Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs [Paperback]

Darlene Mannix (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787966207 | ISBN-13: 978-0787966201 | Publication Date: July 19, 1995 | Edition: 2nd

For educators, parents, and others involved in teaching adolescents with special needs, here is a unique collection of 190 illustrated activity sheets with related exercises, discussion questions, and evaluation suggestions to help students acquire the basic skills necessary to achieve independence and success in everyday living.

Each activity sheet focuses on a specific skill within the context of real-life situations and includes complete teacher directions for its effective use, from objective and introduction through optional extension activities and ways to assess students’ learning.

For quick access, all of these ready-to-use materials are printed in a big spiral-bound format for easy photocopying and organized into seven sections. Here’s an overview of the major topics (and sample activity titles) covered in each section:

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS—30 activities focusing on Uniqueness of Myself and Others (Spotlight on Me)…Friendship Skills (qualities of a Good Friend)…Being Part of a Family (Members of a Family)

COMMUNICATION SKILLS—15 lessons that teach Understanding Others (Being a Careful Listener)…Expressing Yourself (Be Convincing)…Conflict Resolution (Compromising)

ACADEMIC & SCHOOL SKILLS—32 activities related to Reading (Reading on the Job)…Writing (Proofreading)…math (Improving Math Skills)…Study Skills (Taking Notes)

PRACTICAL LIVING SKILLS—39 activities focusing of Getting Information (What Do You Need to Know?)…Money Management (Making a Budget)…Travel (Using a Timetable)…Driving (Car Insurance)…Home Management (Home Repairs, Preparing a Meal)

VOCATIONAL SKILLS—22 lessons featuring Present Skills and Interests (What Are You Good At?)…School Record and Planning (Finishing High School)…Working (Interviewing)

LIFESTYLE CHOICES—27 activities covering Values (What Are Values?)…Personal Habits and Choices (Teens and Drinking)…Sexual Issues (Teenage Pregnancy, HIV and AIDS)…Reputation (How You Appear to Others)…Stress (Stressful Events and Situations)

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS—25 lessons on Handling Problem Situations (Adjusting to Change)…Making Decisions (Needs vs. Wants)…Resource Management (Staying on Task)…Goal-Setting (Realistic Goals)…Risk-Taking (Learning from Mistakes)

Also included is a list of parent activities which can be reproduced and given to parents to use in conjunction with the activities being worked on in class. You may supplement thus list with your own activities and/or worksheets to provide extra reinforcement of new skills.

You’ll find these activities are completely flexible. You can use them in any order for a variety of purposes—to introduced, teach and/or reinforce specific life skills. Moreover, the activities can easily be modified to meet individual or group needs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs

Second Edition

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition, special educator and best-selling author Darlene Mannix offers teachers and parents a unique collection of illustrated activities complete with student worksheets, discussion questions, and evaluation suggestions to help adolescents with special needs acquire the basic skills they need to achieve independence and success in everyday life. Each activity focuses on a specific skill within the context of real-life situations and includes complete teacher instructions for its effective use, from objective and introduction through optional extension activities and guidelines for student assessment.

Designed for quick and easy use, all of these ready-to-use materials are presented in an 8?" x 11" lay-flat format for easy photocopying and organized into six sections: Self-Awareness (knowing oneself, personal life choices), People Skills (relating to others, making friends), Academic and School Skills (reading, writing, math, study skills), Practical Living Skills (money, travel, living arrangements, shopping, eating, nutrition, exercise), Vocational Skills (finding a vocation, getting and keeping a job), and Problem-Solving Skills (making good decisions, using resources, setting goals, understanding risks). This new edition includes more than 50 all-new exercises covering everything from being flexible and understanding your disability to using cell phones, e-mail, the Internet, and debit/credit cards.

This book can be used equally well as an ongoing curriculum for daily life skills training in the classroom or as a go-to reference for teachers, homeschoolers, and therapists seeking help to address specific skill deficits. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Darlene Mannix has been both a special and regular education teacher for the past 15 years. Her teaching assignments have included multicategorical resource rooms, a pilot program for language disordered children, emotionally handicapped classes for elementary and secondary students, and inclusion teacher for middle school learning disabled students.
Ms. Mannix earned her B.S. in Secondary Education at Taylor University and her M.S. in Learning Disabilities at Indiana University. She has written many practical resources for teachers, including Social Skills Activities for Special Children (C.A.R.E., 1993).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 2nd edition (July 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787966207
• ISBN-13: 978-0787966201
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Darlene Mannix, M.A., has 26 years of experience as a classroom teacher and has taught both general education and special education. She is the best-selling author of numerous books for special educators including Social Skills Activities for Special Children, Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs, and Writing Skills Activities for Special Children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas!, August 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs (Spiral-bound)

I have used this book to plan lessons for my secondary students who have severe cognitive disabilities. My main problem with the book is that it relies heavily on worksheets and activities that require the student to be able to read. Since my students do not read, these worksheets were not appropriate for me. I was able, however, to adapt and modify the ideas to meet my needs. As a reference tool for ideas, it is a great book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource!, January 31, 2005

By 

Natalie Faiman "Speech Teacher" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs (Spiral-bound)

I am a speech therapist working with special needs kids in high school and junior high. This is a wonderful resource full of information I can use with all my kids. The book is clearly sectioned into activities and concepts which can go beyond classroom objectives and into real life situations. I really enjoyed activities geared towards the older population covering more sensitive subjects such as alcohol, suicide and sex. The special needs population needs more hands on information covering these topics and this book presented the material in a easy to understand and practical manner. I was also really impressed with the extension activities provided and short exercises given with every subject. What a timesaver!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs, March 3, 2006

By 

Lindley Morrison - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs (Paperback)

I just started using this book 1 month ago with a developmentally handicapped class in our secondary school. I have been looking for months for suitable resources. I really recommend this book. The students are enjoying the discussions and completing the activities.