Classroom visual schedule: free printable picture cards

Who it’s for

Students in general and special education classrooms who do better when they can see the day, and the teachers, aides and therapists who work with them. It also works for homeschool, and at home on the evening before a school day. Use one page for the whole class, or give one student their own.

How to use a classroom visual schedule

1. Set it up before the students arrive. Put the day’s cards in order and write the times.
2. Go through it at the start of the day. At circle time or morning meeting, point to each card and name it.
3. Point to it before every change. “Reading is finished. Next is snack.” The schedule does the announcing, and you don’t have to repeat it.
4. Mark what’s finished. Tick the box, or take the card off and put it in an envelope. Let the student do it when they can.
5. Show changes early. Put the something new card in the slot as soon as you know about an assembly, a substitute or a fire drill.

When the day changes

School days change: a special is canceled, a visitor comes, it’s raining at recess. Instead of pretending the day is fixed, put the change on the schedule: swap the card, or use something new and talk about it before it happens. A change that was on the schedule is far less of a surprise than one that wasn’t.

Whole day, or one step at a time

Some students like to see the whole day. Others do better with only what’s now and what’s next; for them, cover all but two slots, or use a first-then board on the desk. A class schedule on the wall and a small one on a student’s desk can sit side by side, with the same cards.

Cards on the sheets

• circle time
• reading
• writing
• math
• science
• art
• music
• gym
• library
• computer
• story
• snack
• lunch
• recess
• quiet time
• speech
• OT
• work time
• line up
• bathroom
• wash hands
• backpack
• bus
• go home
• assembly
• field trip
• break
• raise hand
• listen
• teacher
• nurse
• office
• cafeteria
• hallway
• free play
• sensory bin
• school
• something new
• 2 blank cards

Printing tips

• Print the cards on card stock and laminate them before cutting. Put a hook-and-loop dot in each slot and on the back of each card.
• Write the times with a dry-erase marker, so the same page works every day.
• Tape an envelope to the back for the cards you aren’t using today.
• The cards are 1.6 inches (4 cm) square, the same size as the cards on our other schedules, so a wash hands or break card can move between them.
• Send a copy home. Parents can use the cards to ask about the day: “What did you do after lunch?”
• Some parts of the day have a board of their own: the art communication board for art time, and the library communication board for a library visit.

For a student who uses AAC to talk, read AAC at school: how teachers can support a student who uses AAC.