just not ready for picture symbols. They are unable to make that connection from the symbol to the actual object. For this group of students, I found inserting some actual photos of the ingredients, tools, and steps greatly increased their independence when cooking in the classroom.

Helpful tip: For students who are visually overwhelmed, cut each step apart and mount it on a piece of construction paper. Then, be sure to number the strips. That way, the student needs to only look at one step of the visual recipe at a time.

Assigning roles

It was critical each student clearly understood what their particular role or job was when it came time to follow the recipe. At the beginning of the year, we would spend time discussing the various jobs that would be needed when cooking in the classroom. Every Friday, we would pull out our poster with the various jobs and assign them to students in each group. As a reminder, each student would tape a photo of themselves next to the description of the job they had for that week.

Here were the most common assignments we used:

• Students who would find and gather all the right ingredients.
• Those in charge of reading out the directions and checking off the steps once completed.
• Some did the actual measuring. If they were in a group with pre-measured ingredients, then that student’s job was to double-check the amount was correct according to their recipe.
• Some were in charge of using the equipment, like a peeler, a knife and cutting board, or a blender.

Cleaning up

Once the cooking was finished, we were sure to clean up the area and wash any dishes.  Many of my students had certain IEP goals that were easily addressed during this time. Stacking dishes, rinsing dishes, wiping counters, putting items back where they belonged were very common goals we would practice and take data on while cooking in the classroom. And, because I knew this would be a regular part of my classroom routine, I often encouraged parents to include these early life skills when we were writing the IEP.

Tasting and eating

When the food was ready, it was time to feast and enjoy.  Of course, I had A LOT of students with food sensory issues, and not everyone wanted to eat what we had made, but that was okay.  Even when working with foods that were not very popular (like broccoli) it was rarely an issue. Students were often absorbed in the process of cooking, and they knew I would never force them to eat anything.

Another helpful tip: Setting the table is a great way for students to practice 1:1 correspondence in a real-life setting.

As the last step, we often completed a writing prompt. I have a blog post all about how to do this successfully. Head over after this and read Writing Prompts for Non-Readers .  They loved to talk about how something tasted or felt in their mouth and on their tongue.  So many great adjectives we could pull in to describe our scrumptious meal.

Cooking in the classroom is such a great way to work on so many various skills, some academic and some more life-skilled based.  If you have not tried it, I encourage you to give it a try. With a small amount of prep-work and a consistent routine, you will build skills that will last a lifetime.

Want to try it?  Click on the button below to get a FREE copy of my Applesauce Recipe .

Want to try even more?  Check out my Cooking Through the Alphabet Unit which has 26 different recipes (one for every letter of the alphabet.)  Just click on the image below.  Finally, if you have bought any of my units, you know I love to sneak these recipes into my novel units, my other literacy units, science units, and even some of my social studies units.  There is no better way to connect with a region than through its food.  Wouldn’t you agree?!?

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Free Worksheet Wednesday

• 17 Kitchen Skills to Teach in Special Education

By Krystie | Life Skills

• You are here:
• Life Skills

None of us can afford to cook with our class or go on CBI's every day.

Some days you just need something that's quick, easy and is going to teach your students some important life skills.

Here’s a list of 17 special education life skills activities that will get your students ready to cook… without cooking.

If you want to increase your students' independence, “beefing” up and focusing on specific skills is the perfect way to get your students ready to finish a recipe.  And cooking, without cooking, is the perfect way to achieve that.

Here's how it works.  

1. How to Set a Kitchen Timer

Most recipes require your students to be able to set a timer, especially anything that’s going into the oven.  

So… why not work specifically on teaching your students how to set a timer?  You probably have a few timers already lying around your classroom, and I think it’s a good idea to teach them how to use a few different types.  Digital , Dial , or Turn are the most common.  Below are a few of my favorites, head on over to Amazon to get them now if you don't already have them.    I also teach this concept using file folders- sometimes it can be great to give the students hands-on practice without all the noise!  

2. How to Set the Oven

Just like setting a kitchen timer, it’s really important to teach your students how to set the oven independently.  Many ovens look different.  Some are digital, some have turn dials.  It’s important to teach how to use both.

If possible it’s nice to get a toaster oven that’s the opposite of the oven you have so you’re able to teach both turn dial and digital .   For the classroom, I find that the larger toaster ovens work so much better!  Here’s a couple I like… 

When we're just get started, I often get out these file folder activities.  It's nice to be able to have the whole small group working on one skill, so they're ready when we have a recipe and they need to set the real oven.   Set the Oven File Folders Available Here

3. Setting the Stove to a Specific Heat

Most recipes on the stove call for a specific temperature.  It says things like… medium, low or medium/high heat.  

Often times our stoves are labeled with numbers or not labeled at all.  (If yours is old like mine, the numbers peeled off a long time ago.)

To improve your students’ levels of independence, teaching how to turn on and set the stove is a truly important life skill.

• Don’t have a stove?  This is also a great activity to do with an unplugged hotplate.  It gives the students the hands-on practice without the heat.  Plus they can pass it around if you’re doing this activity with the whole class or a small group.  Or you can accomplish the same thing with these  Set the Stove File Folders.

Hot Plate Suggestion:  Cheap and Simple electric hotplate  (this is the one I use, it's nothing fancy- but it gets the job done.)  Induction hotplate-AMAZING because it never get’s hot to the touch.  The pan will… but not the burner itself .  (this is the one I lust after 😍)

4. Do I Already Have It? Check the Kitchen.

We need to teach our students to check the kitchen first before you buy anything. 

Here's a pic of what I use, but you don't necessarily need anything fancy. As you can see the first step is to check either have or need.  Then just send them off in pairs looking for a specified item.  (this is also a great way to check their receptive language skills, even something as simple as a fork- it's good to know if they know it.)

5. Matching Measuring Cups and Spoons

This can be as basic as writing the measurements on 3x5 cards and having your students matching the correct measuring cup/spoon to the label.  Or it can be as complicated as having a few recipe cards and having your students look at the recipe to determine which measuring cups/spoons they will need.

If you need to buy some new measuring cups here’s a couple sets I like. Measuring Cup Suggestions: color-coded   measuring cups are nice, bright and metal.  If you're wanting something with HUGE visuals- this is the set for you . 

6. How to Use Measuring Cups

Most of our kiddos need a lot of help with this.  Just knowing which measuring cup to use isn’t enough.  They need to be able to measure their ingredients properly.  

How to Measure Properly

Click on the picture to download the visual above for FREE.  Then g et out some rice or flour and have them start scooping/leveling away.

If you're just getting started- you'll probably need some new measuring cups, please don't just use some old mis-matched sets.  It makes it so much harder for your kiddos!  Check out this measuring cup set with HUGE visuals .  It's a great way to get started.

7. How to Use a Liquid Measuring Cup

I find that liquid measuring cups are always really hard for my students to fill properly.  They're always over or under.  Getting just to that line is super hard, and usually, takes a bunch of tries.   

Over the years I’ve learned that having them fill a cup with the liquid then using the cup to fill the liquid measuring cup is much more successful (especially if they’re trying to get water from the sink, the variable pressure of the sink just makes things a bit too difficult).  

Give your students a cup and have them practice filling the cup precisely to the line.  This is a great partner activity.  My students do a great job of holding each other accountable to filling it to the right spot.

If you're in need of a new set of liquid measuring cups , I like these ones.  They're clean and simple to read + they're plastic so you don't have to worry about glass shattering everywhere in the classroom.

Where Does it Belong? Pantry or Fridge

This is a great activity to do when you get back from a CBI trip and have new groceries.  

But, if you don’t have anything on hand you can always just pull up some images online- or have your students provide you with suggestions and then call on someone to tell you where it should go.   If you have the physical items have your students put the ingredients away.  It's great practice and increases their familiarity with the kitchen.

Sometimes, we don't have enough ingredients or different types of ingredients, and I have students struggling with this concept- that's when I whip out the  Where does it belong? Fridge or Pantry File Folders.

Where Does it Belong? Fridge or Freezer

Same game as above.  Just refrigerator/ freezer.  This a surprisingly difficult concept for my students.  I always find that my kiddos struggle more with this than refrigerator/ pantry.  I don't usually have a ton of different refrigerator/ freezer items on hand (especially one's that can sit out) So... I usually get started with file folders , and practice with the real thing whenever we come back from the grocery store. 

Read the Recipe: Set the Oven

Do you have some extra cookbooks or recipe books just lying around?  A great way to use them is to get your students used to looking over a recipe and finding specific information.  (remember, we’re all about the baby steps)  

Give your students some extra hands-on practice, by having them set the oven dial.  If you don’t want them using the real thing during independent work- grab this file folder oven dial set here .  Or if you have a counter-top turn dial oven - you can have them practice on an unplugged version during independent work. 

Read the Recipe: Set the Timer

Up the challenge with your timer setting, by having your students look over the recipe and determining what they’ll need to set the timer for.  

Especially useful for baking recipes if you’re giving them a cookbook.  

• If you don’t have a bunch of extra timers lying around.  Or you’re afraid of all the noise it could make distracting your other students.   Grab the file folder version here, they’ll still get the hands-on practice without bothering everyone else.   Or you can buy a silent vibrating timer, so if it goes off- it isn’t a distraction .  

Food Sorts: Healthy or Unhealthy

This is a great independent workstation sorting activity, but in order to get your students started with this idea, it’s a great thing to do in a small group.  

Complete with real food, pictures online, or file folders .

13. Food Sorts into Categories

Categorizing items is something that most of our students find challenging. Is it meat or dairy?  A fruit or a vegetable?   

Make it hands-on with fake food, or even better use the food you have in your kitchen if you have a bunch of different things.

We don’t usually have a lot of food on hand (we buy what we need for recipes) so, I find that this is a great concept to have your students complete using file folders w ith real photographs , my students get the idea without us constantly having to buy tons of extra food.

14. Grocery Store Mapping My Route

Once your students are beginning to be able to categorize food- this is a great next step to get them ready to be able to follow a grocery store list and know where to find the necessary ingredients.  

Make a list with your students and talk about what sections the ingredients would be found in.  Then discuss the best way to make your way through the store.  Should you be zig-zagging back and forth, or should you grab all the produce at once?   If you're looking for something premade- I have a set that teaches this.

Once they’re doing pretty good with this… try going to the store and have them complete grocery list scavenger hunts.  

15. Make a List

If your students can read- you can always let them find a recipe that looks good to them and make a grocery store list (having them determine if you already have any of the ingredients is always a great idea)  

If your students cannot read independently there are tons of video recipes online that they can find.  Or you can write down the list, then have your students attach an image next to it.  (this my favorite).  Below is a video walking you through the steps.  (but, it's basically using google docs, copy/ paste, and inserting images) 

16. Learning Kitchen Vocab...

Kitchen vocabulary is pretty important if you want your students to be able to increase their independence level they’ll need to know the basics by name.  You can u se adapted books or make it into a game.   Make it a game by partnering students up and challenging them to see who can find it first.  (you can even give them a few things they need to find to make it more difficult).   Or sometimes a simple photograph book is what you need to get started.  

17. Set the Table

You can make this as simple as using a “Setting the table” placemat and having your students match the items.  Or you can beef it up by looking at recipes and having your students determine what dishes/ utensils they’ll need.   If you need a new setting the table placemat- you can get an adorable one here!

Those are all the ways I work on kitchen skills with my students without cooking.  Leave a comment below if you have any other ideas you’d like to share, or if you found this list helpful.  I'd love to hear what else you do!  

About the Author

Hi, I’m Krystie. I’m a special education teacher and assistive technology specialist by training. I never stop appreciating those seemingly tiny events, like touching an AAC icon for the first time, that can reflect such monumental growth for a student. AdaptEd 4 Special Ed is a way to share our successes and “oops” stories- A reminder that there is always someone to lend a hand or an ear.

• Life Skills
• Language Arts

How to Incorporate Cooking Lessons into your Special Education Classroom

Make it portable

Use your school resources (cafeteria), use technology to role play / pretend.

Interactive Books

Cooking "Homework"

Worksheets and file folders.

Bake at home

Brainstorm with administration, enjoy baking with your students.

Great post! I teach self-contained behavior classes and I have enjoyed cooking with my students for years. I've been amazed at the lack of understanding many of them come with. I had one junior in high school who thought that you should butter the bread before putting it into the toaster. Most of my students enjoy learning to cook and really get a sense of accomplishment out of creating a dish. It can be a really fun relationship-building activity, and hopefully gives them skills to take with them. I've brought some cooking gear from home and got some other pieces (like a countertop convection oven) at a local thrift store. Please check out my blog on teaching students with behavior and emotional disabilities at intelligencepluscharacter.org.

Hi! I'm Brie

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Free resources, life skills lesson plans for cooking: how to plan a week’s worth of activities.

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Developing life skills lesson plans for cooking and helping administrators and others know how beneficial it can be to our students can be tough. Cooking activities in the classroom need to go beyond the simple act of cooking the recipe. There are a ton of skills we can teach, pre-teach, and review with the lesson that we can spend a week focused on one cooking activity—1 recipe. And we can differentiate it with a variety of goals to help all the students participate.

But with everything else going on in your classroom, it’s sometimes hard to justify time spent cooking, which seems special and fun for students and staff. It also can seem like a huge headache if you try to cook more than one time a week. And sometimes even that is too much. So let’s look at how you can plan out a week’s worth of activities from 1 cooking unit. You can probably even stretch it to two weeks, but I though one would be sufficient. However, never be afraid to repeat a recipe or to make the same one two weeks in a row. Familiarity with the recipe and the food can help students acquire more skills than always having something new.

Lesson Plans for Cooking

First, let me start with examples of lesson plans. Please don’t be overwhelmed by them, because I swear once you get them set up, they are easy to maintain. I talk about the lesson plans in this post in more detail.

And I know that many of you may not write lesson plans. And I talk about why I think lesson plans are important and useful for all the teaching staff in this post. The main element here that’s important is that lesson plans tell all the staff not just what the activity is, but how to do it and what the goals are. That can be important when you need staff to set up activities for independence, rather than just prompting the students. It helps if they know WHY it’s important–what skills are being worked on.

In this example of lesson plans, you can see that the class didn’t cook everyday. We also had art and community skills. The class cooked twice a week. I’ve worked with classes that have it as a daily activity and others have had it weekly. Even if you don’t want cooking on your schedule everyday, you can implement the activities I’ll describe here across the week just by folding them into other activities. So you might use the presentation in morning meeting. And you might have them sequence first in their direct instruction with the teacher. And later they might practice the sequencing tasks in independent work.

Different Grades and Ages for Life Skills Lesson Plans

Clearly what the activities look like when you are writing life skills lesson plans for cooking are going to look different for different grades. The complexity of the cooking activity will be different. So you might be making a snack with an early elementary classroom. But with high school, you might be planning a whole meal, going shopping and more. Because in high school we are working on life skills lesson plans and the need for independence in cooking as a life skill is important. But for the younger students, we might still focus on independence in the steps, but the cooking activities will work to build language opportunities, socialization skills, reading, math and more. I’m always about life skills lesson plans that get as many skills practiced as possible.

Choose the Cooking Activity for the Lesson Plan

Obviously, the first step in any life skills lesson planning is choosing what the focus of the activity will be. I’m going to choose units that are available in my TpT store. You can do these activities without them. However, the units in the store include ready-made lesson plans and pacing guides that can save you time when integrating them into your class plans.

When choosing a cooking activity, you obviously are going to choose one that fits the resources in the classroom. Don’t have a heat source like a stove or oven? No problem, make a no-cook recipe like a green tossed salad. And you have to think about safety and student skills. For instance, are your students working on cutting with knives or is this something you should have items pre-cut for. Or can you assign different jobs to students based on their skills?

Monday-or First Activity on the Life Skills Lesson Plan

Step 1 is reviewing the recipe and activity that you are going to be doing. So for the Green Tossed Salad unit, for instance, you would review the slide show of the steps of the recipe. You can use them as cloze activities as well for students to fill in the blanks by raising their hand to answer or with their communication device. You might do this in morning meeting as a group.

Then have the students make a prediction about whether they will like the salad. They can graph the responses on a template by just putting their name in the box their prediction.

The students also can review the visual recipe (or the one without pictures) to become familiar with the steps. You are looking at building vocabulary, identifying ingredients, and you can also work on graphing, interpreting graphs and more with the prediction activity.

Tuesday-Identify the Ingredients

Part of cooking life skills lesson plan is always about learning about new foods as much as it is about cooking. So it’s helpful to take some time to have the students review the ingredients. They can also work on locating the ingredients in the classroom. And you can work on expressive and receptive vocabulary.

This is also a tool that you could send home for homework. They could work with a family member to find the ingredients in their kitchen and talk about it.

You can use the visual recipe as a tool to help students know which words identify which ingredients. Or don’t use the pictures and work on reading comprehension with the ingredients list.

Wednesday: Cook the Recipe

First, I would always start by reviewing the recipe again. You might allow the students to taste the ingredients, if they are cooking with their own materials. If they are working as a group, they may be assigned a specific job.

In addition to working on independence in life skills, this step can also include many academic tasks. For instance, have the students measure out the ingredients. Or count the number of items.

And of course the best part of cooking the food is that you also get to eat it. So that gives you another opportunity to see if their predictions about liking the item were right or wrong. You can then add the responses to the graph and compare the two graphs to each other. This could even be a writing activity if you needed one for compare and contrast.

Thursday: Review the Steps and Sequencing

After the cooking is finished, the next day is a great time to revisit what they did. This is a good time to complete a visual worksheet or reading comprehension worksheet. The one shown here is from my Tossed Salad Cooking unit. Curricula like the Unique Learning System often have these types of activities with the cooking activities as well.

It might be helpful to review the steps of the cooking activity visually, like in a slide show, before you do the worksheet to refresh their memory. You could also add some journaling into this step for students who need to practice writing skills. They could write out the steps and write about whether they enjoyed the activity or not.

Friday: Reviewing the Sequencing

This is a great time to work on language skills and talking about the activity. Many of our students have difficulty retelling an event and putting the steps of what happened in order. you can use the visual recipe and other tools from the activity to cue their memory about what they did. And then have them put the steps in order. This could be by putting pictures from the recipe in order, or writing out the steps in order, depending on your students.

If your students each had a different assigned job, this is a great time for them to present to the class what their job involved. This gives the students the opportunities to hear more about different parts of the life skills lesson that they didn’t directly experience. You can also add follow up questions, like what was your favorite ingredient. Or which item in the salad did you like least?

Wrapping Up the Life Skills Lesson Plan

So there you are, 5 days of activities based on one cooking activity. To make it even easier, the cooking units in my store, like the one shown above, have lesson plans with the objectives and steps laid out for you for previewing, cooking and reviewing. That makes it super easy to drop them into your lesson plans for your classroom. In addition, they have the visual recipes, slide show, and even a communication board to help students communicate while cooking.

So if you are looking for easy life skills lesson plans with cooking in the classroom, grab the two units in my store below. I have another one I need to add for Ants on a Log. These were all developed as part of the Special Educator Academy for a cooking workshop. So if you are a member, you can grab those inside the membership. You can learn more about the Special Educator Academy here.

In each set I included (in print and Google Slides)

• Picture-based and written recipes
• Digital or printable presentation with fill-in the blank for practicing vocabulary
• A slide for making a prediction of whether they will like the dish they are making
• Lesson plans previewing the lesson, cooking and reviewing the lesson as well as evaluating progress tips and plans
• A Pacing Guide that could be shared with parents or paras for planning purposes to extend cooking activities throughout a week
• A symbol communication board with core vocabulary integrated to assist in answering questions
• Graphing templates for prediction of whether they will like the recipe and did they like the recipe and completing compare and contrast
• Picture and Word-based sequencing templates of varying difficulty from 2-items, 4 items and 6 items to sequence

• Read more about: Curriculum & Instructional Activities

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Cooking up success: how a teaching kitchen can benefit special education students.

Teaching Kitchen: A Recipe for Success in Special Education

Cooking and baking activities can offer a host of benefits for students with special needs. Not only do they teach valuable life skills, but they can also improve fine motor skills, promote teamwork and social skills, and provide a fun and engaging way to learn. Here are some tips for setting up a teaching kitchen in the classroom, along with ideas for lesson plans that incorporate cooking and baking activities into the curriculum. Setting up a Teaching Kitchen Before getting started, it's important to ensure that the classroom is equipped with the necessary tools and appliances for cooking and baking. This might include a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, blender, and various cooking utensils and measuring cups. It's also important to consider any food allergies or dietary restrictions that students may have, and to plan accordingly. Once the kitchen is set up, it's time to start incorporating cooking and baking activities into the curriculum. Here are some ideas for lesson plans that can be adapted to suit a variety of grade levels and learning objectives. 1. Measurement and Math Skills Cooking and baking involve a lot of measuring and counting, making them a great way to reinforce math skills. For younger students, simple activities like measuring and pouring ingredients into a mixing bowl can help them practice counting and measuring. Older students can practice more complex math skills by scaling recipes up or down, calculating ingredient costs, or using ratios to adjust recipe quantities. 2. Science and Nutrition Cooking and baking also provide an opportunity to explore science concepts like chemical reactions, nutrition, and food safety. For example, students can learn about how yeast works to make bread rise, or about the chemical changes that occur when ingredients are mixed together. They can also learn about the nutritional value of different foods, and how to make healthy food choices.

3. Communication and Social Skills Cooking and baking activities require teamwork and communication, making them a great way to practice social skills. Students can work together to plan and execute a recipe, taking turns measuring ingredients and following directions. They can also practice communicating their needs and preferences, and learn to respect the needs and preferences of others. 4. Life Skills and Vocational Training Perhaps most importantly, cooking and baking activities teach valuable life skills that can be applied beyond the classroom. Students can learn how to read and follow recipes, plan menus, and shop for ingredients. They can also practice important vocational skills like time management, organization, and teamwork, which can help prepare them for future careers. In conclusion, cooking and baking activities can provide a wealth of benefits for students with special needs. By incorporating these activities into the curriculum, teachers can help their students develop important life skills while having fun and learning in a hands-on way. With a well-equipped teaching kitchen and some creative lesson planning, the possibilities are endless.

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Teaching Autism

Advice, Resources and Training for Autism and Special Education Teachers and Homeschoolers

Cooking in Special Education Classroom

February 17, 2020

Cooking is one of the lessons that we all look forward to each week in the classroom. And today, I just wanted to share some information about why it’s important to be cooking in your classroom, as well as my best tips for cooking in special education classrooms.

Now, although I refer to this lesson as cooking. It doesn’t always have to be something that you need an oven to complete the session. You can find so many great recipes that don’t require cooking – or an oven! And you can always change the name of this session to ‘Food Technology.’

A lot of people often message me to ask, why should they be cooking in their classroom? What are the reasons and benefits behind it? And often, this is done so that they can take a request to their management about starting cooking in their classroom.

So, I’m sharing some information below about why you should be cooking in your classroom;

• You can work on measurement skills.
• The chance for your students to work on their reading and understanding skills; following recipes.
• Your students are able to appreciate the end product; taste it.
• Cooking is an important life skill.
• The opportunity to experiment and problem-solve.
• Your students will have the opportunity to learn a huge new range of language.
• It’s a hands-on and engaging experience.
• The opportunity to taste new foods.
• Observing changes; melting butter, mixing ingredients together – and then discussing this.
• Learn about healthy eating habits.
• The opportunity to learn about foods around the world; you can do themed weeks. We especially love doing this for Chinese New Year and Christmas Around the World!
• You can also have your students look at their recipe beforehand, make notes of what ingredients they need, and then go shopping for these!

What Do I Need?

One of the most important things I suggest when starting cooking with your students – is to be prepared. Make sure you have everything you need in advance. Nobody wants to be running around trying to find things while your students are waiting. Some things that I like to make sure we have for our cooking sessions are as follows;

(Amazon affiliate links included. However, you can get these items in most local stores too!)

• Mixing bowl.
• Measuring jug.
• Wooden spoon.
• Measuring cups.
• Silicone cupcake cases.
• Oven gloves.
• Tea towels.
• Kitchen roll.
• Cookie cutters. I prefer plastic ones – my students have been able to bend metal ones out of shape so easily over the years!
• Rolling pin.
• Cooking table cloth.
• Weighing scales. You can have electric ones or manual ones .
• Digital thermometer.
• Baking paper .
• Cupcake tray.
• Baking tray.

One of my biggest tips is to go for plastic over glass – you’ll have less chance of breakages!

There are so many places you can get recipes now. Maybe there’s a recipe that you have used before. Pinterest is another great option. And you can find my cooking in the classroom board here for some great ideas.

If you’re using a new recipe – just try to do a test run if possible. You can also theme recipes to whatever topic you’re working on – or even a holiday or seasonal event. These sheep cupcakes were a huge hit for us – so fun to make and they looked great!

Every classroom is different because you all have different students. For us, we’ve always done cooking on a 1-1 basis. So a member of staff leads the session, another member of staff is in charge of fetching students and taking photos. While the rest of the class are completing other activities.

But, you may have a class that can work as a group. And you can all sit around the table together and follow a recipe. You can print the recipe out, you can break it down into symbols or you can put it up on the whiteboard for everyone to see – PowerPoint is great for this. And I actually have a free walkthrough recipe for making Easter cornflake nests here that you can download and try.

One of the setbacks you may be worrying about – is how to afford cooking in the classroom. We have always asked our parents for £5 pocket money each week. This would cover snack, cooking, trips out etc. Don’t forget – the recipe can be split between all of your students. You don’t need every student to make 12 cupcakes each. Your students can make just 2 cupcakes each. You can have students in charge of different parts of the recipe too.

In regards to getting all the baking equipment, you have a number of options here;

• Put together a fundraising page.
• Share about your plan on social media and ask friends/family members if they’re able to donate anything.
• Send a letter home to your students families and ask them if they have anything they can send in.
• Ask local shops if they have anything that they can donate to help you.
• You can also find lots of great fundraising ideas here .

Cooking Ideas

There are so many things you can do in your sessions. But, you can find some blog posts where I have shared about our cookery sessions below;

• Halloween Cooking Ideas
• Sheep Cupcakes
• Easter Cornflake Nests
• Rainbow Cupcakes for St Patrick’s Day
• St. Patricks Day Ideas
• Valentine’s Heart Pizzas
• Ideas for Valentine’s Day
• Valentine’s Day Heart Biscuits
• Chocolate Bananas
• Christmas Chocolate Pudding
• Reindeer Marshmallows
• Giant Jaffa Cake
• Caterpillar Sandwiches and Chocolate Fruit Cones/Kebabs

Do you have cooking lessons in your classroom? Maybe you some tips to share? Or even have questions you want to ask.. If so, just leave them in the comments section below.

If you found this blog post helpful, please consider sharing it on social media with your friends and colleagues.

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Many of the recipes on this site are shared by users like you and have not been tested by Accessible Chef. Please provide appropriate guidance and supervision when using these recipes with children or individuals with disabilities. See our recipe disclaimer for more details. To print recipes, click the “Download PDF” icon above the visual recipe and print like any other document. Want to edit a recipe? See the tutorial here .

Seed Bombs By Custom

Curried Sausages By Custom

Cheesy Garlic Bread By Custom

Banana Bread in Mug By Custom

Nachos By Custom

Chocolate Brownies By Custom

Turkey Sandwich By Custom

Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallows By Custom

Enchurritos By Custom

Quick Peach Fruit Salad By Custom

Egg Salad Sandwich By Custom

3-Ingredient Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes By Anna M.

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Using Visual Recipes for Cooking & Baking

At a Glance

Visual recipes are another type of visual support, strategy, and accommodation.

Visual recipes help make a recipe more concrete and easier to sequence.

You can use visual recipes to serve a number of goals from cooking and baking skills to time together in the kitchen as a family.

Do you use visual recipes for cooking and baking? We love using these in the classroom, with clients who have cooking and meal prep goals, sharing with families to encourage meal time activities together, summer and holiday break activities, preparing autistic teens and young adults for living on their own, and more. Visual recipes can be so incredibly helpful for making a recipe more concrete and easier to understand. We have to practice so many skills with cooking, from sequencing to the actual cooking/baking part, that it can be overwhelming and frustrating at times to be in the kitchen (we've been there!) So why not use a visual recipe as a visual support?

In this blog post, we'll cover the ways that a visual recipe can support you, your child / teen / adult, client, and more.

Help Identify Ingredients

Visual recipes use pictures to help identify ingredients, tools, & equipment. In cookbooks, you're lucky if you get more than one photo of the final product!  

Model Use of Tools + Equipment

The images in visual recipes can show how to use a tool or equipment (especially helpful if it is unfamiliar to you/your learner) for the recipe.

Show Measurements

It can be difficult to keep track of measurements, including what type of measuring spoons or cups to use as well as when measure ingredients during cooking/baking.

Break Down Steps Visually

Let's be real: sometimes recipe writing can be confusing, vague, and indirect. It can be super easy to get turned around in your own kitchen!

Tackle More Advanced Recipes

What seems like a difficult and super advanced recipe can be completely doable with visual recipes! At AGU, we delight in taking these challenges on!

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Visual Recipe Round Up

Let’s give a little round up of all of our visual recipes ! Visual recipes are great because they give structure, simple directions, and a visual cue for each step in a recipe. I like making recipes that are simple and straightforward. It makes the whole cooking process run a lot more smoothly. Some of the cooking sets below include both a visual recipe and a written recipe which is great if you have a diverse caseload or classroom!

• Using TAH Curriculum for Homeschooling from a Homeschooling Parent - September 10, 2022
• Using The Autism Helper Curriculum for Homeschool - August 8, 2022
• Literacy Subject Overview in The Autism Helper Curriculum - August 2, 2022

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Interoception by Katie McKenna, MS, OTR/L

Interoception is the eighth sensory system, which involves internal sensations such as hunger, thirst, need for the bathroom, body temperature, heart rate and muscle tension. In this session, participants will explore interoception more in depth. Learn how interoception impacts emotions, self regulation, and social interaction skills. Finally, participants will identify specific activities and strategies to build interoceptive awareness in all students.

Movement and Learning by Katie McKenna, MS, OTR/L

In this session, participants will learn about the connection between movement and the brain, as well as the impact of movement on academic and functional performance. Participants will learn how to incorporate movement activities and tools into the school day, such as flexible seating, brain breaks, yoga and so much more. Finally, participants will learn how to adapt and modify movement activities to facilitate independence for all students.

Sensory Processing by Katie McKenna, MS, OTR/L

Sensory processing impacts everyone and is an essential foundation for learning. In this session, participants will learn about the eight sensory systems and why they are important. Participants will learn how to identify different ways individuals may respond to sensory input and how that impacts behavior and participation in daily activities. Finally, specific sensory strategies and tools that can be used to support students of all ages and sensory profiles will be explored.

Small Group Instrucition

Small Group Instruction is essential for providing individualized instruction within a classroom of learners with diverse needs. In this session, learn the evidence based strategies on how to provide small group instruction in an effective, efficient, and functional way. This session provides an overview on considerations for grouping students, how to schedule groups, and what back end organization is vital to keep groups running smoothly. Then, attendees will learn the specific steps to utilize while running groups. These antecedent based interventions will help prevent problem behavior during the work session, allow for consistent data collection, and maximize learning opportunities.

Seven Steps for Setting Up Stellar Autism Room

The optimal setup of the classroom environment is essential to increase engagement and cooperation as well as decrease negative behaviors. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your classroom effectively. Start out with purposeful planning to lead to a structured and routine based environment. Attendees will learn how to create staff and student schedules, setup and utilize behavior and academic visuals, create data systems, setup independent work, and begin curriculum planning. Staff training is integrated into each section in order to get the whole team on board!

Schedules and Task Organization

For your classroom to run smoothly, the use of schedules and visuals are a must. However the setup can be overwhelming and maintaining these systems can be very time consuming. Learn the most efficient and time saving ways to use visual schedules and how to incorporate visuals throughout your classroom so they are there when you need them! These interventions will help prevent behavior problems, ease student anxiety, and allow maximum communication opportunities!

In this session we will also focus on creating materials and resources that are appropriate for your students to meet their IEP goals. We will discuss implementing appropriate and useful independent work systems that give students the opportunity to generalize and maintain previously learned skills.

Roadmap to Reading

The Roadmap to Reading gives an overview of how to provide effective and individualized reading instruction to struggling or reluctant readers. This workshops covers assessment, planning and setup, implementation, data, and staff training. The Roadmap to Reading is based on the Science of Reading’s foundational 5 components of reading. These components are taught through the 3-Part Framework of Direct Instruction, Fluency Instruction, and Guided Reading Groups. This workshop reviews how to schedule, setup, and run each center. We go in-depth into best practices and evidence based strategies for this multi-tiered approach.

Reinforcement, Bribery, and Negotiation

A key component to all behavior management strategies is the effective use of reinforcement. In this session, participants will learn how to correctly utilize reinforcement. We breakdown how making simple changes to the way you are approaching challenging behaviors can make a huge impact in teaching positive, prosocial, communicative behaviors. Participants will walk away with a clear understanding of the difference between reinforcement and bribery as well as the knowledge of how to ensure their behavior plans are set up correctly.

Preschool Vocabulary

In this full day workshop, we will explore methods to increase vocabulary, literacy skills, independence, and communication skills in your preschool students! The day begins with an in-depth look at the importance of building vocabulary for all preschoolers. Increased vocabulary will lead to more advanced reading skills in early elementary and overall school achievement. In this session, we will review the importance of building vocabulary and ways to identify vocabulary deficits. We will explore a range specific strategies for increasing word knowledge and use at a variety of levels for delayed learners. We will explore how to increase language through the use of Higher Order Thinking Questions, play based learning, and classroom based read aloud.

Next we will examine how appropriate and purposeful use of visuals helps build executive functioning skills with our younger learners. Many students with special needs struggle with receptive language. This delay in language development can cause issues with many executive functioning skills. In this session, learn how to utilize visuals to improve organization, planning, following directions, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility with preschool students. We will explore specific strategies and examples of how to create visuals, teach appropriate use, and utilize on a daily basis.

Practical Behavior Approach

The Practical Behavior Approach is a comprehensive workshop designed to help attendees successfully reduce problem behaviors and improve cooperation, independence, and engagement of children of all ages. Learn how to prevent problem behaviors and respond effectively when negative behaviors occur while building essential positive skills. Discover how a child’s diagnosis, history of trauma, and sensory needs impact behavior and the strategies we use. The strategies in this session can apply to students of all ages with and without a disability.

Positive Behavior Change

This workshop will breaks down the Functional Behavior Plan process and teaches how to create a function based behavior intervention plan. Attendees will learn solutions to foster increases in positive, communicative behaviors and decreases in problem behaviors. This session will begin by exploring how to apply these strategies to everyday situations in an applicable and proactive way. This approach will focus on the changing outcomes of behaviors by looking at the entire context and approaching behavior change from a function based perspective. The key is not only teaching communication, but teaching the right type of communication in order to produce long lasting behavior change. However, we all know – there are those times when things do not go as planned. Learn how to tackle those high-stress situations where no option seems like the right one and all bets are off. This workshop highlights ready to use interventions and real-life scenarios. The concepts can be applied to a wide range of environments

Literacy Mindset

In this session, learn the 3 keys to teaching reading to struggling learners and students with special needs. Embracing the big picture goal, organization, and a comprehensive approach are essential to efficiently and effectively building reading skills for a range of struggling learners. Participants will walk away with actionable strategies for planning and creating opportunities for literacy instruction.

Classroom Schedules

Schedules are one of the most essential components to any effective classroom! Schedules let us know when transitions will occur, the order of activities, and alerts us to changes. Children with autism, receptive language challenges, anxiety, and a history of trauma, schedules are even more important. Effective use of schedules can increase functional independence and decrease negative behaviors. However, there are some common pitfalls we fall into when it comes to appropriate schedule use. Learn my 10 dos and don’ts for classroom schedules and make the most out of this must-have strategy!

Let’s Play

In this full day workshop, we will explore methods to increase communication, social skills, literacy, and independence through play based instruction. This session is geared for early childhood educators and clinicians. In this workshop, we break down the critical elements of play and why play is essential for building foundational skills. This session is focused on action strategies. Learn how to utilize easy to use informal assessments, identify goals, plan play based instruction, facilitate learning during play, and take efficient data. Attendees will walk away with a toolbox of resources, ideas, and activities for increasing a wide range of skills.

Functional Literacy

Literacy is a key component to being a functionally independent adult. We live in a text rich world and our students need to know how to navigate through it successfully. As a teacher it’s often a struggle to balance academic and functional instruction. In this session, learn how to make your literacy curriculum real world applicable and engaging for your students!

This session will examine literacy instruction for all types of students. We will examine instructional planning, activity ideas, and specific interventions. Many struggling learners benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your functional literacy instruction.

Fluency is accuracy plus speed and is a must-have when it comes to making the skills we teach functional in the real world. Learn how to implement fluency instruction in your classroom with this interactive workshop. This presentation covers instructional strategies for a wide range of learners including both functional and academic skills. Attendees will walk away with actionable ideas to implement fluency instruction in their classroom!

Executive Functions

This workshop teaches the importance of building executive functioning skills and how to build those skills within a wide range of learners. Attendees will learn the entire process from assessment and goal identification to instructional strategies and data collection. Walk away with a toolbox of strategies to teach essential skills such as flexibility, emotional control, sustained attention, and so much more!

Executive Functions are the skills needed to accomplish goal directed behavior and are critical for every day success. The skills of planning, organization, shifting and sustaining attention, impulse control, and more are key to everything from making friends to having a job to completing a math test. In this session, learn how to identify the skill deficits that your students are struggling with under the area of executive functioning skills. Learn how to approach teaching and developing these skills with the same rigor and systematic planning that we give to other areas of need. Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes independence and problem solving. Finally, learn how to track progress and fade assistance.

Data Driven Classroom

This workshop breaks down the data collection process for special education classrooms. Attendees will learn how to streamline the data collection process and collect data that will truly informs instruction. Learn how to analyze and use data to drive your instruction, IEP goals, and behavior plans.

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful for both academic and behavior data. In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both functional and academies skills. Next learn how to take frequency, duration, and rubric data for problem behaviors to develop your behavior plans. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way and explore a range methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom!

Classroom Environment As a Tool

The way the learning environment is set up is one of the most valuable tools you have. This can drastically impact the success of academic instruction and lead to decreases in negative behavior and anxiety as well as increases in student independence. In this session, learn how to take a proactive approach and build your toolbox of strategies. These antecedent interventions will help you create an optimal learning environment based on student needs. We will also explore how to support teams in utilizing these strategies with efficacy.

Can’t Do or Won’t Do

The goal for ALL students is to be learning, engaged, and independent. When are students are struggling to achieve this goal, we need to get to the root of the problem. Begin this process by identifying each learning and behavioral challenge as a Can’t Do or Won’t Do. Is the work or work process beyond your child’s skill level or is the motivation to complete the task not there? Explore learning obstacles by improving executive functioning skills. Learn how to identify executive functioning strengths and weaknesses. Match student strengths with activities they can excel at while simultaneously directly teaching skill deficits. For students who demonstrate the skills need but struggle with the motivation, add a proactive element to your behavior management system by implementing positive reinforcement to increase positive behaviors within your class. Learn best practices related to reinforcement and why it may not be working right now in your classroom. This session is jam packed with ready to use strategies for general education and special education classrooms.

CA and Classroom Setup

Learn how to structure an effective classroom and utilize The Autism Helper Curriculum Access in this dynamic and jam-packed session! For Curriculum Access users, this workshop will walk teachers through how to set up and use the curriculum. We will cover placement assessments and determining levels, lesson planning, running instructional lessons, making data-based decisions, and troubleshooting challenging areas. This framework works best when incorporated into a highly structured and routine-based classroom that uses small-group instruction. Teachers will learn how to effectively set up this structure to prevent problem behaviors and allow for maximum instructional time. We will discuss independent work, staff training, and schedules as well!

Behavior Contingency Maps

Adapting academics.

Working in the special education field, we are often tasked with the daunting job of creating a curriculum for our students. We don’t have a roadmap to follow. Nobody hands you the perfect text book for each of your students. Many individuals with autism or special needs have skills that are scattered, varied, and difficult to assess. As educators and parents, we have to the heavy lifting to determine what our students know and what they need to learn next.

In this session, learn how to create a functional and appropriate curriculum guide for a wide range of types of learners. We will discuss how to incorporate assessments, state standards, and functional needs to develop appropraite goals. Then we will explore ways to teach and build both academic and functional skills. This presentation will guide you through the planning stages, IEP goal writing, and finish with the creation of materials.

Adapted Books

Learn how to target a wide range of literacy goals for early childhood students using interactive and hands-on adapted books. An adapted book is any book that has been modified in some way that makes it more accessible. Adding moveable pieces, simplified text, and visually based comprehension activities to your existing favorite books can help increase student engagement. In this session, we will explore ways to create your own adapted books that build both foundational language skills and more advanced literacy concepts. Adapted Books can be used to build basic literacy and language skills such as matching, sequencing, sorting, following directions, categorizing, using prepositions, and more. Take it the next level by building advanced skills such as making inferences, using context clues, and identifying emotions. Learn how to utilize these books in small group instruction efficiently and effectively!

3 Reasons Staff Training Can Make or Break the Success of Your Classroom

In the role of a special education teacher you are also placed with the responsibility of being a manager to your team. That responsibility can be challenging and overwhelming. Often teachers have very little training on this. In this session, learn why staff training is so essential to the success of your classroom. We explore how this gives your students more instructional time, behavior plans are implemented more consistently, and more reliable prompt fading leads to more student independence. Participants will learn actionable strategies to create time for staff training and then utilize that time efficiently to build a team approach.

3 Biggest Mistakes in Behavior Plans & How to Fix Them

Positive behavior change involves focusing on the WHY behind a behavior and teaching the missing skills. The results of real behavior change are long-lasting, generalize to new settings, and socially significant for the individual. However, when moving towards this goal there can be significant challenges. Several common missteps in creating behavior plans can lead us astray from our goal of positive behavior change. In this session, learn the three most common mistakes that impact the success of a behavior plan. These mistakes include inconsistency with strategies, not including a replacement behavior, and lack of consistency with staff. Then explore strategies to combat these missteps and ensure that your behavior plan is on track for success.

10 Tips for Collaboration

In the world of consulting, developing an effective and conceptually systematic behavior plan is only half the battle. Having staff or parents accurately and consistently implement the plan will determine program success. Time, resources, and staff participation are big obstacles facing effective consultations. In this session, learn 10 actionable strategies for developing collaborative consultative relationships that lead to better follow through on behavioral programs. These strategies are not only real world based but also aligned to the BACB’s ethical guidelines. Each tip is supported by a specific guideline.

In this session, learn how to identify the skill deficits that your students are struggling with under the area of executive functioning skills. Embrace the power of ‘yet’ – these are skills they don’t have, yet. Learn how to approach teaching and developing these skills with the same rigor and systematic planning that we give to other areas of need. Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes independence and problem solving. Finally, learn how to track progress and fade assistance.

Schedules are an essential component to any effective classroom. Schedules let us know when transitions will occur, the order of activities, and alerts us to changes. For children with autism who may struggle with receptive language processing, schedules are even more important. Effective use of schedules can increase functional independence and decrease negative behaviors and anxiety. However, there are some common pitfalls we fall into when it comes to appropriate schedule use. Learn my 10 dos and don’ts for classroom schedules and make the most out of this must-have strategy!

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! No matter how great your data system is – if it’s too complicated you won’t use it. In this session, learn how to make your data system work for you. We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful for both academic and behavior data.In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both basic and more complex skills.  Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way. Once you have all this data, you need to know what to do with. Making data based decisions is critical in determining if progress has been made. Learn how to use your academic data to drive your instructional decisions and plan supplemental activities, write additional goals, or strengthen foundational skills. Utilize behavioral data to create function based interventions, determine the success of behavior plans, and increase functional skills. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. We will discuss methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom! Offered as a one or two day session.

This full day workshop will offer practical solutions to foster increases in positive behaviors and decreases in problem behaviors. This session will begin by exploring how to apply these strategies to everyday situations in an applicable and proactive way. This approach will focus on the changing outcomes of behaviors by looking at the entire context and approaching behavior from a function based perspective. Audience members will learn how conduct a thorough Functional Behavior Assessment, select appropriate and function-based strategies, and analyze data to determine growth and next steps. This workshop highlights ready to use interventions and real-life scenarios. The concepts can be applied to a wide range of environments

The goal for all general education and special education students is to be learning, engaged, and independent. Begin this process by identifying each learning and behavioral challenge as a Can’t Do or Won’t Do. Is the work or work process beyond your child’s skill level or is the motivation to complete the task not there? Explore learning obstacles by improving executive functioning skills and adapting academic work. Add a proactive element to your behavior management system by implementing positive reinforcement to increase positive behaviors within your class. This session is jam packed with ready to use strategies for general education and special education classrooms.

Learn how to target a wide range of literacy goals for early childhood students using interactive and hands-on adapted books. An adapted book is any book that has been modified in some way that makes it more accessible. Adding moveable pieces, simplified text, and visually based comprehension activities to your existing favorite books can help increase student engagement. In this session, we will explore ways to create your own adapted books that build both foundational language skills and more advanced literacy concepts.

In this full day workshop, we will explore methods to increase vocabulary, literacy skills, independence, and communication skills in your preschool students! The day begins with an in-depth look at the importance of building vocabulary for all preschoolers. Increased vocabulary will lead to more advanced reading skills in early elementary and overall school achievement. This session will explore using higher order thinking questions, play based learning, a focused read aloud, discrete trial training, and fluency instruction to build vocabulary with your preschoolers. We will also examine how appropriate and purposeful use of visuals helps build executive functioning skills with our younger learners. Learn how to utilize visuals to improve organization, planning, following directions, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility with preschool students. We will explore specific strategies and examples of how to create visuals, teach appropriate use, and utilize on a daily basis.

This session will examine literacy instruction for all types of students. We will review instructional planning, activity ideas, and specific interventions. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your functional literacy instruction.

Learn how to use your academic data to drive your instructional decisions. Explore a variety of ways to effectively and efficiently take data that is useful. In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both basic and more complex academic skills. After collecting the data, then you need to use it! Learn how to utilize your data to plan supplemental activities, write additional goals, or strengthen foundational skills.

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.” In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as  leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.”  In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as  leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

Working with the adult population can be very challenging. It can be tricky to navigate the often under-funded world of adult education in a way that is helpful and age appropriate for our adults. It’s a daunting task to create an environment that is meaningful and engaging. Individuals with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your adult day program classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning curricular planning.

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! No matter how great your data system is – if it’s too complicated you won’t use it. In this session, learn how to make your data system work for you. Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way. We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful. Once you have all this data, you need to know what to do with. Making data based decisions is critical in determining if progress has been made. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. We will discuss methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom!

Children with autism are capable of learning to read when provided structured and individualized instruction! This session will provide detailed instruction on strategies to teach pre-reading skills, oral reading fluency, sight word recognition, reading comprehension, and word attack skills. This session will be focused on methods to organize and implement these strategies within special education classrooms for students with autism. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies to effectively teaching reading to students with autism. This session will also focus on the organizational aspect of reading instruction. We will discuss scheduling, grouping students, training paraprofessionals, and more!

Aggression and other problem behaviors can be the biggest obstacle to running a successful classroom. Whether extreme or mild, these behaviors can stop our teaching and halt student progress. In this session, learn how to use function-based interventions to efficiently and effectively reduce problem behaviors. In this workshop, begin by identifying target behaviors and determine the reason behind these maladaptive responses. Use this information to select an appropriate and effective intervention. In this session, we will discuss a multitude of interventions for each type of behavior.

This keynote presentation is perfect for a varied audience. Teachers, parents, clinicians, and other support staff will benefit from this proactive and real-world based perspective on behavior change. In this workshop, we will investigate how to increase positive behaviors, decrease negative behaviors, and how to handle emergency situations where nothing goes as planned!

It’s a daunting tasks setting up an autism classroom or appropriately integrating students with autism into the general education setting. Students with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. Many of these learners need to be taught individually. It can seem impossible to effectively teach a group of such different students when so many of us our understaffed. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient classroom schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning your curricular planning.

Fluency is accuracy plus speed and is a must-have when it comes to making the skills we teach functional in the real world. Learn how to implement fluency instruction in your classroom with this interactive workshop. This presentation covers instructional strategies for both lower level learners and more advanced academic and functional skill sets.

Learn how to create curriculum that is engaging, appropriate, and at your child’s level. In this presentation we will go through a variety of instructional techniques, program goals, and material suggestions for language arts and math instruction. This workshop is incorporates ideas for all levels of learners.

Teaching Cooking & Kitchen Safety: Special Education Lesson

The kitchen is now the heart of the home. So, your students are likely in and out of their family kitchen multiple times a day, to grab a quick snack, to talk to a sibling or family member while they cook or clean,   eat a meal, or get a drink of water. However, the kitchen CAN have many hazards that could put students at risk of getting hurt or sick. Therefore, students should understand how to be safe in the kitchen.

Regardless of a student's cooking and/or independent living goal, safety is a valuable functional skill for all younger and older students.  In my humble opinion, all students, especially those with developmental disabilities and who are receiving special education services, should learn cooking and kitchen skills.  It's the difference between putting a hand on a hot pan of brownies vs knowing to back up when someone opens the oven to take out the hot pan of brownies because both the oven AND the pan is hot.  Exposure is the first step to learning, especially for a special needs learner, and thankfully, getting in the kitchen and observing is a fun way to introduce and reinforce key safety skills.  

Kitchen and cooking safety is a perfect way to ease into cooking, especially for those who have trepidation or disinterest in learning to cook.  Having the knowledge and skills to be safe while cooking will increase confidence and make prepping even the simplest of snacks and meals more approachable.  

Top 5 Kitchen Safety Cooking Life Skills 

The following are five top tips for kitchen, cooking, and food safety. Safety rules are important life skills for students who cook and consume food.  

The most commonly addressed of the safety hazards, knife and microwave use.  Knife safety is important because it is not only important for students who are cutting ingredients as part of the food prep process, but for those who will scrounge around a drawer to find their preferred utensil without regard to the sharp edges of knives that lay in the drawer.  

Knives aren't the only sharp edge in the kitchen.  Keep in mind that Keurig machines, vegetable choppers, and even the ends of aluminum foil can be sharp! 

Keeping one's eyes on their hands when using a knife is very important and requires fine motor skills.  For students who may not feel comfortable using a knife to cut becuase of weak fine motor skills, it's also important to keep eyes to the sink when fishing out the next thing to clean or put in the dishwasher as other dishes or bubbles may block one's ability to see sharp knife edges and blades.  ​

Safe microwave use is also important.  What comes out is hot and one should use gloves.  Not everything can be put in the microwave, like styrofoam plates, silverware, cans, and aluminum foil.  And, the hard-to-nail-down skill of how long to cook something for, especially when reheating leftovers.  Cooking for too long may cause a fire, and not cooking long enough leaves it cold.  

There are some kitchen and cooking skills students can learn as they complete worksheets (as in  when  to use gloves when cooking), while others require that hands-on approach.  Putting on gloves and handling plates, bowls, pans, paper boxes, and containers adds a whole other feel to otherwise simple steps.  While understanding why one should wear gloves when handling hot things, it's the skill of knowing how the feeling of gloves changes how to handle and hold a hot surface.  

It's the invisible bacterial risk that comes with touching raw meat that makes it such a safety concern.  Just as important as knowing to wash hands after touching raw food is understanding how NOT washing hands or just a 'quick rinse' can lead to transferring bacteria and illness, spreading germs to other food and surfaces in the kitchen.  Students should also learn to wash their hands after they store food in the fridge or freezer, as raw meat liquid may be present on the packaging.  

Quality hand washing falls mainly in the 'personal hygiene' category, but it is also a key safety skill in the kitchen.  Going hand in hand with touching raw meat, washing hands reduces the risk of spreading and consuming bacteria and aids in safely handling food and utensils in general.  Clean, dry hands make holding, carrying, and using other utensils and appliances easier and safer.  

Not to mention, using soap and washing hands is a functional life skill that is used in all environments, including vocational education. For a specific hand-washing week-long lesson unit, check out my  Hand washing and bathrooming lesson .  

Spill some water, clean it up.  Spill some soup, clean it up.  Want to use the toaster, be sure it's away from those spills!  This is a key part of the cooking process.  However, knowing not to use appliances that are near or in water creates a safe working environment.  Water ends up on the counter from washing dishes and cleaning hands, from spilled cups of water, and from overflowing bowls.  Cleaning it up is more than just a chore, it's safety related. 

Unpopular Opinion:

It is totally okay to buy pre-cut, pre-cooked, and pre-portioned food.  In fact, it should be encouraged more!  

The overall cost will be slightly higher at check-out, but purchasing done-for-you food will also greatly decrease safety risks and greatly increase healthy eating.   As a meal-delivery customer for years and years and years (thank you, Hello Fresh), I know that when healthy food is easily accessible, I'm more likely to eat it.  

For example, if an individual can eat pre-cooked and pre-sliced chicken strips safely, then they may be able to prepare more meals for themselves and rely less on unhealthy convenience foods.  Let's not even in add in the delivery fees for restaurant meals!  

There are several safety risks related to cooking raw chicken strips, including handling raw meat, safely storing raw meat, cleaning after handling raw meat, using a heat source, and cooking meat until it meets an internal temperature. While the cost of a pre-cut, pre-cooked option may be slightly higher than a raw option, it will also be more likely to be cooked and eaten and less likely to be wasted and thrown in the garbage, which will be much cheaper than a meal at a restaurant.  

Why Focus On These Skills

Safety is top of mind for all families, and while they want their students to be safe, they also likely want them to be independent in getting a drink of water or preparing a simple meal or snack. Students don’t need to be capable of staying home by themselves to learn kitchen safety. They can learn how to safely handle themselves in the kitchen regardless of their level of independence in meal preparation.

When To Teach

If possible, try to pair this lesson with advocacy or problem-solving in the event that the student does encounter an issue. Try to teach kitchen safety BEFORE lessons on preparing a meal so the basics are already addressed.

If you are already in the middle of the school year, you haven't missed the boat completely...

List of Tips for Addressing Kitchen Safety Anytime the Year

1.  point and click homework.

If all of your students have smartphones with cameras, you can have students take pictures of their kitchen at home where there may be a safety risk.  Having students email 5 pictures is also a great way to incorporate technology into cooking skills!  If there is a room with a kitchen nearby, this is also a great idea for independent work for those early finishers or an idea for centers or activities for small groups or for students who may not have cell phones or if you/the student doesn't feel comfortable taking pictures of their home setting.  

2.  When a Lesson Runs Short

For those few minutes when class ends early, having students walk into a kitchen and touch things that could be a safety risk is a great way to meaningfully end class.  No prep necessary, the simple prompt of, 'Go touch something that could be a safety risk in the ktichen' can be a great opportunity to see what students see as obvious risks and those that aren't yet on their radar.  And, if you don't have a kitchen next door, a simple picture from a Google Search works great too! 

3. Prepare the Visual Recipe with Visual Reminders

For students who use visual recipes when cooking, taking a red marker/pen/crayon/colored pencil and circling parts of the recipe pictures or text when there is a potential safety hazard before students start cooking can help to increase awareness and provide visual reminders while cooking.  

For  Cooking Class resources and strategies  that will definintely make your lessons better, check out my list of  10 Special Education Teacher Cooking Class Tips for Secondary Students . 

Looking for  ready-made lesson plans?   This  comprehensive resource  comes with a  complete lesson unit of materials for teaching this topic. The  pdf file  materials are comprehensive (5 full lessons) and most appropriate for life skill lessons for middle schoolers, high schoolers, and transition level students. Below are some lesson unit highlights  of this   must-have resource!

Lesson Objective  

Students will identify sharp edges and how to be safe when using them.

Students will identify ways to prevent fires and burns in the kitchen.

Students will identify how to stop the spread of germs through handwashing.

Lesson Vocabulary

burn, fire, knife, prevent, microwave safe, mitts, oven, oven mitts, safe, sharp, soap

Kitchen Safety Lesson Resource

• Pre and Post assessment
• 1 page narrative explaining the skill with and without visual text supports (to incorporate functional reading)
• 5 skill practice activities to learn and/or reinforce the focus skills
• Game for students to practice their skills (because learning is fun)

Boom Cards for practice or assessment (with automatic correct response feedback and grading)

• Student learning reflection worksheet (thumbs up or down)
• Encouraging on-topic quotes (use as a classroom poster or starter for each class period)
• 5 strategies for success (tips for being successful with the focus skills)
• Coloring page with on-topic graphics
• Skill mastery certificate for positive recognition and reinforcement
• Data collection sheet on specific focus skills
• Homework sheet to encourage students to practice the skill outside of the school setting
• Word search of key vocabulary terms
• Visuals for focus skills with age appropriate colors and graphics
• Answer keys

Ultimate Goal

Knives, microwaves, and ovens are the top safety issues when students are in a kitchen. Teaching them how to handle or keep away from these tools and appliances properly should be the main goal of the lesson.

What to try part of this kitchen safety lesson unit for free?

Additional Essential Life Skills 

Looking to increase functional reading skills?  The   Cooking and Kitchen Safety Workbook   includes recipe comprehension cooking passages!  

Want more kitchen-related cooking units?  Check out the  Following a Recipe  and  Food Storage Lesson Units . 

Kitchen Safety Life Skills Lesson Unit

Blog Post Author

Heather is a former high school and transition special education educator with 15 years of experience in the classroom. She is passionate about creating high-quality, age-appropriate resources, sharing her knowledge of teaching with fellow educators, and helping Illinois families with disabled teens and young adults as they learn about and navigate the confusing world of benefits.

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Yes, five skill practice worksheets for FREE! Functional reading comprehension, vocational, safety, kitchen & cooking, and student IEP transition plans.  

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21 Easy Cooking Recipes for Adults with Learning Disabilities

A lot of our posts about disability friendly activities suggest getting in the kitchen with the person receiving care. We often suggest boxed baking mixes because they’re easy when you’re looking for something fun to do. When you’re ready to jump into harder skills though, here are some cooking recipes for adults with learning disabilities that are easy to make, offer a variety of nutrients, and teach basic skills that can lead to independent living.

Tips For Cooking Recipes for Adults with Learning Disabilities:

When teaching someone with an intellectual disability how to cook it might be best to make a binder of some of their favorite easy recipes and take step-by-step pictures of what the process looks like to make the dish. That way even if they don’t have the ability to read a long recipe they can follow the pictures to help them out.

Veggie Wraps:

Veggie wraps are packed with nutrients and you can add some lunch meat to give it some protein too! Recipe for Veggie Wraps.

Breakfast Burrito:

Breakfast burritos are a quick and easy breakfast idea. You can add veggies to up the nutrients and it can be eaten on the go right in your hands. Breakfast burrito recipe here.

Scrambled Eggs:

It will be hard to make a breakfast burrito without scrambled eggs. This is a great beginner food to learn to make. Scramble egg recipe here .

Oatmeal is an easy way to start the morning. You can bump up the nutrients with nuts, seeds, fruits, and berries! Oatmeal recipe here.

Grilled Cheese:

Is there anything better than a grilled cheese sandwich? This is a super simple recipe but can sometimes be tricky to get perfectly. Here is a great recipe for grilled cheese.

Pancakes are a great recipe everyone should know how to make. You can certainly use a mix, but if you want to make them from scratch, try this recipe.

Cooking Rice:

Rice is fairly easy to make, and there are a lot of easy store-bought ways to make it these days. You can purchase the microwavable cups or pouches, the boil-in-a-bag variety, or the quick cooking instant rice. If you want to make it on your own from regular long grain rice, try this guide.

Baked Chicken:

Learning how to simply cook basic proteins such as chicken, pork, and steak will be a huge life skill that really isn’t too complicated. Most meat involves baking it in the oven long enough for it to cook to the right temperature. An oven thermometer can help greatly with this. Here is a good resource for cooking chicken .

Roasted Veggies:

Most veggies can roast with oil, salt, and pepper in the oven for 20-25 minutes. A great resource for roasting veggies can be found here.

Stir-fry is great because it’s a healthy one pot meal that doesn’t involve a lot of prep work if you use frozen veggies. Here is an easy recipe for stir-fry.

Shrimp is a quick and easy meat to cook that doesn’t involve a lot of prep work. If you want a quick and easy shrimp recipe, try this post here.

Pizza can be made by purchasing a frozen pizza at the store, getting a pre-made crust, or making the entire thing from scratch. Scale the recipe to the ability of the person you’re working with. If you want an easy homemade crust, try this recipe.

Smoothies can be super tasty and are very simple to make. For some great single serving smoothie recipes, check out this list here.

French Toast:

French toast is super simple to make and is a great breakfast option if you’re looking for some fun variety. This recipe can be topped with lots of different fruits, jams, nut butters, and spreads. For an easy french toast recipe, see this post here.

Chili is super easy to make and really just involves browning the meat and dumping a lot of cans into a pot on the stove. For an easy low-spice chili recipe, try this version here.

Baked Potato:

Baked potatoes are super easy to make and can be a very filling side dish. Try this quick and easy guide the next time you make baked potatoes.

Salads don’t have to be super time consuming. Find a few different variations that you like or simply make those salad kits that you can purchase at the store. Simply mix all the bags together and you have a quick and easy side!

Sandwiches:

Sandwiches are a great and fast lunch option. Again, find some variations that the person receiving care likes and practice making those again and again. Eventually they’ll be able to make it from memory without too much trouble.

Salmon is very easy to make and can be a super easy and healthy dinner. Simply pair it with some roasted veggies and rice and you have a super easy and great meal. See this post for how to cook salmon in the oven.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Chocolate chip cookies are a basic staple dessert recipe that everyone should know how to make. This easy chocolate chip cookie recipe could be a great one to start with.

Yogurt Parfait:

Yogurt parfaits are a great healthy breakfast, lunch, or snack to make. You can top them with a lot of different fruits, nuts, seeds, etc… play around with some of your favorite toppings until you find one that works for you!

If you liked this post, 21 Easy Cooking Recipes for Adults with Learning Disabilities, you might also like:

• Adaptive Kitchen Equipment (15 Products to Try!)
• 10 Summer Activities for Adults with Disabilities
• 7 Indoor Activities for Adults with Disabilities

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Cooking in the Special Education Classroom: Get Kids Cooking and Eating Healthy Foods

• Categories : Inclusion strategies for mainstreamed classrooms
• Tags : Special ed information for teachers & parents

Grow Your Own in School Gardens

If possible, spend time with your students building and maintaining school gardens where you can have a vegetable plot which can provide ready to use, seasonal produce for cooking classes. Vegetables such as beans, snow peas and lettuce can be planted easily in school gardens, grow quickly and are fairly reliable in producing a crop.

Garden beds can be raised to suit wheelchair students, or try using pots so you can place a pot gently on a student’s knee so they can touch, smell and explore the plants. School gardens are a great way of teaching lots of new skills:

• Science - Learning about the process of growth and harvesting a crop in a school garden; determining if something is living or non living.
• Math - Measuring the height of plants in a school garden, comparing growth rates under different conditions.
• English - Drawing a picture and writing a caption to describe how a school garden has been prepared.

Cooking With Kids in the Classroom

Cooking with kids in the classroom is all about taking notice of what is going to have instant appeal and get kids interested in eating healthy foods. The trick is to make them keen to have a go themselves, and in a way that they don’t even notice they are eating healthy foods at all!

Soups are terrific winter warmers, and many of the vegetables can be grown easily in school gardens. Soups taste great and do wonders for a childs balanced dietary needs. Cook some onion and garlic, add a handful of red or brown lentils and a stock cube, pour on a few cups of water and a spoon or two of tomato paste, then add in an array of flavoursome vegetables. Try celery, carrots, sweet potato and bacon, turnip or zucchini.

Mix and match according to what is seasonal. Remember that softer vegetables are easier for a student with limited hand function to chop, whereas celery and carrots are much harder and more prone to a knife slipping during cutting. Some vegetables are wise to have pre-prepared so students simply do the mixing and recipe reading, while the teacher does the chopping and hot plate work.

• Math - Reading number values in a recipe, using units of measurement, understanding temperature.
• English - Procedural writing skills, reading a recipe skills and following steps.
• Science - Writing a simple report on the process of change during cooking, seeing how time and temperature affect flavour and smell, explaining how eating healthy foods affects or body in a positive way.

Cooking Muffins and Cakes

Why not try cooking up some other tasty treats by teaching them the simple pleasures of baking a cake to share with friends around a table, or to take for a birthday party? Try asking students to bring their own favourite cake recipes in from home, then make them up into a class booklet and try out a few recipes in class.

The basics are quite simple, and usually mean a combination of self raising flour, butter or oil, sugar, milk and some flavouring ingredients such as sultanas or carrots and honey. When cooking with children in the classroom, always remember to check for any allergies or intolerances, especially to wheat, nuts or milk.

• English - Collecting and collating written information, organising material into a book format with a table of contents, making a title (such as ‘Cooking with Kids in the Classroom’ or ‘Eating Healthy Foods - and some not so healthy!).
• Math - Recording page numbers and organising information, reading a recipe, using units of measurement.
• Science - Recording time and temperature data and creating a simple graph or chart, making comparisons between end products and giving each one a rating based on set criteria such as taste, texture or appearance.

Adaptive Technology

Remember that cooking in a classroom environment can present some real hazards. You need to identify and make plans for dealing with these before your class, rather than waiting for problems to occur. Tools such as a power box which provides power to appliances and can be connected to a simple round switch, means students can be given the independence to operate an electric appliance such as a blender or mixer, without the danger of having it too close to them.

If you have any doubts about the safety of an activity, don’t do it, or ask for advice from a more experienced teacher. Sometimes the benefits of learning about eating healthy foods are simply not worth the risk if an activity goes wrong.

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A traveler's guide to Novosibirsk, the unofficial capital of Siberia

Trans-Siberian heritage

Residents of Novosibirsk love trains and are proud of the fact that their city played a significant role in the history of the grand Trans-Siberian railway, which spans the breadth of Russia. The railway is such a part of Novosibirsk identity that it is even depicted on the city’s emblem, along with the bridge that crosses the Ob river and two Siberian sables standing on their hind legs.  

In the city, there are as many as five monuments to trains, and an open-air locomotive museum is located in the vicinity of the train station Seyatel’. The museum has more than 100 steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and carriages, reflecting the history of rail transportation in Russia from pre-revolutionary times to the present day. Wondering around the stationary trains and comparing your height with the diameter of the gigantic iron wheels of the first steam locomotives is all very well, but why not climb inside the carriages and see how the nobility once traveled across Russia in pre-revolutionary times? These tours will however need to be booked in advance. The museum opens from 11:00 until 17:00 every day except Mondays. 

Novosibirsk spans both sides of the river Ob. In the early twentieth century, the border of two different timezones passed right through the city which led to a strange situation- morning on the east bank started one hour earlier than on the west bank! The two-kilometer covered metro bridge that crosses the river is considered the longest in the world. Due to the fluctuations in temperature across the year (on average +30 °C to -30 °C), during the summer the metro bridge expands, and in the winter it contracts by half a meter. To counter these effects, the bridge’s supports are equipped with special rollers that allow it to move.   

The cultural center of Siberia

The repertoire of the theatre can be viewed on its official website . The theatre season runs from September to July, and comprises mainly classical performances, like the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” and Verdi’s “La Traviata”.  

The large Siberian sea and ligers

Weekends are best spent at the Novosibirsk zoo . The zoo is known for breeding big cats, although surrounded by controversy, hosts a successful crossing of a tiger and lion, which of course would not otherwise breed in wildlife. Ligers, or exotic cubs of an African lion and Bengal tigress, feel quite comfortable in the Siberian climate and even produce offspring. The zoo is open to visitors year-round, seven days a week, and even has its own free mobile app, Zoo Nsk .

Every year at the beginning of January, the festival of snow culture takes place bringing together artists from across Russia and around the world to participate in a snow sculpting competition. The tradition started in 2000 inspired by the snow festival in Sapporo, Novosibirsk’s twin-city.

Siberian Silicon Valley

Despite the fact that Akademgorodok was built half a century ago in the middle of the uninhabited Siberian taiga, architecturally it was ahead of its time. No trees were destroyed for its construction, and houses were built right in the middle of the forest. A man walking through the woods would seemingly stumble upon these structures. At that time, no one had built anything similar in the world and ecovillages only became fashionable much later.

For residents of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok is a different world. When you step out the bus or car, you are immediately on one of the hiking paths through the forest, between the scientific buildings and clubs. On a walk through Akademgorodok, it is possible to unexpectedly encounter art-like objects handmade by residents of the city which have been erected as monuments and some monuments fixed up by city authorities. For example, the monument to the laboratory mice, which knits a strand of DNA on to some needles, can be found in the square alongside the Institute of Cytology and Genetics. In Akademgorodok there are many cafes and restaurants, in which it is possible to rest after a long walk. Grab a coffee and go to eat at Traveler’s Coffee , or eat lunch at the grille and bar People’s or Clover .

Winters in the Akademgorodok are slightly colder than in the city, so wrap up. Spring and summer are usually wetter, so waterproof boots are recommended. In the summer the Ob sea provides respite from the heat, so do not forget your swimsuit to go for a dip.

Memento Mori

Among the exhibits of the museum is one dedicated to world funeral culture — hearses, memorial jewellery from the hair of the deceased, samples from a specific photo-genre of  "post mortem", a collection of funeral wear from the Victorian era, deathmasks, statues and monuments. There’s also an impressive collection of coffins. One of them, resembling a fish, was manufactured on a special visit to Novosibirsk by a designer coffin-maker from Africa, Eric Adjetey Anang, who specializes in the production of unusual coffins.

Surprisingly, the crematorium itself does not look at all gloomy in appearance and definitely does not look like infernal scenes from movies, or like crematoriums of other cities that gravitate towards gloomy temple aesthetics. The Novosibirsk crematorium is decorated in “cheerful” orange tones and is surrounded by a park with a children’s playground nearby. A visit to the museum then leaves you with mixed feelings. 

Novosibirsk underground

Tourists from all over the world go down into the Moscow metro to take a ride and a few selfies in the most famous underground museum. The Novosibirsk metro is also quite a museum in itself — it has 13 stations, the most beautiful of which is Gagarinskaya, Sibirskaya and Rechnoy Vokzal.

The ultramodern Gagarinskaya station is like a real cosmos underground. Its technologically themed design includes marble walls with metallic elements, dark blue backlighting and portraits of Yuri Gagarin. The Sibirskaya station looks like an underground treasure trove, decorated by Altai masters craftsmen with mosaics of precious Siberian stones. The Rechnoy Vokzal station is framed with ten glowing stained glass windows depicting the largest cities of Siberia, including Novosibirsk itself, Omsk, Barnaul and others. The platform resembles a big ship sailing on the Ob, from which ancient Siberian cities are visible through its windows.  

How to get there

The easiest way to get to Novosibirsk is by plane with Aeroflot or Novosibirsk airline S7 with one-way tickets from Moscow costing from 200-250 USD. If you decide to take from the train from Moscow, you’ll have to travel approximately a third of the Trans-Siberian Railway. That’s 3,300 kilometers over almost a three-day journey. 

Where to stay

There are many great hotels in Novosibirsk. Amongst the best include a four-star Doubletree hotel by Hilton , which is located near Lenin Square (per room from $200). After renovations and repairs, the congress-hotel Novosibirsk has improved (per room from $100) and is located across from the train station. Less expensive but of a similar standard is the four-star River Park hotel near Rechnoy Vokzal metro station, which costs $80 per night.

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Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk tourist information and tourism, (novosibirsk, siberia, russia), novosibirsk tourist information and tourism: top sights, more novosibirsk information / fast facts and orientation.

• Country: Russia (Russian Federation)
• Location: Novosibirsk Oblast region / Southern Siberia
• Status: city / capital of Siberia
• Area: approximately 193 square miles / 500 square kilometres
• Population: approximately 1.5 million
• Language: Russian
• Currency: Russian Ruble (RUR)
• Time zone: UTC / GMT +3
• Country dialing code: +7
• Telephone area code: 383
• Average daily Novosibirsk January temperature: -14°C / 7°F
• Average daily Novosibirsk July temperature: 25°C / 77°F

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