The beginning of a new week means it is time for a new Core Word!

Through 36 sessions of speech and language content, my Core Word Programme covers the 40 first core words that a neurotypical child would learn. Designed by myself, it is tailored to how Gestalt Language Processors and neurodiverse children learn best. 

Each weekly session includes links to Attention Autism planning, sensory story suggestions, phrase examples, interactive games and more.

The programme includes three different symbol languages, so whether you use Board Maker, Symbolstix or Widget, it is suitable for all. The sessions are completely flexible and adaptable to any communication method or classroom needs, so that your learners can get the most from the content.

The sessions are delivered in 9 fun, interactive sections, which can be covered all at once or separately, whatever works for your schedule and your learners.

This is week 24 in my sensory classrooms, and we will focus on the useful and common 'this'. From "this is your seat", "this is my favourite" to "this is what I need", 'this' is helpful for our learners' everyday communication. 

Read on to see how I plan to teach and model 'this' this week.

When starting on a new core word, the activities are split into saying, finding, hearing, watching, playing, reading, learning, practicing and writing that word.

My learners start by saying it. Depending on their preferred methods of communication, this could be finding it on an AAC device (high tech or low tech), learning the Makaton, using sound buttons or any other methods of communication.

Once we have practiced communicating it, we move on to hearing it with the included film, TV and music clips that feature 'this'.

My learners take it in turn to pick one to watch or listen to, and as it plays the adults in the room model the word by saying, signing, showing the symbol or finding it on an AAC device. This is a fab way of embedding the core word, whilst the children are doing an activity that they enjoy. This, alongside the other pre-planned tasks in the Core Word programme, suit how a Gestalt Language Processor learns literacy, through whole sentences.

Each weekly core word session includes sensory story suggestions. These stories tend to be better for autistic and Gestalt Language Processor learners as they can hold onto the meaning of the whole phrases and use them in other contexts. Compared to traditional stories which focus on abstract language and can be overwhelming, sensory stories provide concrete sensory experiences which may be better suited to our sensory-lead children. Through stories we can support learners to build understanding and context to put with the language they are hearing.

This week, I plan to read 'This is the house that Jack built' by Pam Adams, which features lots of repetition (including of our core word) and colourful, busy illustrations. 

For group activities this week,  my learners and I will be building towers and singing "this is way we build our tower, build our tower....and then we knock it over!" This engaging, interactive and often noisy activity is always a hit in my classrooms.

There are provided suggestions for table top activities, and there are different options to suit the needs of your learners, and the age that they are working at. For learners working at under 12 months, there will be lots of songs featuring our word. For those between 12 months and 2 years, we will be tasting snacks! This is very motivating, and the supporting adults will model "This is yucky" or "this is yummy", and encouraging the children to communicate either of those sentences depending on if they like the snack or not. For those working at age 3 or above, we will be playing a 'who am I' game, with an animal toy in a box. Through clues and guesses, the children can guess who it is, ask questions, and also have a turn at hiding an animal and giving the clues. 

There are writing tasks which can be printed or completed online depending on the needs and wants of your learners and on the restrictions of your environment. In one of my classrooms, we complete the game on my whiteboard as a group, and in another, we complete this 1:1 on iPads. These are handy for mark-making if printed out. 

If these sessions sound like they would be useful for your learners, It is always a great time to join in with my programme! You can start at any time and work through the sessions, and there is a thriving private Facebook group where you can find support, tips, ideas and community.

Check out my blog posts here to see what I've done during previous weeks of the curriculum, or my TikTok, Facebook or Instagram for lots more Core Word content.

You can buy the full programme here, or access a free demo here.

Attention Autism for Core Word Week 24 - "this"

My core word programme's weekly sessions include Attention Autism ideas for stages 1 - 4. This week in my classrooms I'll be using the activities: bucket time, copy me do, choosing songs and teaching table. These allow me to model our core word, 'this' in a fun and interactive way. 

Stage 1 - Bucket Time 

I always start with the bucket time song - it encourages attention and provides familiarity and routine for my learners. 

First up out of the bucket will be a wiggly ball. I'll repeat that "this is a wiggly ball!" 

The next item during bucket time will be a brightly coloured, and very stretchy band, and I will model "this is a stretchy theraband!"

Last up out of the bucket "this is a gloopy timer", which is really mesmerising to watch!

Stage 2 - Copy Me Do

Stage 2 involves singing and repetition, two great activities for sensory learners! "Copy, copy, copy me do, I do this, and you do it too". When I sing "I do this", I will pause the song and do something such as pressing my nose and singing "beep, beep, beep", or tapping my head and singing "bat, bat, bat". These fun elements increase the interest and engagement from my learners, meaning that we learn whilst having fun!

Stage 3 - Choosing Song

Here, I will set up a choosing board with different song options. My learners will take it in turns to communicate "I want this song", and we will then listen to that song as a group. 

Stage 4 - Teaching Table

For this activity, I will get some red, blue and yellow paper, and lay it on the ground. Then, out of my try, I will select duplo pieces and say "this is", name the colour of it, and then put it on the matching paper. Then my learners have their turn! They go off to the teaching table, with my supporting adults, to complete their independent tasks. Once complete, they are to come back to the group area to show me.

In each stage of my Attention Autism session, there are multiple opportunities for modelling of 'this'. As we go through the activities, the other adults in the room and I will be signing, finding the word on AAC devices, pointing to symbols and saying the word. This provides a great opportunity for the children to learn whilst playing and also gives concrete, practical examples of the word in context. 

To see this week's session, and previous Attention Autism sessions, head to my Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. 

There is a year's worth of core word based Attention Autism ideas included in my Core Word Programme here. Separate from the core words, you can also get four years' worth of fun Attention Autism ideas for Stages 1-4 here.  

Check out Attention Autism here, they've recently updated their training and I highly recommend it.