10 Easy Functional Reading Activities · Mrs. P’s Specialties

In order to be able to have lifelong success in reading, special education classrooms need to target functional reading activities. Here are 10 different activities that will help students generalize reading and comprehension skills across functional and life skills-based situations.

This list includes 10 activities where students will need to be able to apply their reading skills at home, school, and in the community.

Emails for reading and writing

Students need to be able to read and respond to emails. Teach students to both read and respond to emails. Begin by sending simple emails back and forth and gradually build up to asking & answering questions, gathering info, etc.

This is also a great time to introduce reading and replying on smartphones and to text messages.

follow written directions

Students need to be able to read and follow written directions. We use visually supported & leveled cards to teach students even at the Pre-A reading level to read and act on written directions.

It’s imperative that students move past simply being able to read a direction. They need to be able to act on the directive to truly be functional outside of school.

functional reading with recipes

Following recipes is a critical reading skill for students to learn. Start with visually supported recipes and gradually fade out the supports so students can read and use recipes from cookbooks, on food packages, on the internet, etc.

Specifically, teach the vocabulary that students will need across many recipes to students in direct instruction to help students gain these skills quicker. For example words such as bake, mix, add, flip, etc. are words that can apply to many recipes. Knowing these words will help students be more successful in these functional reading activities.

use schedules for functional reading activities

Reading a schedule is a critical life skill for students. Be sure to teach students to read a variety of schedule formats to help them generalize this skill and be able to apply it in all settings. Examples of different types of schedules to teach students to read:

• School schedule in daily and weekly formats
• Bus schedules
• Work schedules
• Games or recreational schedules
• TV show schedules
• Appointment schedules

teach students to Read receipts

Students need to be able to read receipts to make sure that they weren’t overcharged and if they need to make a return. Teach students how to find, match and read receipts and tags on items purchased.

Grocery lists during functional reading lesson

There are so many ways to combine the grocery store and functional reading activities. For example:

• Writing and reading a grocery list
• Reading grocery signs to help students find the items on their lists
• Reading the price tags on the shelves
• Reading and matching coupons to the items

There are TONS of functional reading tasks that incorporate the grocery store.

Read & comprehend Community signs

Being able to read and understand community signs is a critical and functional life skill.

Use the community sign bundle to teach students to read and identify different versions of the signs and understand what the sign means.

Use cards & invites in reading activities

Use greeting cards and invitations in your functional reading activities. Students can use them to practice writing and reading the cards. Use invitations to work on WH questions like who, what, when, and where.

Ideas for types of cards to use in your reading lessons:

• Birthday cards
• Holiday cards (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc.)
• Invitations
• Announcements (graduation, the birth of a baby, marriage, etc.)

to-do lists are a functional way to target reading

Most people make and read a to-do list on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a list of activities you need to get done in a subject, a day, etc. Making and reading a list of chores students need to do is a great way to combine reading and life skills instruction.

Students need to be able to read labels

Being able to read and understand a label is a skill students will need across all settings. Here is a list of different labels that students will need to be able to read:

• Nutritional labels on cans and packages
• Medicine bottle labels
• Cleaning product labels
• Store signs
• Directional labels and signs

There are so many ways to target functional reading skills and activities in your special education classroom. Be sure to pin the image below to share with colleagues and refer back to.

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