Tag Archive: reading

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #6: February 2019

February 10, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #6: February 2019

Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday –  Fun Finds at ATIA 2019 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader Thursday – PrAACtically Valentine’s Day: Resources for AAC Learners Have a few more minutes for AAC browsing? Check out these posts from our AAC archives. 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Alphabet Books and AAC Implementation Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask (Click here or on the image for a printable copy.)

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Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader

February 6, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader

We’ve mentioned Tar Heel Reader many times here at PrAACtical AAC, but are still encountering people who don’t yet utilize this game-changing resource and those who aren’t aware of some of its most powerful features. In today’s post, we highlight some videos that will help you get started reading (and writing) with one of the world’s most important literacy tools for individuals with significant disabilities. Overview Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSmP4qwQNkU&index=7&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt Tutorial by the Pacer Center Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3yGOW3KQs&index=1&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt Write and Publish a Book in Tar Heel Reader (Gary Bishop) Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91b4UQwgaNc&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt&index=3 Are you using Tar Heel Reader in your work with AAC learners? We’d love to hear about it. —

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Let’s Read! Online Books for the Holiday Season

December 6, 2018 by - 1 Comment

Let’s Read! Online Books for the Holiday Season

Want to give a long-lasting gift to the colleagues and families with whom you work? Here’s one prAACtical idea: Connect them with free resources that they can easily access and use. Our top pick for the holiday season is Tar Heel Reader. Here are some books that you can use in your AAC instruction then share with families so that they can enjoy them at home. The Snowman Cookie How to Make Potato Latkes How to Catch a Polar Bear (Fun but not suitable for all readers) I Love Christmas Holidays Throughout the Year The Gift of the Magi

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 37: September 2018

September 9, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 37: September 2018

Well, hello, AAC friends! Thanks for checking in with us during your busy week. Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – On Labor Day Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Strategies for Helping Early AAC Users Engage and Interact Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 3 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have time for a bit more? Here’s a sampling of past posts for you to browse. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Apples AAC Partner Training Strategies AACtual Therapy: From PECS to iPad with Jason Butcher 5 Things We’ve Learned from Our AAC Families Understanding and Supporting Families of AAC Learners

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5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners

June 18, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners

Looking for more ways to build AAC skills? Book reading can be incorporated into therapy sessions and instructional lessons, as well as part of the daily routine at home. Here are some ideas for using books to support AAC and language learning. Choosing a book: In most cases, we want the AAC learner to have the autonomy to choose a book. However, we can make this part of the AAC learning process by teaching the skill of choosing something to read and talking about it before the learner makes his/her choice. Goal Areas: We can use this time to build basic turn-taking skills, requesting, sentence-building, and new vocabulary, among other things. It’s also a great opportunity to develop more advanced syntax using words like ‘since’ and ‘because’ (e.g., “I want to read about sport because it is World Cup time.”) and various sentence structures (e.g., “First, let’s read a sports... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

June 17, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’re celebrating Father’s Day here in the US but if you have time to catch up on a little AAC, you might be interested in a few of our posts from last week. Monday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Evaluating Skills For Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems, Part 2: Language Representation Elements – Noun Symbol Use for Functional Communication Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in Emergency Situations – Tales from the Trenches Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Core Vocabulary Flipbook for June Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We spent part of the week with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite who shared some wonderful ideas for teaching emergent to early conventional literacy skills. Her terrific workshop got us in the mood for a little more on AAC, reading, and writing. Using an Alphabet Flipbook for Writing Writing Instruction for Students with Angelman Syndrome Robust Literacy Instruction for... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: How Do You Know It’s Summer? 

June 4, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: How Do You Know It’s Summer? 

Karen Natoci is back just in time for the end of school and the start of summer break. Karen is an AAC Supervisor with The Speech Pathology Group in Walnut Creek, California. In this post, she gets us thinking about summer and shares suggested extension activities for home and a lesson plan for how to implement these materials at the return of school after summer break. Be sure to download the packet of materials using the link at the bottom of this page. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Book:    How Do You Know It’s Summer?  (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington It’s time to wrap up the school year! In the northern hemisphere, we are looking forward to summer break or a more relaxed school schedule. This is a great book to kick off the final week of school and to send along summer homework in preparation for the first week of school.  The... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Yo! Yes?

February 12, 2018 by - 1 Comment

PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Yo! Yes?

Karen Natoci’s first book of the year is packed with fun and AAC potential. Karen is currently an AAC Supervisor with The Speech Pathology Group in Walnut Creek, California. Over the years, Karen has supported AAC learners in several capacities. You can see previous posts that Karen contributed here. Today, she talks about ways to build language and communication in this flexible book. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Book:    Yo! Yes?  By Chris Raschka (Orchard Books, Scholastic, Inc. New York) It’s February, the beginning of the second half of the school year. Let’s make a new friend! This beautiful book was first shared during the Literacy Intensive Course with coached by the wonderful Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver in Michigan.  It is a book with few words but with much emotion. Here are some ways to use this book in your classroom. You can read this as is by using core words exclusively It offers... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello, Holidays!

November 30, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello, Holidays!

Getting ready for the holidays? Karen Natoci has some ideas and downloadable materials to help you plan your therapy and instruction. In today’s post, she shares some PowerPoint books (with audio) that you can download and use, as well as activity suggestions. Karen has supported AAC learners in different capacities throughout her career and is currently an AAC Supervisor with The Speech Pathology Group in Walnut Creek, California. Enjoy! PrAACtically Reading: Hello, Holidays! Books:  Holiday Themed Powerpoint stories (downloadable) This month I want to share a wonderful way to integrate reading through the use of seasonal materials that are meaningful and emotional. This activity works well in preschool and elementary classrooms through the continued sharing of life from home to school.  What could be more fun than sharing holiday traditions through the creation of a power point book! Please download and use the power point stories. Include family input so that you... [Read More...]

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Video of the Week: Supporting AAC Learners in Working with Words

June 28, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

What do students with cognitive impairments who use AAC need in order to learn to read and write? Comprehensive literacy instruction, for one thing. In today’s featured videos, we travel to Iowa to peek into some classroom activities where students with cognitive disabilities who use AAC are working on their spelling and decoding skills. Direct Links to Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8IOEICJQc&list=PLocplddh5SSRBGRsR0tOFXIJd5wh6i89k  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BUXpKlLISs&list=PLocplddh5SSRBGRsR0tOFXIJd5wh6i89k&index=7 Many thanks to the Iowa Department of Education, teachers, and students for these helpful videos.

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