Plural Words e-learning course: module 4

Module 4: Creating an AAC box

Creating AAC boxes: e-learning course

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AAC can be such an efficient and fun approach to use in the classroom to enhance communication, inclusion and participation for all students and not just the ones that have speech or language difficulties. Now that we explored together how to plan for an AAC box including the materials and tools needed for that purpose, it is time to move from theory to practice. Lesson 4 will provide easy to follow instructions on designing AAC tools that can be implemented in the classroom to support wide interaction and engagement for different learning objectives.

Index

Designing communication boards

AAC for literacy

AAC for numeracy

Creating AAC books

AAC for practical activities

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Designing communication boards

Best practices for selecting vocabulary, designing and arranging pictograms

How to create Communication Boards:

In the previous lessons we introduced the communication boards and explored how they can be thought of as tools that can empower to participate actively in classroom activities. We will focus on the practical steps guidance design communication boards.

Step 1: Decide on the Layout

Boards are usually presented in a grid format, where pictures/ symbols and words are arranged for easy access. The grid will vary in size based on the class level and specific needs of students (it can be a 3x3, 4x4, 6x6, etc...). Logically the best way would be to start with a smaller grid, and to use bigger scale grids as students gain familiarity and confidence with the boards. You can use free tools like Canva or Microsoft Word to create a digital grid or draw one by hand. Any empty grid like the one provided below can be used as a layout for the communication board.

Grid worksheet

Step 2: Select the content of the Board

Select the words that will both serve the lesson objectives and be functional and adaptable to the evolving needs of the classroom and the students.

Begin with “core vocabulary” like, “I,” “want,” “help”, “more”, “like”. These words account for approximatively 80% of daily communication and are used in high frequency. They are also applicable across various context, so they will be useful for a range of activities.Core vocabulary should occupy the majority of the grid’s space, and be positioned in the most accessible space, like at the top or at the centre. The core vocabulary can include: Action words, people and places, social exchanges and greetings; Quick common phrases (e.g., “I need help,”), Question words (Who, where, why..)

Step 2: Select the content of the Board

After the core words are well introduced, you can add specific fringe words that reflect the themes of the different lessons or activities. For instance, if the board will be used for a science lesson, fringe words might include “experiment,” “measure,” and “observe.” Since not all themes can fit on one board, additional pages with different categories and themes can be created and added gradually.

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Worksheet: Vocabulary Planning Worksheet for AAC Activities

Worksheet: Vocabulary Planning Worksheet for AAC Activities

Step 3: Choose Appropriate Symbols

• Use pictograms, real photographs, or drawings based on students’ preferences and cognitive abilities.
• To ensure visual clarity, the size of the images should also be chosen appropriately. The images should also have high contrast for readability.
• Including labels below each picture will help students associate the written word with the image, supporting literacy development.
• The choice and size of images should be tailored and personalised according to the specific needs of the class.
• Limit the number of images initially to ensure clarity. New content can be added as students grow familiar with the board.
• Depending on the type of pedagogy you are working in, it might be useful to organise your board depending on the place you are going to place/use them (snack area, recess area, toilet area), and choose the pictograms relating to the place.

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Step 4: Assemble the Board

Once the layout is ready and the words + pictures have been selected, it is time to assemble the communication board. The board can be created using digital platforms like Canva, Google slides, or Microsoft Power Point. You will have to:

1. Insert the grid in the size of your choosing.
2. Upload the pictures and symbols into the different boxes.
3. Type the corresponding words below each picture, in a clear, readable font (Arial...).

Step 4: Assemble the Board

MATERIALS:

• scissors, glue, a ruler, and a blank grid template (printed or drawn by hand).
• Use solid materials like cardboard or foam board as the base of the grid, or even a metal surface like a cookie board or a whiteboard.

It can also be created manually. In this case you will need to:

1. Prepare and gather all the materials.
2. Draw the grid by hand.
3. Cut out pictures or symbols and arrange them into the grid layout.

Interactive Options: Add Velcro strips or magnetic tape for a dynamic, movable board. A combination of digital and manual method might be the best approach, as it can allow for the board to be interactive and dynamic. The digital approach is more practical to avoid printing out multiple boards for all the students in the classroom, or to display it on screens.

Step 4: Assemble the Board

Tips for display:

• Logical Grouping: Display the words based on categories (e.g., actions, feelings, objects, questions) to make the board easy to navigate. For instance, designate on the board a specific section for verbs, and another one for adjectives.
• Colour Coding: Use colour-coding to help students identify types of words. For example, use blue for nouns, green for verbs, and yellow for adjectives.
• Application: Place these boards on desks or walls, or make smaller versions that students can carry.
• To make the tool durable you can laminate the pictures and board.

Here are some useful resources where you can find readymade board templates that can also be edited.

• ASHA Wire:
• Communication Community:
• Cboard:

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Step-by step instructions for creating AAC books

Adapted books are powerful tools that make reading more accessible and inclusive. They are great for making reading more engaging for all students despite their diverse abilities and can help support language development. The main goal is for the books to encourage the use of AAC systems by providing opportunities for readers to interact using boards and symbols.

Here are some key features of AAC adapted books in case you need it:

• Integrated symbols: combining text with pictograms or images alongside the text to support comprehension.
• Simplified text: includes shorter sentences that align with the students communication level. Usually these books will emphasise on high-frequency words.

• Customisable levels: Books can be adapted to suit diverse abilities within the classroom.

A first practical tip, would be to start small by adapting a short, familiar story before attempting more complex texts.

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Step by step instructions to create AAC adapted books

Step 1: Select the story or text

Choose a story that aligns with your lesson goals and is adapted to the student’s level. For example, if you are planning to introduce students to geometry, you can choose a story on shapes, etc…

Tips

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Step 2: Adapt the text to the reading level of your students

• Select a limited number of words you want your students to acquire and replace complex sentences with simpler phrases. The challenge here would be to do so while maintaining the essence of the story.
• Focus on high-frequency words

Example: Original: “The caterpillar ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.” (Carle, E. (1969). The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Philomel Books.) Adapted: “The caterpillar ate three plums. He was still hungry.”

Tips

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Step 3: Choose symbols and pictures

You can use the same resources mentioned in the communication board section. Here, you should ensure consistency by using the same symbols laid out in the communication board that will accompany the book.Just like before, you should tailor the images to your students’ needs in terms of size and contrast.

Book Planning Worksheet: Sections to list the story title, lesson objectives, vocabulary, and key symbols.

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Step 4: Add Symbols to the Text (analogue method)

1. Print out the symbols, cut them and place them on the pages of the book.
2. Make sure that you place them in the bottom or upper corners of the book, in a way that would not block any of the text or other pictures in the story.
3. Glue or tape your pictures into your book. Another option is to laminate your images and use Velcro so the images can be removed and attached to the book, which makes a great engaging activity for students.
4. Pay attention to first include a book without Velcro. This ensures that the story remains intact, preventing the loss of small images over time. The book can then serve as a reference for children to check their work and self-correct after completing the Velcro-based activities.

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Step 4: Add Symbols to the Text (digital method)

In this case you can use Canva or Power point. There is also the platform called Book Creator which we use for this project, and that we would recommend as it is designed for teachers.Insert symbols directly onto digital pages alongside text. This method allows for easy duplication and sharing.

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Resources

• To learn more on how to use Book creator:

Library where you can find adapted books in English:

• Sherlock Center:

• Practical AAC:

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03

Using AAC in literacy sessions

There are so many fun and engaging ways that AAC can be used in the classroom; let it be for the acquisition literacy, math or every day general competences. Most probably you may be already using AAC elements in your classroom activities without even noticing. Let us look into how to incorporate AAC in the daily classroom activities. If you would like to learn more about designing the AAC activities, please check Lesson 5!

Lesson 5

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Using AAC in Literacy sessions:

The AAC adapted books and communication boards will be used as main tools for literacy activities. They can make reading interactive and help students build vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence.

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To encourage students and familiarise them with the used of AAC tools, teachers must show them by modelling.

• To reinforce learning, it is important to use repetitive and predictable language and vocabulary.

• Encourage peer-to-peer interaction with AAC tools during games.

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Exercise and activity ideas:

1. Shared reading with AAC: during the shared reading of the AAC-adapted books, students can use AAC communication boards, to fill in the gaps with keyword symbols, answer questions, and give opinions about the story, by using core vocabulary (e.g. “I like”, “I don’t like”)
2. Story Sequencing: students can use AAC tools representing the story events, to arrange them in the correct order.
3. Sentence building with AAC boards: this exercise will allow students to practise sentence structure and improve writing skills using AAC tools.
1. Other than the communication boards, a blank template for arranging sentences in a digital or printed format will be needed.
2. The instructions are simple, students will need to select cards or symbols to create sentences and arrange them in the correct order.
3. For advanced students, you can add an instruction to write the sentences on paper or type them using a keyboard.

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Game for literacy

How to play:

1. Distribute 5 cards to each student group, the remaining cards can be placed in a central pile.
2. Students will be instructed to take turns and ask for a card they need using the AAC cards
3. If the peer has the card, they hand it over. If not, the peer says, "Go fish," and the player picks a card from the pile.
4. The game continues until all pairs are collected.

Go Fish game : The objective here would be to practice vocabulary and turn-taking using AAC tools: Materials:

• A deck of AAC cards with symbols or images ( animals, foods, shapes...)
• AAC communication boards

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04

Designing practical AAC numeracy activities

AAC tools can help make mathematical concepts more tangible and accessible to students as it allows the incorporation of visual and tactile engagement.

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1/ Shape and colour recognition

1. Students will be instructed to use AAC boards to name and identify shapes and colours (e.g., “This is a red circle”).
2. A fun idea would be to play a scavenger hunt where students find objects matching specific criteria (e.g., “Find something blue and round”).

AAC can be sued to help students identify and describe shapes and colours using AAC.Materials: AAC boards with shapes and colours.Cut-outs or objects representing different shapes and colours.

Extension

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2/ Problem-solving with AAC

Problem solving can be challenging for different students with all kind of abilities. AAC can be a tool to make this process more efficient.

Here is an applied example of a visual word problem:

1. If you have 3 apples and get 2 more, how many do you have?
2. To complete the exercise students will need to be guided to use AAC to select the numbers and operation (e.g., 3 + 2).
3. Using manipulation to solve the problem physically can be helpful.
4. To finish the exercise students will need to confirm the answer with AAC tools.

Material: For this you will need to develop visual word problems with symbols, that will be accompanied by AAC boards with numbers, symbols (+, -, =) and core math vocabulary.

Tips

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05

Designing practical AAC activities for life skills

Life skills activities are essential to teach students independence, social interaction, and confidence. Using AAC tools for these activities will enhance the learning process of daily routines and problem solving in real-world context.

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1/ Visual Schedules

Material: Visual schedules with AAC symbols for common tasks (e.g., “eat breakfast,” “brush teeth”).

These activities could teach students to follow and manage daily routines using AAC tools.

Example: Coming back from recess: Walk to class → wash hands → prepare school books → sit quietly.

This can teach students to follow the routine as they will mark tasks as “done” using stickers or marker. You will also need to prepare AAC boards for reinforcing time-related concepts (e.g., “now,” “next,” “later”). An activity that can be applied with these tools would be to instruct students to rearrange tasks and to customise their schedules for different tasks (How to complete my homework after school).

Extension

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2/ Social interaction games

The objective of these activities would be to reinforce greetings, turn taking, and sharing in group settings.

Material:

• Develop AAC boards with common social phrases (e.g., “Hello,” “Your turn,” “Thank you”).
• Gather games or toys for sharing and turn-taking.

This activity is best applied in a group setting where students will be instructed to model greetings and turn-taking phrases with AAC tools. The teachers role is to encourage students to use AAC boards to take turns or share items (e.g., “Can I have the ball?”), and celebrate successes with positive reinforcement (e.g., “Great sharing!”).

Extension

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Here are more tips on how to implement AAC tools into the classroom:

• Twinkle:

To get pictures from:

• Techaccess
• The autism helper

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Module 4 completed!

Here are some categories and themes of words to consider : Feelings/ Food and drinks / Adjectives and descriptive words/ Body parts/ Clothing/ Colours/ Shapes/ Weather/ School supplies/ Holidays...

• Demonstrate how to use AAC tools for math concepts before starting the activity.
• Begin with simple tasks (e.g., identifying shapes or counting) and gradually increase difficulty.
• Incorporate tactile objects to make abstract concepts concrete.
• Encourage Peer Interaction.