About this activity
Fourteen core verbs: go, want, like, help, stop, look, give, eat, drink, play, open, make, put, turn. Verbs are the load-bearing part of a communication system — a noun on its own is a label and a verb turns it into a message — and this set is deliberately generic, because go and put work in a hundred situations while a specific verb works in one.
How to use it in a session
Model each verb in at least three different situations before expecting it. Go applies to a car, a turn and a person leaving, and a student who has only met it in one of those has learned a phrase rather than a word. Pair the verb with different nouns in the same session — eat apple, eat lunch, eat later — since the combining is where the system starts to generate messages nobody taught. Eight minutes on the board, then the rest of the session using them.
What to listen for
Watch for generalisation across contexts. A student who uses open for a door, a jar and a book has the verb; one who uses it only for the bubble jar has an association. Notice which verbs stay stuck in requests — want, help and more usually arrive first and easily, while look and make are commenting and describing verbs that need deliberate modelling.
Carrying it home
These verbs happen constantly at home without anyone arranging them. Saying and modelling open at the door, eat at the table and turn with a page costs nothing and is the highest-value AAC practice available.
Questions
- Why teach generic verbs instead of specific ones?
- Because they cover more ground. Go, put and make each work in dozens of situations, while a specific verb works in one — for a limited vocabulary, the generic words buy far more messages.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all fourteen cards play free in the browser.
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through fifth, and any emergent communicator building a core set.