Transition Plan Student Workbook for High School and Transition Students

I love a really good transition assessment.  I love when parents/family members give quality feedback.  I love when staff share their ideas and insight about a student’s future.  But, I really love when students are open, honest, and (most importantly) realistic* about their dreams and goals for their future.  

I’ve crafted some quality transition assessments in the past, but sometimes what students need most is best pulled from them through small, incremental check-ins instead of a single conversation.  

When I taught high school I remember talking with both parents and staff about their desire for students to have a more firm grasp on the ‘real world.’  As you know, that can be really hard to replicate in a system that, by law, is built on providing every support for students to be successful.  

The only way to help students better understand the ‘real world’ is through conscious communication that increases their awareness of themselves and the life they desire or think they desire.

These wishes, needs, and realities is what pushed me to create the Student Transition Workbook.

The Student Transition Workbook makes the four IEP Transition Plan pillars, Independent Living, Employment, Education, and Training, relevant to a high school or transition student’s life through carefully chosen questions that build upon individual desires.  This resource quickly becomes individualized while exposing the realness of the student’s dream through their own research.  

Let’s review a sample page.  

Students will answer questions about independent living, employment, education and/or training.  The questions will ask the student to pull from previous responses, thus making it differentiated for each student.  

The Questions

The questions will also ask that student to think through and research common struggles that staff and families typically define as ‘the real world.’ 

For example, in the Employment section there is a question about finding entry level jobs that will provide experience in the field in which the student wants to pursue a career.  This is an important first step, especially if the student would need to complete a degree program to be qualified for a specific job.  

For the Independent Living section, there is a question asking them to identify what areas they need to learn more about to feel comfortable and confident living away from family. Don’t worry, I’ve listed skills they would need to possess so they can self reflect on each area.

And, for the Education section, there is a question about how grading looks different from high school, specifically less grades and therefore each grade holds more weight. 

How To Use

With 36 pages, it’s designed for students to complete 1 page per week for a full school year.  However, an educator can shrink this down to 1 page per week over the course of 7 weeks to gather meaningful feedback for an upcoming IEP meeting or to show progress towards IEP transition goals.  

Thankfully, students grow and change over their years in high school and transition and so you could use this year over year.  Also, the repetition will be good to help cement some key ‘real world’ realities.  

Do You Need This Resource?

This resource is for you if:

• You need a resource that hits all key parts of the IEP transition plan
• You want your students thinking about and mentally preparing for life post school without lots of prep work for you
• You need a resource that can serve as both a transition assessment and evidence for goal progress

Then yes, grab this resource for your student, your caseload, or your resource class! 

*The % of students who actually become NBA stars or veterinarians is very, very, very small.     .           .