Readtopia is designed to focus on academics while also linking academic content to practical application within the context of students’ everyday lives wherever possible.
At ALL unit levels, Readtopia integrates BASIC life skills alongside the academic skills we are teaching. In this way, we guide students in making text-to-self connections and make the teaching of academic content more functional in nature. For example:
At the Middle School/High School level, the Readtopia Functional Life Skills Framework was created to explicitly link Readtopia unit Anchor Lessons with three major life domains:
Each domain has been broken down into Competencies and Sub-competencies based on the Life Centered Education: The Teacher’s Guide, which is a product of the Council for Exceptional Children.
The Framework distinguishes between lessons that explicitly and directly address functional life skills and suggestions for extending Anchor Activities to explicitly address functional life skills.