844 Search Results for core vocabulary
January 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
It hardly seems possible that a year has gone by since we posted a Year of Core Words 2013. We’ve been so gratified by the feedback from professionals and parents who’ve put it to good use and followed month-by-month to focus on a dozen core words and get suggestions for additional practice. We were thrilled when others added symbols, created teaching materials, and adapted it for their own use. Today we’re back with the 2nd Year of Core Words, this time with 16 words/month. If you follow along, you’ll have covered 192 new core words by the end. Once again, we created 12 grids of core vocabulary words – one for each month of the year. Each grid has 16 cells labeled with core words. Plug in the AAC symbols that your client uses (e.g., PCS, SmartySymbols, Unity, Pixons, etc.), print, laminate, and keep them handy. Feel free to adapt... [Read More...]
November 24, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Julie Dunbar of Orange County Goodwill’s AT Exchange Center provides an overview of core vocabulary teaching activities. Need suggestions for teaching and practicing these words throughout the day? Take a look. Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=293GzUPnFAM
November 9, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Vocabulary instruction involves a systematic TEACHING process. Core vocabulary words are harder to represent with pictures but still need to be taught with direct instruction. Many of the strategies and activities are part of general vocabulary teaching. Decide your core word vocabulary to teach and begin with strategies, steps, and fun activities. Teaching Strategies Teach in Meaningful Language Experiences– Create activities about the words but also about the communication behind the words. Develop activities that are meaningful to the learners. Provide Active Participation Opportunities- Develop many, many (many) opportunities for the learners to use the vocabulary as an expressive communication tool as well as for receptive language. Have the learner interact with the core word vocabulary rather than just listen to explanations. Give the vocabulary communicative power for the learner. Use Aided Language Input– Model AAC style. Use Focused Language Stimulation – Highlight new words and use them repetitively. We like... [Read More...]
November 2, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Teaching new words is something SLPs plan for in almost every service delivery setting. This month, we’ll focus on vocabulary instruction for core and extended vocabulary. Thoughts on Teaching Core Vocabulary In Advance Plan ahead. Make a rough plan of the core words you will teach and when you will introduce them to the AAC learner. Make sure there is plenty of variety, especially pronouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and determiners. Words for talking about time (e.g., now, later), asking questions (e.g., what, where), and negation (e.g., not) are important, too. Here’s a link to our post on A Year of Core and A Year of Core, Unity Style. Ensure that the AAC learner has access to communication aids with an adequate base of core vocabulary. What if the learner doesn’t have an SGD or AAC app that is core language based? If you can update that to something with good core... [Read More...]
September 8, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Need a video to introduce families and colleagues to core language? Check out this one from Carla Butorac from Behavior Communicates.
July 22, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Because it seems there has been a lot of emphasis on core words and visual schedules over the past couple of months, we wanted to highlight a particular resource titled: Visual Schedules to Expose & Reinforce Core Vocabulary by (the great) Gail Van Tatenhove. This resource can be found on the Minspeak website which shares excellent (& free) comprehensive AAC information for everyone. You can search by categories and get fact sheets, communication boards, curriculum supports and more. AAC users, families, & caregivers Teachers and therapists Academicians & students Teaching Plans & Materials Pixon Project Resources Try out some of the ideas from the Visual Schedule/Core Word Resource or something else and let us know what you think.
April 26, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
One of the things we most appreciate about the AAC community is the generosity of spirit and sense of collaboration. When we first posted our Year of AAC Core Vocabulary, Gail Van Tatenhove, Russell Cross, and others in the Minspeak community generously shared it with professionals and families. More importantly, they adapted it with Minspeak symbols so that the resource could be more useful to people learning to communicate with that symbol system. We’re excited to be able to share the Year Of AAC Core adapted by Russell Cross. There are two versions: one for people learning 84-location Unity programs and another for people working with the 144-location version. There is one set of cards for each month with about 12 core words each so that professionals can provide extra practice of a selected set of core words. Many, many thanks to Gail and Russell for adapting our work and... [Read More...]
April 20, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Last week, we talked about two key strategies for teaching core language: using aided language input and creating frequent opportunities to teach and elicit core words. In today’s post, we’ll expand the number of words and discuss two additional considerations for teaching core words. Aided language input is always important in working with beginning users of AAC. It exposes them to their new means of communication, provides them with a competent model of their AAC system, and introduces them to words and symbols they don’t yet know within a meaningful context. It also forces us to slow down when talking, something that can be very beneficial when you consider that many beginning users of AAC also have difficulty processing oral language. (It may take them longer to decode what they’re hearing and they may have to concentrate more than the average kid.) If you’ve actually tried pointing to symbols as... [Read More...]
April 12, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Take a look at these pictures and try to guess their meanings. Now do it again with these symbols. One more time with the symbols below. We’re not gamblers by nature, but if we had to bet we’d say that you had a pretty easy time guessing the first two rows (backpack, banana, bathroom; sleep, wash, eat) and struggled with the last row (know, she, was/were). That presents a bit of a problem, actually, because it’s that last hard-to-guess row that contains important core vocabulary. And these kinds of core words are the ones we need to use frequently during the day. Looks like we have a bit of a dilemma: The symbols that are least transparent are important ones to teach. We often hear SLPs say that they want concrete symbols for some of their clients with AAC needs. We can certainly make that happen for some... [Read More...]
April 8, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
New to teaching core vocabulary in AAC? On board with the concept? Know that it’s important but find it a little intimidating to teach? Welcome to the club! Actually, it’s quite a big club but you wouldn’t know it because lots of members are still closeted. That’s okay – no one here is going to ‘out’ you. But if you want to move forward in your AAC teaching journey, here are some things to try. Breathe and forgive yourself: It’s easy to feel like everyone else knows this but you. Not true. We tend to beat ourselves up for not being out ahead of the curve, but you know what? It’s not worth it. We’re all a work in progress, so let it go and just start where you are. As one of our favorite eminent scholars** has repeatedly said, “When you know better, you do better.” Get your own... [Read More...]