Using Social Skills In The Community

My Students

My students struggle with interacting and using appropriate social skills outside of the classroom. They have made significant gains in socializing with each other, but need opportunities to integrate what they have learned at school out in the community.

My classroom is a cluster classroom with 11 students.

My students have a range of disabilities, ranging from Autism to moderate/severe intellectual disabilities. The students are in grades 6th through 8th. A large focus in the classroom is introducing functional, vocational, and independent living skills. The school is a Title I school located on the south side of Chicago. Classroom resources are very limited. Parental involvement is limited so it is very difficult to receive funding for field trip activities.

My Project

During the next few months, the students will be learning about how to interact with others in the community. They will learn to engage in purchasing items at a store, ordering from a menu, interacting with restaurant/store personnel, and using table manners. Near the end of the unit, the students will be going to a restaurant where they can apply what they've learned. Although the students are learning to interact with each other in the classroom, generalizing these skills and applying them in a different setting is crucial. The funding provided will pay for their meals at the restaurant and give them the opportunity to have guidance and support with appropriate role models while out in the community.

My students have very limited opportunities to practice these skills outside of a school setting.

They need opportunities to apply the social, life, and functional skills they learn in the classroom out in the community with role models. By introducing these skills now, I hope to make my students more aware of appropriate behavior and more comfortable with interacting with others in the community. These skills are the basics they need for becoming independent adults after school.