Community Based Instruction is such a valuable learning tool for special education students. The more you are able to get out into the community, the more you can practice hands on life skills! If you’re teaching in an adult transition classroom, you should make it a main priority to go out into the community a minimum of once a week! If you’ve never taken your class off campus or you have students that are new to being in the community, start out with instruction in the classroom and a community walk.
Pre-CBI Prep
Before you head out into the community, something to work on in the classroom includes an overview of the places you plan on visiting, as well as community signs! There are tons of community signs that you can spot just by taking a quick walk in the nearby neighborhood. Pointing these signs out in the community helps bring to life what students have been learning in the classroom. Check out over 40 Community Signs resources here.
A great way to prep for community based instruction is to do virtual field trips! Being in the community can be overwhelming, so help prep students by letting them know what to expect, what etiquette rules to remember and so on. Check out Virtual Field Trip social narratives & comprehension here.
Community Walk
The most basic form of community based instruction is starting out with simply just walking around the surrounding neighborhood near your school. My school is located in a residential neighborhood with a handful of businesses that are about a mile away. For students that are having a hard time going off campus, we mainly practice safety rules near the school in case of emergency and we don’t over stress the student. Some great rules to practice are staying on the side walk, staying with a staff member or the group, stopping at stop signs, looking both ways before crossing the street, keeping a respectfully quiet voice in neighborhoods…etc. Once your students are ready to go a little further, you can take a walk outside of businesses and identify what each store is. If you’re feeling comfortable enough and think your students are ready, the next step is to go inside of businesses!
Community Service
An easy way to ease into the community while volunteering community service is to bring a trash bag and gloves to pick up trash. A great place to do this is at a park or beach. An added benefit is if students find recyclable items to turn in for money.
Grocery Store
One of my favorite and most accessible places to do CBI is the grocery store! There are so many ways to incorporate life skills lessons while also running errands like shopping for your cooking lesson or class party. Read more about doing a scavenger hunt at the grocery store here. Some of my students also make their own lunches daily, so I also have them take a trip to the grocery store and shop for their own supplies each week. Some easy recipes that the students commonly make for themselves are pb & j and grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes, and quesadillas.
Enhance your CBI by having students do activities with grocery store ads, prior to going on your trip! Practice an assortment of skills such as making a shopping list, money math, comparison shopping, food groups/aisles…etc with {Cut & Paste} Activities! Read RECYCLE WEEKLY CIRCULAR ADS WITH CUT & PASTE ACTIVITIES, to see all of the different ways to incorporate Grocery Store Ads!
Even if you go to the store and you don’t buy anything or do any type of activity (sometimes it can get overwhelming if you don’t have very many staff), you can always just walk through a store and practice shopping etiquette. Check out these SHOPPING ETIQUETTE TASK CARDS that help prepare your students for their shopping trips in the community.
Recycle
To add onto the grocery store stop, most grocery stores have a recycle center attached to it. My students will collect bottles and cans at school, and then bring them to the recycle center to get money for the classroom! Often times we use that money right away to buy cooking supplies. My classroom also runs errands for other classrooms that are unable to go off campus, by doing their recycle too. Check out these Recycle Sorting Task Cards, so your students can practice their sorting skills before taking a trip to the recycle center!
Coin Laundry
If you have a coin laundry facility near by, this is a great way to practice laundry skills! Students can practice their money skills, washing and folding clothes. My classroom goes to the laundry mat each week. We usually collect laundry from other classrooms, the nurses office, cleaning towels…etc. Since there is some down time between waiting for a laundry cycle to be finished, students will bring a binder with worksheets or activities to complete.
Restaurant/Fast Food
It might get a bit expensive if you take your whole class to a restaurant. If you’re able to, great! Students can practice table manners, ordering from a menu, and paying for the bill. A cheaper option is to go to fast food restaurants that offer cheaper menus. Students can practice similar skills. If going out to eat is still too expensive for your class, do not worry, you can still practice CBI. Have students pick up a restaurant menu and bring it back to class. Read more about the activities you can do with restaurant menus in the classroom.
Dollar Store
I love dollar stores! (99 Cent Only Store, The Dollar Tree…etc). There are so many classroom supplies that we purchase from dollar stores. It’s an affordable way to practice shopping skills with your classroom on a more consistent basis. My classroom will shop for cooking tools & supplies, reinforcers, secret santa gifts, craft supplies, and more.
Here’s a fun opportunity to go to the dollar store before winter break! Read DOLLAR STORE SECRET SANTA GIFT EXCHANGE to find out the benefits of having an exchange, and grab the FREEBIE form for your visual learners!
Post Office
Set up pen pals with another classroom (either at the same school or another school). Students can practice their writing and social skills and then hand deliver the mail to the post office! Sometimes if I have a personal package that needs to be shipped out (if appropriate), I will have the students help me pack and mail it. Check out the adapted book and task box activity for practicing mailing a letter before you head out into the community!
Department/Hardware/Craft/General Stores
Any store that is nearby is great to visit! You can always find things that you may need for a lesson or craft. The great thing about adult transition classrooms is that literally everything can be a teaching moment. If something breaks in the classroom, we fix it ourselves. If we need supplies for a craft, we shop for the supplies ourselves! Instead of spending my free time after school shopping for things I need for the classroom like storage bins, I will make a list and have my students come with me! Check out the Hardware Store Scavenger Hunt activity to incorporate during your trip!
Vocational Training
Look into seeing if your school can participate in work experience for off campus jobs! There are so many benefits to actual off campus job training. If you are unable to get a program started, you can always take trips to various businesses to have students observe and interview employees about their jobs. Students can make a list of places they’ve seen, tasks for each job, and start a list of places they think they would want to work at in the future.
Check out these vocation forms that include a visual scavenger hunt, job shadow interview and more!
It’s also important to remember that mobility training is extremely important for our students tha plan to work after graduation! Whether they use the public bus, train, or need to navigate the streets by walking or taking a bike.
Mobility Training
If your students are ready to take the next step to become an independent individual, look into your local bus/train stations to have your students practice taking public transportation to places nearby! You can either ride the bus as your CBI, or you can ride the bus to your CBI destination! Students can practice reading travel schedules, paying for their ticket, and travel etiquette. Check out these READING TRAVEL SCHEDULES TASK CARDS to help prep your students for the types of schedule they might come across at the bus or train station!
START AND END YOUR CBI WITH A REFLECTION
Thanks for reading!!
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