Functional Life Skills Reading + Math Curriculum for Teens/Adults

After high school, our students are going to read a menu, a grocery ad, an electric bill, a bus schedule, a medicine label, and a lease, usually with nobody standing next to them. This bundle teaches each of those real-life documents, one at a time, with the reading and the math together.

I've spent 20+ years in education, and the most common thing I hear from families of graduates is some version of "they can read, but they can't read a bill." Functional reading is its own skill. It has to be taught on documents that look like the real thing.

The same routine in every set

Every set uses the same layout, so students learn the routine once and then focus on the content:

• 10 words to know, with pictures

• Real-looking practice documents from made-up businesses

• 12 Level A questions with pictures and three answer choices

• The same 12 questions at Level B with open answers, for students ready for more

• A real-life task that takes the skill out of the worksheet

• An answer key that shows where on the document to find each answer

Because Level A and Level B use the same questions, you can teach the whole class together and still meet students where they are. That's real differentiation without making two lessons.

The 13 sets

• Reading a Restaurant Menu: prices, sections, and adding up an order

• Grocery Ads, Coupons + Shopping Lists: comparing prices and planning a trip

• Reading Utility Bills: electric, water, and phone bills, due dates and amounts

• Reading Bus + Train Schedules: timetables, routes, and fares

• Reading Medicine Labels: over-the-counter drug facts, doses, and warnings

• Tipping + Splitting the Bill: receipts, percent, and money math

• Visual Recipes: measuring cups, fractions, and following steps

• Laundry Care Labels + Washer Settings: symbols and choosing settings

• Phone Skills for Everyday Calls: appointments, voicemail, and phone menus

• Monthly Budget Worksheets: a pay stub, a budget, and a spending log

• Bank Basics: deposit slips, a bank app, and checking statements

• Reading a Simple Lease: rent, deposits, and move-in costs

• Address Practice: envelopes, mailboxes, and address forms

How teachers and families use it

• A full semester functional reading and money math course: one set every week or so, 13 weeks

• Community-based instruction prep: teach the menu set before the restaurant trip and the bus set before the ride

• IEP goals: the Level A and B questions give you clean accuracy data for functional reading and math goals

• Homeschool: a ready-made life skills course for a teen who needs direct practice before living more independently

What a week can look like

Day one, go over the 10 words with pictures and look at the practice document together. Ask what students notice before you ask any questions. Day two, work through the Level A or Level B questions, with the answer key showing students exactly where to look on the document. Day three, do the real-life task: order from the menu with a set budget, plan a grocery trip, figure out which bus gets you to work on time. If you have time, bring in a real document from your town and see if students can use the same skills on it. That last step is where the learning sticks.

Built to be read

Short sentences, pictures for key words, and documents that print clearly in black and white. The answer key shows where each answer lives on the page, so a para or parent can check work and point a student back to the right spot without giving the answer away.

Who it's for

High school special education and life skills teachers, 18-21 transition program staff, resource teachers looking for real-world reading practice, and homeschool families of teens with disabilities.

Everything is printable and low-prep. All businesses, prices, and people in the documents are made up. The medicine label set is reading practice only, not medical advice.

Contents

Reading a Restaurant Menu; Grocery Ads, Coupons + Shopping Lists; Reading Utility Bills; Reading Bus + Train Schedules; Reading Medicine Labels; Tipping + Splitting the Bill; Visual Recipes; Laundry Care Labels + Washer Settings; Phone Skills for Everyday Calls; Monthly Budget Worksheets; Bank Basics; Reading a Simple Lease; Address Practice.