Functional Reading and Math Instruction and Assessment
Information obtain from Browder Chapters 7-8
Functional academic assessments look at the limitations of students so reading and
math curriculum can be functional. In addition to direct assessment, parent and
student preferences are critical when conducting functional academic assessments
for students with severe disabilities.
The primary goal of teaching functional reading skills to students with moderate to
severe disabilities is to develop sight word vocabulary relevant to daily routines.
How do you assess functional reading?
The best method to use for assessing what functional words should be targeted for
instruction with moderate to severe disabilities is an ecological inventory. An
ecological inventory is used to determine what words are functional given
environments.
Functional literacy and reading does not always involve words. It can be just
recognizing common pictures.
I. Functional Reading
A. What are the five benefits of functional reading?
1. Immediate relevance
2. Improves reading/literacy
3. Alternative way to learn reading skills for daily living when literacy
cannot be achieved
4. May encourage further reading
5. Adds to social competence-be able to use skills on their own,
provides independence
Example: functional reading can make it easier for a student to review food
choices on a menu to order their food or food items in a grocery store.
B. Outcomes of Functional Reading Programs
1. Use printed word to make choices (ex. between foods)
2. Comprehend words to manage activities at home, work and school
(ex. directions on medications, schedules)
3. Make safe decisions when confronted with warning words
(ex. danger)
4. Gain opportunities (ex. participate more in regular ed. science
lesson)
C. How will you assess functional reading?
1. Commercial curriculums-Edmark, Wilson, SRA, etc
2. Ecological inventories
-List student’s current environments and activities that involve
reading. Identify key words from activities to be use for sight word
instruction.
-Steps to Develop Personal Curriculum Goals for Functional Reading

Record review

Person-centered planning with student and family

Assess student preferences

Build Curriculum by going from general to specific
assessment (checklist, ecological inventories,
discrepancy analyses, situational assessment)
3. Both
D. What areas of functional reading will you assess?
1. Sight words for daily living (ex. words for food preparation,
cleaning, home maintenance)
a. product labels
b. read and use lists (ex. to do list)
c. read and classify words by food groups
2. Sight words for community access (ex. grocery sight words, aisle
marker words, signs
3. Sight words for personal safety
-important to survey community and student’s activities to find
specific sign words he/she will encounter (ex. “keep out”,
“employees only”)
4. Sight words for general education access (ex. schedule words, sight
words from specific subjects such as social studies or math)
5. Sight words for choice and self-direction (ex. name, words of
preferred items, self-management-checklist at work)
*Review Functional Reading Inventory p. 189-191 (handout)*
E.
F.
Examples of Preschool Functional Reading

Picture Schedules

PECS books individually created for students- color, size, shapes,
safety signs, preferred item, foods, etc.
Examples of Elementary and Middle School Functional Reading

Daily schedule words

Calendar-month, day, number words

Environmental print

Community words-names of stores, safety signs, restroom signs
and words

Recipe-How to make a PB&J sandwich?

Food menu words, food labels

Medical labels

Symbols/pictures

Object’s identification-What do they want?
II. Functional Math
A. What are the skills included under functional math?
1. Counting
2. Simple computation-addition, subtraction
3. Money use
4. Money management
(ex. preselected money amounts, response classes, next dollar
strategy, using exact change)
5. Time management
(ex. picture and object schedules, clock hand placement for
transitions, calendar to create schedules, telling time)
6. Measurement
B. Functional math assessment is through practical application of math
skills and using an ecological inventory/discrepancy analysis approach.
*Review Ecological Inventory/Discrepancy Analysis p. 236-239
(handout)
* Table 8.5 p. 235 Brigance (handout)
C. Examples of Functional Math Skills Targeted for Functional Math
Instruction
1. Money use-purchasing item
2. Money management-using a checkbook
3. Number concepts-number identification, one to one
correspondence, counting
4. Time-hour, half hour, reading digital and analogue clocks
5. Measurement
6. Temperature-reading thermometers
7. Simple Computations
8. Calendar use-days, months, year
9. Calculator use-simple addition, subtraction