A study investigated whether 18 teachers of students with visual impairments were incorporating the expanded core curriculum into the direct services provided to students. Teachers spent the majority of their instructional time on academics, teaching communication skills, and tutoring, with the bulk of instructional time dedicated to academic…

Over the years, family and consumer sciences (FCS) classrooms have provided education for all students--from the gifted and talented to the mentally challenged. The typical classroom environment is warm, inviting, and realistic. Students work together to apply knowledge to real life experiences. The importance of reading, writing, math, and…

The most effective alternative to punishment for violent or disruptive student behavior is to provide children with tools they will need for living peacefully with one another. This guide for elementary school classes examines ways in which a peaceful environment can be achieved and maintained in the classroom. Divided into six units which are…

The article describes a one-semester course divided into five major areas: communications, decision making, relationships, drug abuse, and sex education and human sexuality. Eighth grade is a crucial year in terms of students' physical and emotional growth; Life Education specifically deals with these changes, helping students cope with them.…

A resource room program was proposed for integrating career education with academic instruction at the elementary level. The curriculum incorporated the following skill areas: survival skills (responsibility, independence, and appropriate behavior); social skills (socially acceptable behavior and interpersonal skills); communication skills…

Designed for students who have experienced difficulty in learning, this combined curriculum guide and program of studies describes the Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) which is designed to develop the skills necessary for everyday living at home, at school, in the workplace, and in the community. The IOP Language Arts Grades 8 and 9 program…

The manual is intended to help Maryland special education administrators and teachers plan and develop programs for students who will pursue a course of study leading to a high school certificate in Maryland. A life skills approach called the "Maryland Life Skills Curricular Framework" is designed to help students adapt to their…

The guide offers a means for evaluating specific learning characteristics of visually impaired children at three levels: prereadiness (prekindergarten), readiness (kindergarten), and academic (primary grades). Items are designed to be administered by informal observation and structured testing. Score sheets contain space for reporting two testing…

The document contains work sheets and score sheets for a curriculum designed for visually impaired students at the prereadiness (prekindergarten), readiness (kindergarten), and academic (primary grades) levels. Work sheets include pictures, word lists, sentence exercises, mathematics problems, and diagrams. Score sheets, which correspond to the…

The Communication Experience Approach (CEA), a modification of the Language Experience Approach to teaching reading, involves the use of group activities designed to help functionally illiterate persons learn basic communication skills. This paper first discusses six distinct processes in the CEA: setting a specific purpose for communicating,…

The curriculum guide presents a developmental sequence of learning activities to achieve specific goals for primary, intermediate, and secondary age level trainable mentally retarded students. Six major areas of learning are covered: self care (bathroom, grooming, food, clothing, safety), body usage (gross motor, health, fitness, eye-hand…

Describes a board game called Running Errands which is designed to (1) develop language and communication strategies in simulated situations and (2) develop social skills and provide cultural background knowledge. Its use with second language learners of any age and with young children in their own language is discussed. (Author/LRW)

The study evaluated the community social integration of six moderately retarded men residing in a group home. Results of intensive observation indicated that the men's interpersonal and social development skills were very limited and that they had very poor communication skills and limited interactions in the community. (Author/DB)

A 12-month project for 27 institutionalized, severely retarded children who functioned at the early childhood level involved training teachers in behavior modification methods and employing a skill center curriculum encompassing motor skills, vocabulary, communication and social behavior. (Author/MC)

This study assessed the behavior of 41 4-through 8-year-olds with Williams syndrome. As expected, socialization and communication were relative strengths, whereas daily living skills and motor skills were relative weaknesses. Within socialization, interpersonal skills were stronger than play/leisure or coping skills. Adaptive behavior was not…