Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports in the Special Education Classroom

In my classroom, I used Unique Learning System for a majority of my curriculum. However, I found that I often wanted to supplement the stories with rich, authentic picture books. So my Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports units were born! 

Not familiar with my picture book supports? They include:

Communication Supports

• Vocabulary Cards: to teach and assess targeted vocabulary (can also be used to create interactive games!)

• Communication Board: to generate sentences about the story verbally or through velcro manipulatives

• GoTalk 9+ AAC Board: formatted for use with GoTalk 9+

Comprehension Supports

• Differentiated Wh-Question Assessments: 3 leveled assessments (multiple choice pictures, multiple choice words/phrases, fill-in) for answering who, what, where, when, and why questions about the story.

• Fill-in-the-Blank Sentences Worksheet: Cut-and-paste cloze sentences with picture choice options

• Sequencing Worksheet: Picture-based cut-and-paste sequencing of story events

IEP Supports

• IEP Goal Ideas
• Communication IEP Goal Ideas: for vocabulary and sentence-building goals
• Comprehension Goal Ideas: for wh-questions, writing, sequencing, and higher-order thinking

• Progress Monitoring:
• Higher-Order Thinking Progress Monitoring: for recalling story elements (characters, setting, and events) and answering inferential and evaluative questions about the story 
• Vocabulary Progress Monitoring Sheet: for receptive and expressive identification of story vocabulary and generalization
• Sentence Building Progress Monitoring Sheet: for assessing sentence generation
• Unit Report Card: Convenient data collection sheet for all unit activities to be used for grading and sharing with families

• Implementation and Differentiation Tips: Do you have a diverse group of students this year? Don't worry! I have that covered too. Every activity in each of my picture book units includes ideas for accommodating and extending to meet your students' needs.

Interested in implementing these Picture Book Communication and Comprehension Supports in your preschool, elementary, or special education classroom? Grab my BUNDLE and save 20%!

The bundle includes 14 popular classroom favorites which integrate perfectly into thematic instruction. Don't have all of these books? No worries! You can use versions on YouTube, check them out from your school library, or head to your local library to see if they have a teacher program. In some locations the librarians will even gather the books for you! 

The bundle also includes lesson plans that map out the year at a glance and provide guidance on monthly and/or weekly implementation of each unit. 

What is your favorite picture book to read in your classroom? Don't see it on this list? Send me an email and I can add it to my list of future units!

Organizing Progress Monitoring in the Special Education Classroom

Data collection on IEP goals is one of the most important tasks a special education teacher takes on because it helps us plan for interventions and monitor student progress. But it is also one of the most tedious tasks we do! 

Over the years, I have created a system for organizing my IEP goal progress monitoring that has made it easier to set up, implement, and even delegate! 

The first step is designating a binder for each student on your caseload. I prefer using colored binders because I color-code each of my students' materials each year. 

In the very front of the binder, I include an IEP at a Glance. We use IEP Anywhere so they luckily create this for us! I also include any essential medical or behavior plans for that student. 

Then, I get pocket dividers for each subject I will be monitoring. This is a great way to organize the different subjects but my favorite part is the pocket. This is where I store all of my work samples. Then, at the end of each quarter when I send home my progress report, I attach the work samples to back up the data. 

Then, behind each divider, I include progress monitoring sheets specific to that student's goals. My sheets are detailed and user-friendly so that all members of our team (paraprofessionals, related service, and general education staff, etc) can take data in a consistent way. It even helps me if I get confused by all the different goals on my diverse caseload! 

Over 100 of my progress monitoring sheets can be found in my TPT store. You can get individual subjects (Math, Reading, Communication & Vocabulary, and Fine Motor, Daily Routines, & Writing) or a bundle to cover all of your needs (and save 20%)!

During progress report time, I collect all of the completed progress monitoring sheets and organize them by stapling them to these Progress Report Form graphic organizers from my Special Education Teacher IEP Organization Kit which becomes a nice tool for me to reference when making additional copies, updating my paraprofessionals on skills to target, as well as just organizing the overall progress report process!

Find it here:

Finally, on the back cover, I include a "cheatsheet" all about that student. With IEP goals, behavior and medical plans, and this cheatsheet all contained in one place, my progress monitoring binders truly become an amazing, organized resource for all members of that student's educational team! 

Once I developed this system, it made progress monitoring organization so easy every fall. I would look at a student's IEP at a glance, print off the corresponding progress monitoring sheets, and get their binder organized. Then I was all set for the rest of the year! 

Facilitating Communication During Structured Play Groups in the Special Education Classroom

In early intervention settings, Structured Play Groups are a perfect, developmentally-appropriate evidence-based practice for autistic students and can be a valuable support for developing friendships and communication skills. In my experience, the benefit of these groups certainly stretches beyond just my autistic students but those with other developmental disabilities and even their neurotypical peers! Especially in these unique post-pandemic lockdown times when all students have had gaps in their opportunities for social engagement.

Play-Based Communication Boards

To facilitate communication during structured play groups, I created communication boards with common play phrases in predictable locations and fringe words specific to the play activity including related labels, actions, and even descriptive words. 

Each board was easy to implement because all I needed to do was print and laminate and they were ready to go! In my opinion, sometimes low-tech options are all you need! Students can simply point to the word they want to use or for some they may use the board as a word bank to facilitate their verbal communication. 

When Core Words became increasingly popular, I updated my Play-Based Communication Boards to create a new resource featuring core words. 

Activities

I chose activities based on what my students liked so that leading into communication opportunities was natural and motivating. Click on the activities below for a quick way to find all of the toys we loved! 

• Art Projects (this board also works great for Art class!)

• Beading
• Blocks & Legos
• Bowling
• Bubbles

• Cars & Trains
• Chalk & Dry Erase Markers
• Coloring & Drawing
• Doll House

• Kitchen Set
• Mr. Potato Head

• Musical Instruments (this board also works great for Music class!)
• Painting
• Parachute (how cute is this parachute! I love all the colors!)
• Playdoh
• Reading (you probably already have books, but I wanted to share my favorite library display. Each month I put out seasonal and thematic books to keep things from getting too messy!)
  
• Sensory Bins

Play-Based Lesson Plans

To make these even easier to use in my classroom, I created lesson plans for each board that could easily be implemented by my paraprofessionals or subs. These lesson plans were differentiated for early, intermediate, and advanced learners. Often, I would have a paraprofessional introduce some of the vocabulary and concepts on the board using the lesson plans during 1:1 instruction, and then I would help with the application during our structured play groups. Then, once we had practiced a bit with a board I would add it to my free play area so that students always had them accessible during play times. 

For my Core Word boards, I added additional core word phrases for staff to focus on facilitating. 

Play-Based IEP Goals

And as an added bonus, when I added my Play-Based Communication Boards and Lesson Plans to my TPT store I also added differentiated IEP goal ideas that aligned with the lesson plans. 

Buyer Feedback

In addition to being a big hit with my students, these communication boards have been a big hit with my TPT customers too! 

Ready to check these out for yourself? Head over to my TPT store!

 

And if you have a group of students with a variety of needs, perhaps you have some students who are using basic AAC and some who are learning core words. Don't worry I have you covered with this great Play-Based Learning Bundle!