Welcome back to my Core Word of the Week Programme!

My Core Word Programme is based on the 40 first core words that a neurotypical child would learn. The sessions consist of 36 sessions of speech and language content that I have designed specifically for the Gestalt Language Processors and pre/non verbal children in your care. The programme includes three different symbol languages, so whether you use Board Maker, Symbolstix or Widgit, it is suitable for all.

This week is week 22 in my classrooms, and we will be focusing on the core word 'all'. This word can help our learners to make requests and describe quantities, and can be useful across daily routines, play and communication. Whether it's "I want all of them", "All done" or "Let's pick up all the toys," 'all' is a helpful and common word that can be used across varied contexts.

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

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.

Read on to see how I will be teaching and modelling "all" in my sensory classrooms this week.

When starting on a new core word, me and my learners begin by saying it. 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 that works for the children in your care.

As we go through the week, using the activities supplied in the core word programme, the adults in my classrooms continue to model the word, giving our learners lots of examples of it in action.

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 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.

The book I will be reading to my learners this week is the legendary "The Tiger Who Came To Tea" by Judith Kerr. It's a classic for a reason—engaging, charming, and fun. Plus, the hungry tiger ends up eating 'all' of the food!

 

The interactive game that's included in this weeks session asks our learners to provide 'all' of the items - for example, putting 'all' of the cookies onto a plate. This builds on what we learnt in the last core word session, which focused on the word 'some' rather than 'all'.

I love giving learners a chance to learn through play. It lessens the demand on the, reducing their anxiety, and allowing their best work to come out. It's also an excellent opportunity for the supporting adults in the room to assess their understanding of the word.

Also included are lots of links to film, TV and music clip where our core word is used. In my classrooms, the children 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, and the other activities included, suit how a Gestalt Language Processor will process and learn language.

My learners will also be practicing tracing or drawing the word 'all' with the included writing tasks. To suit different learners and classrooms, these can either be printed or completed online.

In one of my classrooms, we complete the game on my whiteboard as a group, practising turn taking and offering modelling opportunities to each other. In my other classroom, we complete these games 1:1 on iPads as we don’t have a whiteboard available and my learners are on individual timetables so this works better.

Other activities I'll be utilising the week revolve around recipes. Some of my learners will be pouring 'all' of the water into cups, others will be following recipes from my sensory recipes e-book, and tipping in 'all' the flour for example. There will be lots of opportunities for our core word 'all' here: 'Is that all the ingredients?', 'Are you all done?', 'Is that all clean?'"

If my Core Word Programme sounds like something that your learners would benefit from, It is always a great time to join in! 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, and If you'd like to try before you buy, you can access a free demo here.

Attention Autism for Core Word Week 22 - "all"

My programme's weekly sessions include Attention Autism ideas for stages 1 - 4. This week in my classrooms I plan to use bucket time, the rice spinner, water table and teaching table to demonstrate and reinforce the meaning of our core word, 'all'.

Stage 1 - Bucket Time 

I plan to start with the bucket time song, which encourages attention as well as being a familiar part of the routine for my learners.

First up from the bucket will be this spinning rainbow stacking toy. I'll highlight to my learners when 'all' of the cogs are on, and when they are 'all' off. 

Next up is a shiny foil blanket! This makes a great noise, and when I unfold it to its full size, I'll make sure to say "all of it!" When it's back in the bucket, I'll say "all gone". 

Lastly from the bucket will be a box with some colourful pieces of paper! At the start I will pour out "some of the paper" (which was last week's core word), and then "all of the paper!".

Stage 2 - Rice Spinner

Whilst the rice spinner spins, I'll pour out 'some' of the rice, and then 'all' of the rice! Describing 'some' and then 'all' in these core word sessions allows us to expand on our children's learning, and gives them context on the meaning and difference between the terms. The combination of the colourful spinner, and the rice spinning off of it makes this an engaging activity for my learners to watch.

Stage 3 - Water Tower

To start this activity, I will show my learners a tray, and some cups. I'll sing "this is the way we build a tower, all the way to the top" as I am stacking the cups to build the tower. I will first pour out 'some' water onto the tower, (again reinforcing the difference between 'all' and 'some'), and then 'all' of the water. 

Stage 4 - Teaching Table

For this activity, I'll pour coins from a bag onto a tray and then put 'some' back in the bag, before putting 'all' of them back in the bag!

These activities will help to showcase the core word in an exciting and interactive way. In each stage there are multiple opportunities for modelling of 'all', and the other adults in the room will also be modelling, with speech, finding it on AAC devices, signing and using symbols. 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.