The Classroom Communication Checklist is a tool developed to identify communication supports in place in the classroom and to determine potential supports which may be of value to add into the existing program. This planning tool helps teachers & administrators consider a variety of supports to help their students communicate effectively in the classroom. Download, save and use as a writeable form!
The Classroom Communication Environment gives us exactly what we need to determine appropriate communication targets that are the MOST meaningful to your students during the day. Rather than addressing communication in isolated tasks, in speech therapy, or in a "communication center," let's skip to working on communicating during typical daily activities. This saves you time and allows your student to learn true communication, for functional purposes, in activities and familiar, predictable environments. You will complete your typical daily schedule down the left column, decide which of our 5 Communication Goals you could work on during the activity in the next 5 columns. Then you will choose words and messages which may be helpful during these normal routine activities. Finally, in the Method/Location column you'll give yourself a "cheat sheet" for where the symbols for these words/messages are available (in the AAC device, in a book, on a communication board, on the wall, or through sign language!). Think of this as an overview of your more detailed lesson planning documents.
A weekly plan to incorporate communication into a regularly planned classroom activity. Designed to consider our 5 Classroom Communication Goals, this tool helps you plan your communication targets for each of 4 days, select vocabulary to target and consider the format of the symbols (words, pictures, symbols or objects).
Download our News-2-You Lesson Plan and sample "Reading the News Topic Board" below, for an example of how you might use this tool in your classroom!
This form is for teachers to complete a detailed schedule of their AAC user(s) day. Information includes the activity, partners and the messages teachers feel their student(s) need(s). There is an additional worksheet for teachers to give us information regarding student and teacher names, favorite foods, places, activities etc. We will use this form to start customizing student AAC systems to match your classroom. We will make cheat sheets for you so that you can help your student interact during normal activities in your classroom.
The Passport is a single page document some teachers use to plan activities to meet our 5 Classroom Communication Goals. This tool gives you a simple plan for activities to get you started. Think about your lesson, consider the communication opportunities when a student might ask for something (wants & needs), tell you what they think (sharing opinions & information), greet a friend (greetings and social exchanges), expand their language (language development) or discuss academic words and concepts (academics). Be sure you have the visual supports and symbols available to allow your students to communicate these functions during the activity!
Our all new recipes tool gives you a very simple planning document that helps you plan communication opportunities in a single activity. You'll consider which specific words you will focus on during the activity including core vocabulary words (verbs and describing words-think "sight words" for communication) and specific fringe words (nouns). You also have a space to plan on the communication purpose for these words. How will you target requesting? You could use words like "want" (core) or "marker" (fringe). Can you put these into short 2-word phrases? Are there opportunities to use your word(s) to comment? You might say "like it" or "not like!"
