Ideas and concepts for ESL curriculum on life skills for learning disabled students:

Rationale: Students in high school are close to being out on their own. They are very used to having everything done for them. They are not aware of the chores involved in running a household. They are also not aware of how much is involved in adult living. They don't understand about working, how much money they can earn and how much things cost. In order for them to better plan a future, they need to have information about themselves and their environment.
The following questions are an outline for a curriculum. We are using workbooks at many levels of reading and writing abilities. We will also be using "real" materials such as phone books: white and yellow pages, newspaper ads: classified for real estate, want ads for jobs, supermarket circulars for comparison shopping, etc.
A government and business initiative to prepare students for the world of work.

What is life?
How is my life different and unique from other people's?
What skills do I have that make me different from other people?
What do I do well?
What do I enjoy doing?

How do we know if we have a good life?
How can we make our lives better?
How can we make the lives of the people around us better? (our families, friends, neighbors)
What do we need to live well?
money; job; apartment; food; clothes; safety; friends; fun; education
How do we get these parts of our lives to be the best possible?

money

How much money do you need to live on?
How do you determine this?
How much money do you want to live on?
How do you determine this?
What in life costs money?
apartment;
food: eating at home and outside;
medical expenses;
transportation;
clothing: shoe repair; laundry/dry cleaning;
entertainment;
pets;
video games;
utilities: gas, electric, phone, cable;
cleaning products;
health and beauty aids;
emergencies;
newspapers and magazines;
music and videos;
pay phones/beepers/ cell phones;
baby/child: food, clothes, medical, toys

How will I budget my money? (Decide what is important and how much to spend on each part of my life.)
How will I keep track of or manage my money?
bank: checking account, savings account insurance: life, medical future check cash pay bills with money order or cash

job

What kind of work do you see yourself doing after high school?
The government listings of jobs -- requirements -- skills and education.
Listings of job information and links to other job related sites.
This on line book gives tips for job searching.
Why will you have this kind of job?
What skills do you need in order to do that kind of job?
Which of those skills do you already have?
Career planning as a process is discussed in depth in this site.
How can you get those skills?
What kind of education might you need in order to get those skills?

book learning; hands-on practical learning; training program
Where would/could you get this education?
Would it be free or cost money?
How much does this job pay: hour, week, year?

What kind of work do you see yourself doing in the next five years? [same questions]

What kind of work do you see yourself doing in the next ten years? [same questions]

What kind of work do you see yourself doing for the rest of your life? [same questions]

Need help with resume writing?

How much space do you need?
How much does it cost?
How much space do you want?
How much does it cost?
What kind of neighborhood do you want to live in?
What is more important: neighborhood or amount of space?
Would you live in an elevator building or a walk-up?
What furniture do you need?
What is the most important; what should you get first?
Where would you buy it?
How much does it cost?

food
What do you eat every day? breakfast; lunch; dinner
How much does each meal cost?
How do you figure out how much to spend on food?
How do you know you getting balanced nutrition to stay healthy?
What is needed for a weeks' meals? nutrition protein; starch; fruits and vegetables; money shopping time supermarket; small grocery store; big shopping in advance; shop daily eating at home or in a restaurant (includes take-out)
Who does the cooking?

clothes

What clothes do you have now?
What clothes would you need for work?
Would you have a uniform or have to wear "dress" (business) clothes?
How much money would you spend on clothes a week, a month?
Is it more important that the clothes look good (the right brand name) or last a long time?
Why?
How would you clean your clothes: laundry or dry cleaning?

How much time does it take to do the laundry?
When would you find time to do the laundry?

safety
Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?
How important is that for you?

If you have a family, how important would the safety become?
If you live in your own apartment, how important would neighborhood safety be to you?

How important are your friends to you?
Do you do what your friends want even if they have ideas that are different from what you think is right?
How do you deal with this difference in opinion?
How much time do you spend with your friends?
Does spending time with them take time away from what you need to do?
Do your friends help you with your life or hurt you?
What can you do about it?

fun
How much time do you spend having fun?
What do you do for fun?
How much does it cost you every week?
How much does it cost you every month?
How can you do things for fun that are less expensive?
Is going to have fun taking time out of school or work?
What is more important to you: going out or taking care of responsibilities?
How can you make sure you have time for both?

education

How much education do you have now?
What are you trained to do that you did not learn in high school?
How can that knowledge help you get a job?
What are you going to do after high school?
Do you think about going to college?
Do you think about going to other schools that are out there?
What kind of education do you need for your dream job?