Are you a life skills teacher who has found yourself teaching ESY over the summer? While other teachers are likely planning their next vacation, you might be stressing out about what to plan for lesson plans the next few weeks! Do not worry - you are at the right place! This blog will offer a FREE 6 WEEK SCOPE AND SEQUENCE GUIDE with lots of functional lesson ideas you can incorporate into your daily classroom routines.
Every school district does ESY differently. Some schools offer full day programs while others only offer half day programs. Some programs only last 1-2 weeks, while others can take place most of the summer. On average, ESY is usually about 6 weeks to provide students with consistent and ongoing instruction so that regression does not occur.
To help support the flexibility of lesson planning for these wide needs, I have created a template that provides life skills ESY teachers the opportunity to pick and choose what makes most sense for them and their students.
One thing you will notice about this lesson planning guide is the use of consistent themes throughout each day. Students will focus on these themes through the use of a variety of activities to make learning engaging and meaningful for them. Some of the core elements I like to focus in for each day include (1) daily work, functional math, functional English, cooking, job skills, IEP work, and leisure activities. All of these themes play a crucial role in the holistic approach to learning for life skills students.
Once you download the six week FREE scope and sequence guide, you will notice CLICKABLE LINKS to suggested activities you can do with your students. Even if you don’t use the activities directly, feel free to use the scope and sequence guide for themes to build your lessons around during ESY. Oftentimes, the hardest part of lesson planning is just coming up with ideas on what to teach. Once you see a framework, it is so much easier to make it your own!
One of my favorite life skills activities that have helped me grow as a special education teacher is the life skills task analysis. Check this FREEBIE version out below:
This NO PREP lesson provides a step by step breakdown on a variety of functional life skills. You will likely have students at ALL different levels in your classroom.This activity helps you pick the most important goals your students should be focusing on during ESY so they can make growth on them.
In the download, you will also notice a FREE data tracker to help you keep all your IEP goal data organized. It is the perfect resource for ESY management.
