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Sharing my experience in the classroom as a life skills special education transition teacher and providing resources and solutions for fellow educators.

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Vocational Skills Worksheets for Students with Special Needs life skills teacherspayteachers teaching experience transition Mar 06, 2023
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...
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Transition Plan Student Workbook for High School and Transition Students functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Dec 12, 2022

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...

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Functional Reading Comprehension Worksheets for High School and Transition Students functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Dec 05, 2022

What is ‘functional reading?’ According to me, it’s being able to read and understand enough to get what you want or need AND what you don’t want or don’t need. This includes weeding out the fluff stuff that doesn’t matter.  The fluff detracts you from...

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Transition Assessments for High School and Transition Age Students functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Nov 01, 2022

You are sitting down to write a student’s IEP and you get to the Transition Plan section.  You plug in the same phrasing you use to every other student.

 

GASP!!!!

 

You would never do that!!!  You are a better educator than to copy + paste (even if it would save you a...

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Paraprofessional Trainings for Support Staff in Special Education life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Oct 17, 2022

Every school year comes with a lot of excitement, overwhelm, and new support staff to train.  While we may have the best of intentions to provide hands-on training for the newest of staff, schedules may not always allow this.

 

Give your paraprofessionals the training they want and...

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The Life Skills Daily Warm Up Activity Resource You Wish You Had Time to Create functional life skills life skills special education teachers teacherspayteachers transition Oct 03, 2022

You know that starting off each school day with consistent structure, meaningful engaging activities, and skill-focused conversation will really set up your students for a great day. 

 

Well, I always wished I had a daily resource with fresh questions that were life skill related, but...

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How To Teach: Packing Skills & Keeping a Wallet or Purse functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Jan 24, 2022
Importance of Packing and Wearing or Using a Wallet or Purse
As students become teenagers and young adults, being able to hold their own things shows a level of independence. Holding on to a bag and keeping the bag with them as they move from one environment to the next will allow them to...
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How To Teach: Self Advocacy Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Jan 17, 2022
Importance of Self Advocacy
Adults advocate naturally constantly throughout their day, we just don’t come right now and announce that we are doing it (however, we really should). Therefore, advocating for yourself is not something that is typically modelled for our students on a...
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How To Teach: Phone Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacherspayteachers transition Dec 13, 2021
Importance of Phone Skills
Answering and talking on the phone may be a life line in the case of an emergency. Making a phone call may be necessary to set-up a doctor's appointment. Texting may be the best way to communicate with a manager or supervisor. Phone skills are important for our...
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How To Teach: Doing The Dishes functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacherspayteachers transition Dec 06, 2021
Importance of Doing the Dishes
If you eat, you create dirty dishes. Since we all eat, about 3 times a day, we are bound to create at least 10 dirty dishes. Washing dishes comes with enjoying the meal, it is a part of the process.
 
Teaching your students how to ‘do the...
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How To Teach: Cleaning Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills teacherspayteachers transition Nov 14, 2021
Importance of Learning How to Clean
Cleaning is a great way for students to maintain their own space AND contribute to their home, no matter if they live with family or in the community. Cleaning skills also cross over into just about every vocational job, so it’s a worthy skill for...
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How To Teach: Time Management Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Nov 08, 2021
Importance of Time Management
Like it or not, being able to manage one’s time is a quality that is often judged. If you are late, then you are lazy, unaware, or unmotivated. If you are early then you are prepared, punctual, and responsible. Being able to manage time is a skill and it...
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Consumer Math Weekly Practice Resource consumer math special education teachers teacherspayteachers Nov 03, 2021
When something works well, there isn’t a need to fix it. However, when you can improve it and expand it, why not?
 
The Functional Weekly Practice worksheets are a big hit and a single page version is included in every Consumer Math Lesson Unit.
 
I was recently...
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How To Teach: Email Writing and Management functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Oct 25, 2021
Importance of Writing an Email
I hear families say over and over again that they wish their child could socialize with their peers in the evenings and on weekends. Teaching students how to email gives them an avenue to communicate with others. A student doesn’t need to be verbal to...
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How To Teach: Exercise and Fitness Routines functional life skills how to teach life skills teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Oct 18, 2021
Importance of Fitness
P.E. or Gym class may have been a time to relax, to work on social skills with peer buddies, or to get in physical therapy or occupational therapy minutes. When a student’s schedule begins to allow autonomy in their fitness routine, then the activity will have new...
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How To Teach: Recreation Leisure Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Oct 11, 2021
Importance of Recreation Leisure skills
Humans engage in recreation leisure activities because it makes them feel happy, it reduces stress, and it provides a mental break from other thoughts or tasks. Since these are all good things, we must support our students in being able to find the ...
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How To Teach: Internet Safety functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Oct 04, 2021
Importance of Digital Citizenship
Regardless of if a student is obsessed with their smartphone and uses all the social media apps or if they have no interest in computers or smartphones, knowing how to handle themselves when they do go online is important to keeping themselves and their money...
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How To Teach: Safety Skills functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Sep 27, 2021
Importance of Being Safe
The goal is to always be safe and protected from all of life’s disasters. Sadly, that isn’t reality and our students need assistance in knowing how to move forward in different situations.
 
Helping them to look at a situation and decide what...
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How to Teach: Caring For Your Body During a Period (Menstruation) functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Sep 20, 2021
Importance of Period and Menstrual Care
Some bodies experience menstruation. Since they do, it’s important to address. While menstruation typically occurs once a month, some students may experience their cycle more or less frequently. Either way, students should know how to care for...
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How To Teach: Cutting and Filing Nails functional life skills how to teach life skills special education teachers teacher experience teacherspayteachers transition Sep 13, 2021
Importance of Nail Care
Nail care can easily be seen as a skill that can be pushed off for another day (or another school year). However, having long, jagged, dirty nails can hinder progress in other personal hygiene goals.
 
While taking care of your fingernails and toenails...
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