This article is intended to provide adult basic education teachers with examples of functional learning activities for their students through use of the newspaper. It lists activities which are illustrations of those that can be used to teach functional skills in the key areas of reading and computation. For reading, suggested activities include…

Discusses the importance of combining functional reading with meaningful daily activities in the student's home, school, community, and vocational training areas. Emphasizes the need for severely handicapped and severely handicapped autistic students of limited English proficiency to be provided instruction in English as well as Spanish.…

Discusses prereading activities for home economics education: motivational activities, preview activities, vocabulary activities, and prequestioning activities. Teaching methods, steps, and examples are suggested for each activity. (CT)

This paper presents a series of reading and writing activities centered around a 19-item word list suitable for use in tutoring adults. The activities in the paper involve short stories, writing exercises, and take-home exercises. Included with the activities is a guide that presents, in addition to the word list and the exercises, instructions…

The article presents an approach to instructional design for mainstreamed students with and without mild disabilities, stressing functionality in a three-step procedure: (1) select what the student (general, gifted, learning disabled, or mildly retarded) needs to learn; (2) determine its functional value; and (3) decide how best to teach the…

This guide is designed to provide secondary teachers and administrators with the information necessary to adapt or develop a functional curriculum for children and youth who display academic difficulties. (A functional curriculum teaches functional skills in the most appropriate setting for specific skill acquisition.) It provides suggestions of…

Any discussion of English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy should address three critical areas: who the learners are, what is to be taught, and how the literacy skills are to be taught. Three distinct groups of students can be classified as "non-literate" in their own language: pre-literates, illiterates, and semi-literates. Two approaches are…

Explains why proficient readers may find it difficult to understand written directions. Indicates direct instructional strategies for helping such readers handle procedural text independently. (NKA)

This methodology for teaching basic meal preparation skills to students with mental retardation uses convenience foods and involves learning meal preparation reading vocabulary and common procedures. Instructional techniques include sight word development, use of rebus symbols, and graduated prompts (verbal, modeling, or physical guidance). A list…

This guide for literacy tutors and educators provides basic information about people labeled as having an intellectual disability, along with practical teaching strategies and tips on designing inclusive literacy programs. It also raises questions to challenge assumptions and encourage program re-examination. The first four short chapters discuss…

The guide is intended to help teachers of mildly handicapped (learning disabled, behavior disordered, and mildly retarded) students develop and modify language arts activities keyed to specific learning needs. A preliminary chapter discusses principles of teaching for mastery and generalization including sequential modification, identifying and…

Part of a series of instructor guides designed to support Ohio's ACT Work Keys System, this book addresses the skills required to read and understand the kinds of documents used in the workplace and to apply the information they contain in performing job tasks. It is for teachers, tutors, parents, mentors, and trainers seeking strategies for…

As part of the special education curriculum developed by the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction, this teacher's guide (in Spanish) presents a basic curriculum for reading skills. The curriculum is designed so that the defined skills will meet the needs of children with disabilities. The form in which teachers and other professionals will…

This curriculum offers an eclectic, multisensorial, holistic, and flexible approach to reading. Sections I and II are an introduction and information on using the curriculum. Section III offers strategies for working with adults. Section IV describes means of formal and informal assessment of the learner. Section V presents an overview of ways…

This instructional manual consists of materials for use in implementing a computer-assisted instructional program in reading skills development for adult nonreaders. Discussed first are the project during which this instructional program and manual were developed and the goals of the computer-assisted beginning reading program, a major feature of…