3-Symbol Combination Practice
Build 3-symbol messages: I want + item.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Teach the frame, not the sentence. Run I want juice and I want more back to back so the constant part is obvious, then hand over the third slot: I want ___ and let the student choose. Once the I-want frame is solid, switch to I need and I like, which use the same motor path for the first two hits. Turn it off please and my turn now please are the hardest here because they are four symbols in a three-symbol set — save them for last or skip them.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the moment, then wait with an expectant look for 10 seconds.Log as correct
- GesturePoint toward the device or the right area of the page.Log as cued
- ModelTouch the symbols on the device yourself while you say the message.Log as cued
- Partial physicalOnly if the team agrees and the student accepts touch: a light touch at the elbow toward the page. Never press the symbol for them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Fewer symbols on the page, and model the message several times before you expect it.
Wait longer before prompting, or expect one more symbol in the message.
Matching IEP goal
During structured activities, Student will use their AAC system to combine symbols into a message in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a gestural prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The next step up from two-symbol messages: I want juice, I like that book, I need help now, I see the bus, let's play ball, I feel happy today. Fourteen frames that hold their shape — most start with I plus a verb, so the student is learning a pattern they can fill rather than fourteen unrelated strings.
What to listen for
Listen for the frame generalizing beyond the cards. A student who produces I want lunch, which is not on this board, has the pattern. Watch also for length creeping up without meaning: some students learn that longer is rewarded and start padding. The useful measure is whether the third symbol changes with the situation, not whether the message hits three hits.
Carrying it home
Give the frame something to do at home. At snack, ask an open question — what do you want? — and wait, rather than offering two choices. If the answer comes back as one symbol, model I want plus what they picked and carry on. The waiting is the part families most often skip and the part that matters most.
What's in this activity
- I want juice
- I want more
- I like that book
- you go outside
- I need help now
- I see the bus
- let's play ball
- I don't like it
- I want to eat
- give me the ball
- I feel happy today
- turn it off please
- I want more music
- my turn now please
Questions
- How is this different from the two-symbol board?
- Two-symbol work builds the combination itself. This one builds a repeated frame — I want, I need, I like — so the student has a pattern to extend rather than a list to memorize.
- Do I need to log in?
- No. Play it as many times as you like without an account. Signing up is only needed to assign it to a student or score it toward a goal.
- What grades is it written for?
- First through fifth, though the frames suit any student who is combining two symbols reliably and ready for three.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.