School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for August

July 25, 2024 by Carole Zangari - Leave your thoughts

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As we prepare for a new academic year, we’re delighted to reconnect with guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty. Today, they kick off preparation for the upcoming school year with another wonderful set of Older Student Lessons in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words series. Scroll down for some terrific resources, including two slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the Sugust core words. Their post also includes some helpful information on a key AAC support strategy, aided language input.

SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons

Access & Copy below:

INTRODUCTION- AUGUST 2024

Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older Student Lessons: August!

School is back in session for many and the summer is nearing the final stretch. Welcome back to the School Year of Core- Older Student Lessons (SYOC-OSL resource, where we celebrate the introduction (or re-introduction) to new core words and themes for the month of August. Engage in core word-centered activities centered around as you meet new friends and welcome back old friends.

If you are not yet familiar with our resources, we invite you to review our materials in the hopes that you can find them useful to support your students and AAC learners. Please find the links to our slide decks at the top of this post. Make a copy of the slide deck and modify/adapt the lessons to meet your needs.

Although these resources were created for AAC users, they can be utilized effectively with a variety of learners. Explore our collection with your older students and don’t forget to have fun! We hope you had a wonderful summer!

This month is focused on not only Greetings and getting to know one another but also focuses on Summer reflections and provides opportunities to share summer experiences. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for individuals to share what makes them special, with an ‘About Me’ theme. We hope you enjoy the activities and resources with your friends, family, and students.

We would love your honest feedback! Let us know what has been helpful and what could be improved, so our project can continue to grow and change. If you have adapted the SYOC – OSLs to meet your unique needs, please feel free to share! We would love to add your creations to our collection of resources. Email us at schoolyearofcore@gmail.com.

To further enrich your experience, download the corresponding Symbol Charts containing June Level 1 and Level 2 words. They can be used as hands-on low tech visuals, and tracking sheets to keep your lessons on track.

As always, we have provided over 150 slides of activities for August and it would be almost impossible to complete all of the activities. Our motto is, “take what you want and leave the rest.” Think of this as an activity buffet. Choose lessons to meet your needs, and save the rest for next school year.

All Slide Decks contain:

Icebreaker Activities (e.g. Jokes, Would You Rather, National days)
Monthly Language Resources Include:
- “Tell us a Story” slides: to support students to co-construct narratives about past experiences using meaningful photos given WH question scaffolds.
- “Get Off the Computer” suggestions for Shared Reading and Share a Word to Describe your Day: We added a few slides with Shared Reading suggestions and a topic/interest inventory where students/adults can share the topics they are most interested in.
- Self Care: We will review different topics through the lens of self-care.
- Student Reflection Time: students can use a visual rating scale to share whether or not they enjoyed an activity.
Symbol charts: include icons from a wide array of communication systems.
Feelings Check-In: Including sentence frames and visuals
Weekend reflection: Including visual icons and options.
Music Choices: Listen to music corresponding to themes and core words
Media: animated shorts and short, educational video clips
Predictable chart writing
Reading
The Strategy of the Month is Aided Language Stimulation.

We hope you enjoy the School Year of Core-Older Student Lessons for AUGUST.

THE WORDS

Weeks 1-2

Level 1 Words: I/me, hi/hello, bye/goodbye, help, stop, go, want, play

Level 2 Words: us, had, meet, went, funny, outside, inside, better

Weeks 3-4

Level 1 Words: all done, bathroom, in, more, out, take a break, that, wash

Level 2 Words: awesome, beside, hang, hear, how are you, next to, okay, run

THE SYMBOLS

You can download grids with the symbols for this month’s words from the lists below. These handy visual tools can help us remember what words to focus on and be useful in our intervention and instruction.

Level 1 Words

Level 2 Words

The Google Slide Resources

Strategy of the Month: AIDED LANGUAGE STIMULATION (ALS)

ALS is a research-based approach to implementing and teaching individuals how to use their AAC systems by having the communication partner both speak and simultaneously point to the word or words they are expressing on the individual’s communication system. It is important to note that the communication partner does not have to find EVERY word expressed on the AAC device, in fact, start modeling 1-2 words beyond the level the individual is communicating. For example, if an individual is at the single word level, when targeting ‘more’, say ‘you want more’ and point to that same phrase on the individual’s communication system. This will assist in modeling the expansion of language and acquisition of vocabulary in natural or more instructional contexts.

Please find the following additional resources on Aided Language Stimulation below. These resources will be helpful for individual learning and/or for team training.

We will be incorporating this strategy in all of our Activity Sheets surrounding the targeted core words. Until it becomes a habit, create intentional opportunities to practice this skill.

Resources:

Aided Language Stimulation Explained, By Chris Bugaj https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flFNMky22-U
Guide to ALS: from Coughdrop https://blog.mycoughdrop.com/modeling-made-simple/
Aided Language Stimulation with step-by-step directions from the AAC Institute (aacinstitute.org) https://www.communicationaactualized.com/uploads/9/9/8/5/9985658/aided_language_stimulation.pdf
Aided Language Input: How to be a Super AAC Model, by Avaz, 2021, https://info.avazapp.com/blog/aided-language-input-how-to-be-a-super-aac-model/
Modeling AAC at Home: Making S’mores (with a focus on Aided Language Stimulation), 2020, Speech Without Limits, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP8Sgr7j0Vs&ab_channel=SpeechwithoutLimit
Model Language with AAC, by Stepping Into AAC, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mKFIjacZ0vDWDssKSnAzb2-Gz8QjLWY_/view, A collaboration project with the Angelman’s Syndrome Foundation and PrAACtical AAC
Communication Tips & Strategies: Aided Language Stimulation (ALS) Autism Association of Western Australia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCVfMWdAKbE
Aided Language Stimulation Boards – Core Word Vocabulary Boards by Learning Language with ALS Board https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmuBaL-xWfw
Do’s and Don’ts of AAC Modeling by AssistiveWare https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/dos-and-donts-aac-modeling
What is Aided Language Stimulation, By the Red Clay Consolidated School District, https://www.redclayschools.com/Page/3950
Aided Language Input with Kendal, By AAC Chicks at Dynamic Therapy Associates https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=231&v=PUl8kD53NQg&feature=emb_logo
Using Aided Language Input to Build Communication Opportunities! By Robin Parker and posted on January 27, 2014, on PrAACtical AAC https://praacticalaac.org/strategy/using-aided-language-input-to-build-communication-opportunities/
Research Support for Aided Language Input by Carole Zangari and posted on PrAACtical AAC on May 31, 2018https://praacticalaac.org/praactical/research-support-for-aided-language-input/

DATA COLLECTION & ACCOUNTABILITY FORMS

To strengthen our AAC teaching, we can take data to measure performance and keep track of our own modeling behavior. Here are some forms that you can use to support those efforts.

This posting is dedicated to all of the amazing Educators, SLP’s, parents, therapists and friends who are making a difference every day!

About the School Year of Core-Older Student Lessons Series Authors

Michaela Sullivan is an SLP who specializes in the fields of AAC and AT. She currently works within the San Francisco Unified School District on the AAC Support Team where she supervises graduate student interns, works in a transition program and on special projects. Ms. Sullivan also has a private practice. She has been a presenter in the field of Speech-Language Pathology and AAC at state and national conventions. She was one of the creators of the Original School Year of Core first released in 2020 on the websites: PrAACtical AAC and AAC Language Lab. Ms. Sullivan works closely with San Francisco State with Project AAC for ALL, SYOC Bilingue and the TRAAC Project. Ms. Sullivan serves as a Board member, Treasurer and Volunteer for the Nika Project, providing services, supports, resources, training, and repurposed equipment to help meet the needs of individuals who use AAC systems both locally and internationally.

Lindsay Dougherty is a Speech & Language Pathologist, with specializations in Autism and AAC. She currently works for San Francisco Unified School district, providing direct services to students with complex communication needs and supporting her fellow SLPs on the AAC Support Team. Lindsay works on a team of professionals, implementing a Language Systems First curriculum for Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms across the school district. The team provides a universal language system, staff and parent training and AAC support to teachers and SLPs. She is also the faculty advisor of her middle school’s Best Buddies Club, where she supports students with disabilities in building meaningful friendships with peers.

Our Featured Core Contributors for the Month of August include:

Jadine Veluya, Christelle Marcelo, Joseph Cachapero, Loriel Roman, and Miranda Figeroa

Filed under: Featured Posts

This post was written by Carole Zangari