August/ September
The unit stories help young adults learn the importance of thinking before making a decision. In the first story, Zach goes to the amusement park and is able to choose the activities he wants to try. The story covers the thought-process that Zach uses to make decisions that are right for him. In the second story, Aaron and Adele are faced with many opportunities to make decisions at amusement park concession stands. After choosing to eat too much junk food, Adele gets sick and misses out on the fun. Three articles offer more information and activities that give our young adults the opportunity to learn about making choices for themselves by exploring healthy food options and thinking about their likes and dislikes.  Regular monthly lessons are provided which offer the opportunity to practice making choices about nutrition and recreation-leisure activities in various daily life situations. Making good financial decisions is explored as team members pay bills and budget to go on a trip. Five recipes are offered to allow our young adults to express their likes and dislikes and get hands-on with nutrition skills. Social and communication skills are the focus of lessons presenting daily social trivia scenarios that offer more opportunity for our young adults to think about their choices before making a decision.  Employment continues to be a regular focus for several lessons each month. Lessons include exploring different jobs, reading job ads, completing job applications and practicing interview skills. Simple, realistic scenarios address job skills and interactions at work. The final lesson highlights volunteering as a way to practice job skills and gain practical work experience. This month's volunteer activity is helping with the school’s Midway Field Day event. The activity can be role played if it is not practical to participate in a real life situation. Job skills are emphasized as team members take on various tasks.  Related topics can be researched using the internet or interviewing others about the topic. The News-2-You weekly newspaper provides a variety of relevant current event topics in several simple reading formats. Supporting activities such as jokes, recipes and games are included as well. The newspaper features a new current event topic each week.