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

It is just about time to flip the calendar to a new page, and that means it’s time for a new set of core words to model, elicit, and practice. In this post, we have a number of resources and an announcement (**scroll to the bottom**) for those who’ve tried their hand at implementation.

Thanks to all who’ve reached out with questions, comments, and words of appreciation for the Year of Core Vocabulary series. Here are some helpful resources for those who are using the words in Set 1 ( 2013 Year of Core Words) or Set 2 (Another Year of Core Words). If you are contemplating this approach, feel free to jump in at any time. The best time to start (or re-start) is right now. Don’t worry about retracing steps, or not ‘doing it right.’ The best way to get better at core vocabulary instruction is just to keep at it. It takes time, practice, and a willingness to keep at it.

Our words for this month are as follows.

Set 1 (2013 List): all, down, good, little, my, question, sad, she, turn, up, who, why

Set 2 (2014 List): bathroom, car, child, confused, green, hard, how much, man, mean, never, part, remember, sister, so, today, us

A great many thanks to our colleagues Barbara Fernandes, Rachael Langley, Lisa Timm, Nancy Inman, Brian Whitmer, Russell Cross, Gail Van Tatenhove, Allison Wade, Heidi LoStracco, Bill and Lori Binko, Eric Sailers, and all the others who have contributed to this effort.

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 1 words, Set 2 words
4. Speak for Yourself: Set 1 words; Set 2 words
5. Symbol Stix version: Set 1 words
6. Lesson Pix version: Set 1 words
7. Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words
8. CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words
9. WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file that contains the resources for several versions of WordPower)
10. WordPower: Set 2 Words in Symbol Stix and PCS (Both are large files that have sets for different versions of WordPower)

Reading is a great way to build in some extra core word practice. If you like reading with your prAACtical pals, we have some book suggestions. The following list is for Set 1 words.

• A House for Hermit by Eric Carle Crab: good, little, question, sad, turn, up
• It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni: all, good, little, my, turn, who, why
• The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers: down, good, little, question, sad, she, why
• The Napping House By Audrey Wood: all, down, little, she, up, who, why
• Turn Off That Light! By John Crossingham: down, good, little, turn, who, why 

May Calendars 

Rachael Langley’s wonderful core word calendars have been showing up on bulletin boards and refrigerators around the globe. She has lots of fun and easy ideas for our May words. (Click on the image to download the calendar for Set 1 words.)

Need some ideas for ways to target the May vocabulary beyond the single word level? Lisa Timm has some suggestions for us.

You can print out these sentences and the Set 2 calendar here.

Need even more ideas? Rachael Langley took care of that, too. (Click here or on the image below.)

Announcement: We’re celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month with a little giveaway. If you’ve been using the Year of Core Vocabulary materials we’ve published in the last 4 years, we’d love to hear from you. To enter, share a photo and a few sentences about what you’ve been doing with your Year of Core resources on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PrAACticalAAC/), or tag us on Twitter (@PrAACticalAAC), or Instagram (@praacticalaac).  I have a couple of AAC-related goodies that need homes with some of our prAACtical friends.