There’s a special kind of energy that comes with a new adult education term. New faces walk through the door — some anxious, some hopeful, all of them ready to prove something to themselves. As instructors, our job is to meet that energy with materials that actually work. You need resources that meet learners where they are. They should build real skills and not waste a single minute of precious classroom time.

This back-to-school season, I want to walk you through some of the resources in my store, Wild and Wacky Worksheets. These products were built specifically for the realities of adult education, ABE, and corrections classrooms.

Start With Data: Essential TABE 13/14 Resources for Every Level

Before you can teach a student, you need to know where they actually are. That’s where the TABE comes in, and it’s also where a lot of instructors get stuck. Once you know a student is reading or computing at a certain level, you need materials pitched exactly there, not “close enough.”

My TABE 13/14 Language, Math, and Reading series is built level by level — E, M, D, and A — no guesswork required. These resources address your classroom needs:

• A clear lesson for substandards (explanation, worked examples, and a common-mistakes call out so students can see exactly where things go wrong)
• A worksheet for every substandard, with multiple-choice answers evenly balanced across A, B, C, and D so students can’t game the pattern
• A mixed review after standards to check retention before moving on
• Full-length comprehensive practice tests
• Complete answer keys with explanations

Many of these workbooks now has a companion PowerPoint built directly from the workbook’s own content. PowerPoints include every lesson, every worksheet question, every mixed review, and the full answer key. That means you can teach straight from the packet or straight from the screen. Your students see identical material either way.

Note: I add new TABE materials regularly, so if you don’t see something for your classroom today, check back.

Also remember that I take requests. Email me at [email protected] if there is a material you would like for me to make.

You can go straight to the TABE resources in my store by clicking the following link: Wild and Wacky Worksheets: TABE resources.

Here are a few of the resources you will find there:

Build GED Content Knowledge With the Boot Camp Series.

Once students are placed and ready to move toward the GED®, they need dense, structured content review. That’s the whole idea behind my GED Boot Camp packets. Packets are available for RLA, Mathematical Reasoning, Social Studies, and Science. Each Boot Camp is designed to compress a full content review into a focused, classroom-ready format. All four boot camps come complete with quizzes, and answer keys.

If you’re teaching all four GED® subjects, the 4-Subject GED Mega Bundle pulls all four Boot Camps into one resource. The best part? Bundles save you money!

Give Students Realistic Practice

Nothing tells you if students are ready for the real test like full-length practice tests. My Wild and Wacky Worksheet store has practice tests for every GED subject. As always, remember that bundling saves!

A Simple Way to Plan Your Semester

If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a straightforward way to think about the first few weeks back:

1. Week 1 – Diagnose. Use TABE-level materials matched to your incoming students’ actual placement scores, not last year’s assumptions.
2. Weeks 2–4 – Build the foundation. Work through the Language workbooks (Vocabulary, Grammar/Mechanics, Writing) at the appropriate level, using the companion PowerPoints for whole-group instruction and the printable worksheets for independent or small-group practice.
3. Weeks 5+ – Shift toward GED® content. Bring in the Boot Camp packets subject by subject, using the mixed reviews and full-length practice tests as checkpoints along the way.
4. Before testing – Simulate. Full-length practice tests, complete with scoring guides, let students experience real test conditions before the real thing.

A Note on These Resources

All of these materials are designed with adult learners in mind — real-world topics, respectful tone, and no juvenile clip art in sight. Every packet in the TABE® series carries the appropriate TABE® trademark disclaimer, and GED® materials carry the GED® trademark disclaimer, since neither brand endorses or is affiliated with these resources; they’re simply built to align with their published blueprints and content standards.

Whether you’re outfitting a single GED® classroom or a full multi-level adult education program, I hope this gives you a running start on the semester. You can find all of these resources — along with the full catalog of GED and TABE prep materials — over at Wild and Wacky Worksheets on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Here’s to a strong start to the school year — for you and for every student walking back through your door.

Bonus Tip: Want to have a little fun in the classroom while staying on track with your goals? Try my True Crime Series to eliminate monotony and improve retention.