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

The summer is zooming by here in Florida and lots of professionals and families are starting to think about heading back to school. 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.

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 words, Set 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 words, Set 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 words, Set 2 words

Model them in sentences like these:

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

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead: any, bring, day, give, job, know, other, sick, together
• Jamaica’s Blue Marker by Juanita Haverhill: any, bring, give, know, other, sorry, together
• Mouse Says ‘Sorry’ by Michael Dah: fall, give, hot, other, sorry, together
• Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes: any, day, fall, hot, know, other
• The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett: any, day, fall, give, know, sorry, together
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires: any, bring, day, know, other, together

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

• Hiromi’s Hands by Lynne Barasch: aide, finger, from, only, pick, woman
• In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck:  animal, clothes, night, room, still, white
• Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell: animal, leg, only, stay, white, woman
• Miss Rumphius by  Barbara Cooney: from, must, only, pick, still, town, woman
• Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee: animal, clothes, leg, night, still
• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes: clothes, finger, from, leg, must, only, pick, room, woman
• The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin: aide, clothes, from, still, woman
• White Socks Only by Evelyn Coleman: clothes, leg, must, only, still, town, white, woman

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., 2019 August 1 is on Thursday).

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).

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.