Best Life Skills Options for Inclusive Classrooms
Compare the best Life Skills options for Inclusive Classrooms. Side-by-side features, ratings, and verdict.
Choosing the best life skills options for inclusive classrooms means balancing accessibility, age-respectful materials, IEP alignment, and the realities of teaching diverse learners in one room. The strongest tools help general education teachers, co-teachers, and inclusion specialists embed functional skills like money management, self-advocacy, and daily living into standards-based instruction without creating an entirely separate curriculum.
| Feature | Attainment Company | Unique Learning System | Boardmaker | Everyday Speech | News-2-You | Teachers Pay Teachers Life Skills Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IEP/Accommodation Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies by resource |
| Inclusive Classroom Use | With teacher adaptation | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Life Skills Scope | Yes | Yes | Support tool rather than full curriculum | Social-emotional focus | Functional literacy emphasis | Yes |
| Progress Monitoring | Limited | Yes | No | Limited | Limited | No |
| Cost Accessibility | Moderate | Premium | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Yes |
Attainment Company
Top PickAttainment Company offers a wide range of research-informed special education and transition materials focused on functional academics, daily living, social skills, and vocational readiness. Its resources are especially useful for teachers who need adapted, age-respectful life skills materials that can be used in inclusive settings with appropriate supports.
Pros
- +Strong catalog of functional life skills and transition resources
- +Many materials are designed for students with moderate to significant support needs
- +Useful for teaching money, community safety, communication, and daily routines
Cons
- -Can become expensive when purchasing multiple print and kit-based resources
- -Some materials require teacher adaptation to fit grade-level general education lessons
Unique Learning System
Unique Learning System is a well-known special education curriculum platform that includes life skills, transition, communication, and adapted academic content. It is widely used for students with extensive support needs and can support inclusive planning when teachers need standards-linked yet functional instruction.
Pros
- +Includes differentiated lesson materials connected to academic and functional goals
- +Provides built-in data collection and instructional planning tools
- +Useful for aligning classroom instruction with IEP goals and alternate curriculum needs
Cons
- -Best fit is often self-contained or pull-out settings rather than fully embedded general education instruction
- -Subscription cost may be a barrier for smaller schools or individual teachers
Boardmaker
Boardmaker is a widely used symbol-based platform for creating visual schedules, task analyses, communication supports, and adapted life skills materials. It is highly effective for inclusion settings where students need visual scaffolds to access routines, self-care tasks, and classroom participation.
Pros
- +Excellent for creating visual supports tied to daily living and independence
- +Helps teachers individualize accommodations without rewriting the full lesson
- +Works well for task analysis, routines, and communication-based life skills instruction
Cons
- -Requires teacher time to design or customize materials
- -Not a complete instructional curriculum on its own
Everyday Speech
Everyday Speech provides video modeling, social communication lessons, and interactive activities that support self-advocacy, conversation, emotional regulation, and community-ready social behavior. These skills are highly relevant to inclusive classrooms where life skills instruction often overlaps with social participation and independence.
Pros
- +Strong video modeling for social and pragmatic life skills
- +Easy for general education teachers and related service staff to use across settings
- +Supports explicit instruction in self-regulation and peer interaction
Cons
- -Less robust for daily living topics like cooking, hygiene, or budgeting
- -Some students need additional hands-on practice beyond screen-based lessons
News-2-You
News-2-You delivers adapted current events and functional literacy materials that can support life skills instruction in communication, community awareness, safety, and real-world comprehension. It is especially useful for making inclusive class discussions more accessible while reinforcing practical daily living concepts.
Pros
- +Connects life skills instruction to real-world current events and functional literacy
- +Offers multiple access points for learners with different reading levels
- +Useful for inclusive discussions, communication goals, and community-based themes
Cons
- -Not a complete life skills curriculum
- -Teachers may need to pair it with hands-on activities for direct daily living practice
Teachers Pay Teachers Life Skills Resources
Teachers Pay Teachers offers a large marketplace of life skills activities, visual supports, budgeting lessons, vocational tasks, and daily living practice materials created by classroom teachers and specialists. Quality varies, but it can be a practical source for quick, customizable supports when planning time is limited.
Pros
- +Wide range of affordable life skills printables and task-based activities
- +Easy to find materials for money skills, hygiene, cooking, and community safety
- +Helpful for creating differentiated small-group and center-based activities
Cons
- -Quality and evidence base are inconsistent across sellers
- -Teachers must vet materials carefully for accessibility, age appropriateness, and IEP fit
The Verdict
For teams needing a comprehensive functional curriculum, Attainment Company and Unique Learning System are the strongest options, especially when life skills instruction must align closely with individualized goals. For inclusive general education settings, Boardmaker and Everyday Speech are often the most flexible because they help teachers embed supports into shared routines, social participation, and classroom tasks. If budget is the main concern, Teachers Pay Teachers can be a practical supplement, but materials should be reviewed carefully for quality, accessibility, and legal alignment with student accommodations and modifications.
Pro Tips
- *Choose tools that let you connect life skills instruction to existing IEP goals, accommodations, and related services rather than creating a separate planning system.
- *Prioritize resources that work in whole-group, small-group, and station formats so students can participate in inclusive classroom routines with flexible supports.
- *Look for age-respectful materials that can be differentiated across reading levels and communication needs, especially for upper elementary, middle, and high school students.
- *If a tool lacks built-in progress monitoring, plan how you will document data on functional performance, independence, and accommodation use for compliance purposes.
- *Use a combination approach when needed, such as one core curriculum resource plus visual supports, video modeling, and low-cost supplemental activities for practice.