Hidden treasures in the AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom

Over the past couple of months, we have shared details about the different materials you can find in AssistiveWare’s Core Word Classroom. From planners to 5 minute fillers to words of the week, in the classroom you can find materials that have been designed to help support implementation of core word vocabulary.

Today we focus our attention on some hidden treasures within AssistiveWare’s Core Word Classroom. Firstly is the “Strategies and Resources” section, which is filled with information and videos that support the 3 best practices in AAC that the classroom was built on: Using Core Words, Modeling / Aided Language Stimulation and accessing communication everywhere.

Strategies and Resources

We encourage all our ACWC family to explore this section. Some of the information may be valuable to share with families, or other members of the team, or for staff professional development workshops. Perhaps you need a refresh or update about some of the key strategies that are essential to successful implementation of AAC. As a starting point we have some articles and information about Core Words, with the rationale for why they are so very important for language development in AAC users. You’ll also find information on how to select which core words to focus on when reading a book, and core word resources to share with parents. The next section is focused on a crucial AAC strategy - Modeling (or Aided Language Stimulation). Here you will find information sheets as well as some quick videos. Videos focus on the key concepts we should remember and consider as we are modeling. Other materials in this section include articles about other AAC strategies, including Communication Partner skills, and the Descriptive Teaching Model, and even some links for starting points in teaching Literacy. To support the materials we have developed, there are also extensive reference and resource lists compiled.

Getting Started

Another underutilised section in ACWC is “Getting Started”, which also contains useful content. It has fabulous information about how you can get started and use the AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom. However, hidden in this section, is some very useful information about our 3Ws model. This model encourages us to focus on Words, Whys and Ways, which is the framework we have used to develop the planners in the classroom. And not to be missed here are two articles and documents:

• Crescendo Core Words - this not only outlines core words, but also includes a document called the “Ordered Word” list. This gives us a very valuable list of core words, ordered by a combination of frequency of use, typical language development, and flexibility and general usefulness in communication.
• Communication Functions - this gives us useful information about the different communication functions, or reasons we communicate.

Both of these documents are essential reference guides for teams who are planning lessons and activities around core words. Using this documents, as well as one of the many templates in the ACWC, teams can identify core words to model to help focus on different reasons to communicate.

Discover today

Have you seen these sections in AssistiveWare’s Core Word Classroom? Please stop by and check them out today, you never know what valuable information you might discover.