Transition Planning Resources for Life After High School
Every student is going somewhere after high school. Are your lessons helping them get there?
Whether you teach special education, general education, adult education, or provide support services, one thing is true: students need help figuring out what life looks like after graduation. Transition planning is one of the most impactful parts of secondary education—and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
This page is packed with classroom-ready resources to help students prepare for real life after high school. These tools are flexible enough to use in many settings and structured enough to meet IEP requirements and transition planning best practices.
Why I Built These Resources
Over the years, I’ve taught general education, special education, and adult education. In each of these settings, I’ve needed lessons that weren’t just “busywork” but truly helped students explore their goals and build independence.
Too often, I found materials that were either too young, too generic, or too disconnected from real life. So I started building my own: lessons that are age-appropriate, student-centered, and focused on real-world readiness.
Facing These Common Transition Planning Struggles?
Struggling to meet IEP transition goals without reinventing the wheel?
Need age-appropriate materials for older students?
Want students to take ownership of their IEP or postsecondary plan?
Teaching multiple levels and need flexible resources that adapt?
These tools were built to solve those exact challenges—and make your job easier.
Popular Transition Planning Resources
🧭 How to Adult: 101 Bite-Sized Life Skills
Use these slide-based life skills as bell ringers, warm-ups, or mini-lessons throughout the year. Each slide covers a single skill with a quick explanation, links, and discussion prompts. Perfect for ongoing life skills instruction.
📝 Introduction Letters
Great for back-to-school or student-led IEPs. Students write a letter to their teacher or team, introducing themselves and sharing what supports help them succeed. Helps build self-advocacy while humanizing IEP documents.
🌱 Student Goal Setting Lesson
Help students identify and prioritize their postsecondary goals. This lesson walks them through short- and long-term goal writing, making it ideal for ITP planning or transition units.
🌟 Personal Success Plans
Students design their own “life after high school” roadmap. This project-based activity encourages reflection in areas like education, employment, living situation, finances, and personal values.
Classroom Implementation Ideas
Not sure where to start? Try these:
Back-to-School: Use the Introduction Letter or Goal Setting Lesson during the first week of school.
IEP Prep: Let students use the Goal Setting or Personal Success Plan activity to prepare for their transition meeting.
Weekly Routine: Assign a slide from How to Adult as a weekly bell ringer or Friday wrap-up.
Project-Based Learning: Use the Personal Success Plan as a capstone project before graduation or in a life skills class.
Will This Work for My Students?
My students need extra support—will this still work?
These resources were designed with flexibility in mind. They work well for neurotypical students, students with mild to moderate disabilities, and intermediate or advanced English learners—especially those working toward independence after high school.
What if I don’t have time to prep something new?
You're not alone—time is always tight. These resources are designed to be as low-prep as possible. Most are print-and-go or assignable in Google, with built-in structure and clear directions. While they’re not fully editable, they are easy to customize on the fly: skip a page, choose a version, or add your own discussion prompts. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make them work for your class.
I’m not a special education teacher—can I still use this?
Absolutely. These resources were created with transition planning in mind, but they’re helpful for any student getting ready for life after high school. Whether you teach general ed, adult ed, or support students as a counselor or case manager, you’ll find tools here to build real-world skills, spark important conversations, and get students thinking about their next steps!
Want More Support?
If you’re new here—welcome! I’m so glad you found your way to Life Beyond High School.
I’ve created dozens of lessons, activities, and games to make life skills instruction easier and more engaging—especially for transition-age students. My mission is to save teachers time while helping students build the confidence and independence they need to thrive.
Let’s make transition planning something you actually look forward to. 🎉
👇 Ready to Dive In?
Check Out the Transition Planning Bundle (Coming Soon!)