November 26, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Teaching language can be a sticky business. The concepts can be quite abstract, and that’s a challenge for many AAC learners. It can take some real thought to figure out how to simplify complexity. Beyond that, we have to teach in a way that helps learners retain the new information. Here are some of the things we think about when we’re running the our mental checklist of teaching options. 1. Graphic Organizers: There are so many ways to use graphic organizers to help simplify complex concepts. Use them to show relationships between things, sequences, and component parts. 2. Use a Story: Social narratives are somewhat like social stories, but don’t adhere to the same strict design parameters as a true social story. The TASN project in Kansas has almost 150 of them on a variety of topics on their website. You can check them out here. Most are in .doc,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: comprehension, contingency map, Graphic Organizers, social narrative, understanding
October 25, 2012
by Robin Parker -
For AAC Awareness Month, we would be remiss if we did not think about literacy. It is a form of communication and language that supports AAC use. Sometimes literacy is difficult for our students, other times it is actually easier and it helps conversational communication and even natural speech. Either way, reading, writing, talking, and listening (understanding) are all modalities of language. There are so many great resource lists for supporting literacy: Jane Farrall’s Letter of the Week: Resources for Older Students, Spectronics Apps for Literacy Support, Melissa Taylor’s 24 Educational iPad Apps for Kids in Reading and Writing, and 25 Great Children’s Apps to Stimulate Literacy, Learning, & Creativity just to name a few. We wanted to share a few additional resources for literacy with general education apps that approach reading through fun with words. And any literacy discussion could not be complete without some seriously great literacy information, theory, and supports... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: literacy, reading, talking, understanding, writing
July 6, 2012
by Robin Parker -
It’s not too early to begin. It seems that everyone is talking about the London 2012 Olympics. The Olympic conversation is an interesting teaching and learning platform for almost any communication and language goals. It is fun, educational, and most importantly, most smaller and larger ‘communities’ will have Olympic images, videos, television shows, and conversation. There will soon be Olympic immersion. You can TALK and TEACH before the Olympics start, while they are happening, and even after they are over. It is easy to include ALL learners at ALL levels with these free resources that do the time-consuming preparation work for you. Just use your language facilitation strategies and have fun! News 2 You London 2012 Olympics Widget Free Pack- Olympics 2012 Primary Treasure Chest- Olympic Printable Free Resources **Bonus- we often also use these resources for home programming because our clinic is closed... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: augmentative and alternative communication, Conversation, free, Olympics, resources, talking, understanding