Nails can get really dirty really fast. Prepare your special education class for life on their own by introducing them to a regular nail care routine. They discuss why it is important to care for your nails and practice washing,...

Learning to cook, follow directions, and presenting information are skills every body needs to know. Learners complete a recipe-in-a-jar activity to hone these life skills. They follow the directions, choose and use correct measurement...

Everyone needs to know how to eat well to stay healthy. Learners with mild disabilities log what they eat, discuss food choices, and review healthy foods. The instructional activity could be used to foster living skills in...

I've done this exercise with my special needs learners more times than I can count. They practice getting ready to shop at the grocery store by identifying items on their shopping list. They match grocery items to the proper department...

Staying clean is a big part of staying healthy and looking good in the community. Personal hygiene and napkin use are the focus of this activity. Your class will eat a messy food, look in a mirror to see if their face is messy, then...

Cooking often requires one to measure out ingredients. Build an understanding of relative measurements as well as a reference for future cooking projects with your special needs class. In a small group, you'll discuss various measurement...

When people make clothing choices, they should be attempting to buy clothes that are the proper size. Unfortunately, for most that is a skill that they have never been taught. Make sure your special education learners can purchase...

What did you have for lunch? Did it contain all four food groups? Help your special education class make good food choices and recognize foods in each of the four food groups. They look at images and discuss the foods on the food pyramid...

Talk with your pupils about the importance of staying focused at the grocery store. Your special education class will discuss how to create and use a shopping list. They will make a shopping list and pretend to use it in a role-play...

Don't forget to brush! Help your special education class excel at taking care of their wonderful smiles. They'll discuss proper brushing and flossing techniques, watch a video on dental hygiene, and then brush their teeth. 

Having good hygiene skills is a very important part of living an independent life. Learners with special needs follow sequencing cards to practice washing their faces. They follow each step in the process and discuss the importance of...

What to wear? Help your special needs class make independent choices about what they should wear during various weather conditions. They'll discuss weather-appropriate clothing, dress dolls for the weather outside, and even put on a...

Living independently is about more than managing money. Learn how to manage time, balance responsibilities, and calculate overtime and income with a set of activities about life management skills.

Learners with special needs discuss the importance of fire safety. They visit smokey.com, discuss where fires commonly occur, and how to prevent them. They then practice responding to a fire-related emergency.

Living on your own is hard, especially when you have to live with roommates. Discuss the importance of shared living situations and how to make them as good as possible with your class. They brainstorm what makes a good roommate, ways to...

Start those 12th graders thinking about what life on their own will be like. They'll review eviction laws, work through several scenarios, and take a quiz in order to understand the rights of both a renter and a landlord. 

How do we prepare kids, especially those with disabilities, for life after school, for the workplace, for independent living? This 96-page packet is loaded with self-assessment surveys, with skill builders, with information about rules,...

A instructional activity looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's...

Make opening a locker with a key an easy task for your special needs upper grader. Here you'll find a prompting hierarchy and 15 steps to guide your learner through the process. You'll verbally prompt while physically modeling the locker...

Students complete a unit of lessons that examine life in early America from 1740-1840. They compare items with similar objects we use today, explore various websites, create a paper doll, try and guess the function of various objects,...

The first time you sit down to sign a rental agreement is quite an experience. Prepare your class for that inevitable moment with a lesson plan on rental agreement lingo. They read a rental agreement, fill out a lingo worksheet, and then...

Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...

Students explore U.S. history by reading biographical material in class. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, students identify the life of Franklin and the events that led him to become one of America's first heroes. Students complete an...

Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...