Life Skills Archives - Page 2 of 2

Community Based Instruction Ideas

Community based instruction ideas for the classroom! Prepare your students to succeed at work, at the library, while taking the bus, or at the gym before you ever leave your classroom.

My first attempts at community based trips were epic failures because I did not prepare my students well enough. Now, community based trips are some of my favorite times spent with my students. The best community based instruction ideas start in the classroom. The stakes are low and making mistakes can be encouraged. Let’s get into it!

1. Community Based Instruction Workstations

Setting up work stations within your classroom is HUGE. You can use task boxes with visual instructions and keep them in a designated space. Students can rotate through each task box which will allow them to master and revisit each skill. Or, create a visual instruction card for designated spaces or tasks within your classroom. For example, have the student sort the bookshelf according to color. Create a step by step visual guide (remove books from shelf, sort books into color piles, put red books first, etc.) to support them in learning to following instructions independently.

2. Problem Solving Scenarios with a Community Theme

Verbally give students a quick and common problem that they will likely encounter in the community. For example, “You need to take the bus to work but realize you have forgotten your bus pass. If you go back you will be late for work. What would you do?”. This type of problem solving forces students to consider how they would navigate a tricky situation that has many possible outcomes. It can be a quick ten minute conversation that builds an incredibly valuable skill set. Here is a link to FREE vocational problem solving scenarios.

3. Use a Community Outing Rubric

Of all the community based instruction ideas, this one has had the most impact on my students. Community based social skills are especially hard to learn because there are so many unspoken cultural and situational rules. Students who are just learning to explore independence in the community need a concrete target. You need to take data with a community based outing rubric. Clearly state your expectations for the community based outing. Let students review the rubric from the early stages of planning your trip and have them create their own goal. You can download my community based outing rubric here.

4. Create Similar Tasks throughout the School

Ask the teachers in your building what weekly tasks need to be completed in their rooms. Can your students sharpen pencils, refill printer paper, or deliver mail? For each task create a set of instructions including written, photos, illustrations, verbal or any medium that works for your students. For larger tasks, consider having students create a training video. Once students are proficient in completing the task, allow students time to “go to work” each week.

5. Use a Monetary Based Classroom Rewards System

Create a system of earning, spending and saving within your classroom. This practice allows students to experience money principles in a safe environment. Have students track the number of times they complete a designated job or task in the classroom. Then, have a classroom pay day.

Community Based Instruction Ideas that Lead to More

Once your community based instruction routines are established in your classroom, your students can take on their communities with confidence. Allow students to fail and learn in a safe and controlled environment. What community trips are your students loving? Share them with me!

FREE Resources for Teaching Community Based Instruction at School

Community Based Instruction FREE Rubric

Restaurant: FREE Community Based Instruction Workbook

Vocational Problem Solving Scenarios FREE

Life Skills Vocational Workbook FREE

by admin

What is community based instruction?

Let’s start with the big question. What is community based instruction? Good news, it is exactly as it sounds. Allowing your students to learn and practice the skills they will need to navigate their lives and communities independently. Basically, it is real life skills taught in a tangible way: crossing the street, navigating a bus system, working at a coffee shop, going to the library or stocking a shelf.

Three Community Based Instruction Fails

I looooove a community based outing with my students. It is one of my favorite parts of teaching Special Education. But that has not always been the case. In fact, the first community based instruction trip I lead was an epic fail. My very first community outing was happened before I was an official teacher. I was a skills trainer working at a non-profit that supported children and teens with disabilities. My mission was to take six teenagers and one other adult to the library. Once we arrived the students would work at the library’s coffee shop. Now, let’s talk about what went wrong.

1. No Pre-teaching

Before we left, I explained what we would be doing. I talked through the process of a bus ride and the walk to the library. I mentioned things like “libraries are places that are more quiet than others” and “the people who work at the coffee shop will show us where the cleaning supplies are kept.” When I look back at myself in this phase it is laughable. “Explained”, “talked through”, “mentioned”… what was I thinking?? Those are not active words for learners.

As soon as we left the campus, my students were mystified. A bus ride? Which bus? Who had the pass? Where did we sit? When did we get off and where? Things didn’t get any more clear when we arrived at the library.

As promised the staff was accommodating and helpful. They gave us a tour and showed us our first task… cleaning. We were directed to the cleaning supplies. But, how did we use it? Why did we need gloves? How were we supposed to separate one clean garbage bag from the huge roll when they were all stuck together?

Needless to say, I failed my students in the area of pre-teaching skills.

2. I started Teaching Too Late

Every single individual skill above should have been explicitly taught. I should have created a lesson with a mentor text that prepared my students for the types of tasks they would encounter, added it into my social skills group curriculum. I should have brought in a roll of garage bags and had students practice separating them. But, how could I have done all of those things when I started teaching too late?

Preparing for a community based outing should be an every single day project. Just a quick vocational problem solving prompt, or a task box that helps students learn to follow instructions would have gone a long way. There are few things as important as learning to navigate your life in an independent and fulfilling way. I started preparing my students just two short weeks before our outing.

3. I did not Prepare the Adults

What I know now is that as a Special Education Teacher, training your Paraprofessionals and the other adults who come into contact with your students is the secret to success. But, this ill fated community trip was not headed up by the super experienced “Special Education Teacher Mrs G”, this trip was headed up by “Krystal, girl who hoped for the best and planned for not much of anything”. When we arrived, the adults at the coffee shop were not at all prepared for the varied ability levels of my students. The other adult leading the trip was an intern with good intentions and (like myself at the time) an undeveloped skill set.

Spending the time arming adults with broad information and training about Special Education, IEPs, and disabilities is important. Just as important is providing basic information about the goal of the community based trip for an individual student.

So what is a community based instruction trip?

Community based instruction trip is an opportunity for you to guide your students towards a life of independence. Pre-teach each and every skill your students will need on their outing no matter how insignificant it may seem. Use a community based instruction rubric and take data on your trips. Teach community based skills all year long and every single chance you get. Empower every adult with the training they need to help your students be successful. The more they know, they more they can be a support for your students as they transition to a life of more independence. Don’t be like early days me. Set your students up for success in the community before you ever leave your classroom!

Resources for teaching Community Based Instruction in the Classroom

Community Based Outing FREE Rubric

Community Based Instruction FREE Workbook

Vocational Problem Solving FREE Lesson Plan

by admin

Teaching the Unspoken Rules of Interviewing

Teaching interviewing skills is a tough task. Teaching students in my special education class to transition into the workplace was daunting. There are so many social rules involved in having a successful interview. It is overwhelming to think about the unsaid rules that could be the difference between you landing the job of your dreams or being passed up for another candidate.

Teaching vocational skills in general is my thing (read about it here)! I love preparing my students for life beyond my classroom. But, interviewing in particular comes with its own set of challenges. And, as it turns out, I was not up for the task!

Teaching Fail!

The first time I walked a group of students through the mock interview process it was… humbling. I rallied three of my co-workers and set up an interview panel. The questions were very basic (What is your experience? What are your special skills? etc.). We rehearsed about a million times and my panel of interviewers promised to stick to the script.

When the time came, my students crumbled. They answered questions with silence and a few random stories. Or, in some cases a robotic sentence. It was one of those moments as teacher where you sit back and take notes about your own shortcomings. You let the students teach you exactly where you failed them. Then, you go back to the drawing board.

Two Strategies

For me this meant two things: role play and practice. First, we started including a ten minute interview role play a few times a week. We would start by watching an example video from YouTube. Then, I would ask the students to mimic the interviewers questions from the video. I would practice answering the questions in my own voice and then we would reverse roles. The role reversal allowed the students to practice in front of their peers and strengthen their skill sets.

This took some time to get buy in from all of my students, but we got there! I am happy to report that the next time we had a mock interview panel come in it was much more successful. Please note… not perfect but steps were taken in the right direction!

Resources for Teaching Interview Skills

In an effort to reinforce interviewing skills and vocational skills in general I developed a few resources. They work well in my special education groups and they maybe a good fit for you too.

This interviewing reading comprehension workbook is a culmination of all of my learning about what students need to know before walking into an interview. The topics included are: Getting the Interview, Researching the Company, What to wear?, Shaking Hands, Tell Me About Yourself, Why do you want to work here?, What are your strengths? What is your biggest weakness?, Do you have any questions for us?, and Saying Thank You. Like all of my Life Skills Reading Comprehension workbooks, each topic is broken into five activities to allow for easy scaffolding.

It is a small step towards teaching the things that we all “just know” or more realistically, “discovered” after a few failed attempts at having a successful interview. If you teach job skills, transition skills, or interviewing in a special education setting I would love to hear about your wins with teaching your students to interview!

by admin

Teach Functional Life Skills

I teach functional independent living skills in special education. Have you ever thought about all of the individual steps involves in washing the dishes? How about in vacuuming a floor, doing the laundry, making a bed or cleaning a bathroom? How about in all of the functional life skills that we just, “get”? I have! In great length. In fact, I think of these steps every single time I plan a functional life skills lesson.

Working with students who were learning independent living skills made me realize just how much is involved in taking care of your home and how many steps I have “just picked up” without needed to think them through. Having to explicitly teach the “hows” of taking care of a house can be somewhat overwhelming when you consider everything involved.

Resources for Independent Living Skills

I created a Household Chores Unit to support my students in the process of learning those necessary independent living skills. Specifically, it provides read alouds, classroom discussion questions, writing prompts, math reasoning, sequencing, work work at several ability levels, student flash cards and a word wall. The chores discussed include chores in all parts of the house as well as outdoors, working with animals, and doing laundry. I wanted to include clip art as well as real photos to support students in making the connection to their own lives.

Try it for FREE

I hIf you want to try a FREE sample of the laundry section, click here. A teacher recently contacted me to mention that she used the real photos to create a laminated vocabulary flip chart… amazing idea! If you use this product in creative ways I would love to hear about it.

I love sneaking social skills, transition, and independent living lessons into my daily curriculum. You can read about other resources I use with my students in life skills here!