Vocational Skills Worksheets for Students with Special Needs

I love routine.  I love having to think 1 time and just automate from there.  It frees up my brain and allows my students to know what to expect and when, which we all know is helpful on multiple levels.

Well, I’ve been expanding my ‘weekly’ resources (beyond this stellar daily life skills resource) to include functional reading, transition skills, safety skills, and now… vocational skills! Grab a free page from the Vocational Skills Weekly Worksheet to try for yourself!)

The Vocational Skills Weekly Worksheet is the newest weekly-use resource and it’s something I definitely wish I had a few years ago!  I would have used it at the start of each week to gather a baseline for future lessons.  It also would have given me something to write other than ‘Create Resume’ for the umpteenth time on the scope and sequence! 

The best parts of the Vocational Skills Weekly Worksheet resource:

Meaningful Vocational Skills Practice in the Classroom

We know the value of practicing vocational skills in a vocational setting.  We also know the classroom is not a traditional vocational setting.  Unfortunately, there are times when you need to introduce or review vocational skills in the classroom.  The Vocational Skills Weekly Worksheets are a great way to do just that!  Whether your students are bound to the classroom vocational setting for whatever reason (and if they are, check out this list of 4 Small Business Ideas for Students with High Support Needs) or whether they spend time in the community, this resource will give them meaningful practice in key vocational skill areas. 

A Variety of 6 Vocational Questions Per Page

Each page has 6 questions (again, with the routine) in clear outlined boxes.  I love the boxes because you can have students complete the whole worksheet on their own OR work through each box one at a time because the boxes are clearly marked. 

The 6 vocational skills addressed on each page include:

1. Job Preferences (Ex- would you like to do a job with this type of task?)

2. Problem solving (Ex- How would you handle this hypothetical situation?)

3. Communication (Ex- How would you communicate this information with a customer/coworker/manager?)

4. Prioritizing (Ex- What task should you do first?)

5. Time and Task Management (Ex- Find the task accuracy error in this picture)

6. Job Awareness (Ex- What skills and strengths are needed for a specific job?) 

Appropriate For Students With and Without Vocational Experience

Each page is highly visual, has clear and easy-to-understand language for low-level readers, and has just enough variety to keep it from getting boring when used weekly. 

You might think that this resource would be best to use with students who have vocational experience, whether it’s in the community as a part time job or an in-school volunteer gig.  However, you can use this resource as an introduction into vocational skills.  If you teach middle school or freshman and sophomores who are just starting to consider careers and show interest in employment, then this resource would definitely be appropriate for them.  If you are looking for community-based vocational site ideas, here is a list of Over 30 Community Vocational Student Volunteer Sites Ideas to check out.  You would actually be helping to set them up for future success with all the real-life examples in this resource- well done! 

Print and Done!

This is a great resource to print 1 time and be set for the whole school year!  No other prep is needed.  You could give each student 1 page each week or print as a workbook and have students work page by page in a binder.  The pages are labeled with numbers at the top, to help keep you (and them) organized!  If it were me, and you know I love routine, I would sit at that printer for a few minutes, get everything printed for the whole year, binder clip the same pages together, and stack everything in the classroom.  Boom, you are set! 

If your brain is saying, ‘Yes, please I need this resource for my students (and my sanity)!’ then grab the Vocational Skills Weekly Worksheets today!