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…

To maximize effectiveness of instruction in daily living skills, teachers need procedures that are applicable to small group instruction, that promote generalization, and that can be replicated across skills. Eight moderately mentally retarded adults acquired and generalized daily living skills through a combination of instructions in reading…

Learning disabled students need to be exposed to instruction in functional reading and mathematics, social information, and verbal and nonverbal social skills so that they can function as competent individuals in the every-day world. (CL)

Although the majority of today's young adults meet or surpass the "literacy" standards of 25 years ago, they often lack the level of literacy needed to meet current demands. The National Assessment of Educational Progress studied a nationally representative sample of 3,600 young American adults, aged 21 to 25, to determine how well they could…

This manual consists of reproducible forms that were collected or developed to represent the vast assortment of forms that may be encountered in the transaction of one's personal finances and related affairs. The items represent typical forms encountered by a resident of Pennsylvania, based on a review of forms collected throughout the…

Both simultaneous prompting and antecedent prompt and test procedures were effective in teaching four adolescents with moderate mental retardation to read grocery sight words. However, the antecedent prompt and test procedure was more efficient on measures of acquisition and the simultaneous prompting procedure was more efficient on measures of…

Designed to meet the needs of older nonreaders, this booklet provides teaching suggestions and classroom activities for functional or survival reading skills. The topics covered include using the telephone; figuring the cost of a purchase; following directions; survival vocabulary for public signs; vocabulary for the medicine chest; reading the…

Community-referenced sight words and phrases were taught to six adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation, using three instructional methods in two locations. Results showed rapid acquisition of the sight words in all three training conditions and showed generalization from the flash card and videotape conditions to the community sites.…

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…

The guide describes an approach designed to promote the basic skills of hearing impaired students Basic or survival skills are identified which cover the student's daily functioning at home, school, and in the community. The guide is aimed at the 10-15 year old hearing impaired student, but techniques are expected to be applicable to both…

Information and accompanying exercises in this learning module are provided to reinforce functional reading skills and, at the same time, introduce Columbia College (CA) students to area community services. The module first describes the components of government at the local, state, and federal levels, and provides exercises to help the student…

Information and accompanying exercises are provided in this learning module to reinforce students' basic reading and writing skills and, at the same time, increase their awareness of and motivation toward sound personal health practices. Written at an elementary level, the module considers eleven personal health topics: prevention of illness;…

An illustrated workbook containing exercises in speaking and writing skills designed for a beginning learner of English as a second language is presented. The workbook includes material on greetings, giving personal information, numbers, time, days of the week, holidays, body parts, health information, states of being, food, colors, clothing,…

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…

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…