PrAACtically August – AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words: The Learn-at-Home Edition

July 27, 2020 by - 4 Comments

PrAACtically August
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Well this is certainly shaping up to be a strange summer. Here in Florida, lots of professionals and families are starting to think about heading back to school whether it is virtual learning or going back into the classroom. Teachers, therapists, and aides play a pivotal role in helping AAC learners develop skills with core vocabulary so that they have a body of words that can be used across activities, environments, and communication partners.

There are lots of ‘right’ ways to support these students. Among them is an instructional approach in which a new set of core words is introduced every few weeks in order to build their experiences with AAC. Our Year of Core Words materials has two versions, Set 1 (12 words/month) and Set 2 (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words). If you’ve been following along, or are just getting started, these resources may be of interest.

PrAACtically August: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

Set 1 Words: any, bring, day, fall, give, hot, job, know, other, sick, sorry, together

Set 2 Words: aide, animal, clothes, finger, from, leg, only, must, night, pick, room, stay, still, town, white, woman

  1. Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 wordsSet 2 words
  2. Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1 words
  3. PCS versions: Set 2 words
  4. Lesson Pix: Set 1 words 
  5. Smarty Symbols: Set 1 wordsSet 2 words
  6. Symbol Stix: Set 1 words
  7. CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words
  8. WordPower Set 1 words: Set 1 (Note: This is a large file that contains the resources for several versions of WordPower)
  9. Speak for Yourself: Set 1 and Set 2 Words
  10. Unidad English 84 or 36: Set 1 wordsSet 2 words

Model them in sentences like these:

PrAACtically August: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

Reading is a great way to get in some additional core word modeling and practice. Here are some book suggestions for Set 1 Words:

If you’ve moved on to focusing on Set 2 words, these books may be helpful.

Looking for more ideas? Check out Rachael Langley’s calendar for August Set 1 words here. Note: This is a perpetual calendar designed to be used year after year. Just add the dates for the current year and you are good to go (e.g., in 2020 August 1 is on Saturday).

PrAACtically August: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

Have you moved on to the Set 2 words? If so, you’ll want to look at Rachael’s calendar for those words (download here).

PrAACtically August: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

Much appreciation to Brian Whitmer, Nancy Inman, Lisa Timm, Eric Sailers, Rachael Langley, Kathryn Dorney, Barbara Fernandez, Bill and Lori Binko, Heidi LoStracco, Alison Wade, Russell Cross, Gail Van Tatenhove, and all the others who contributed these resources.

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This post was written by Carole Zangari

4 Comments

  • Charlene says:

    Are Core Words determined by the frequency in English language? Or how is the order to teach Core Words determined?

  • Denysha Taylor says:

    Thank God you’re still posting! I remember using this website during my CFY for my first self-contained room and not knowing where on earth to start; never heard of Core Vocab in grad school. Four years later and half my caseload this year includes two, blended grade-level classrooms for Austism/AAC/Non-verbal kiddoes. No idea why a detailed framework for this approach hasn’t been published through ASHA yet. It’s such a shame because this really works for so many students and parents.

    Thank you SO much for all you do for us newbies and lost souls lol!

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