Core Vocabulary Flashcards — Action Words
Core vocabulary verbs: go, want, like, help, stop.
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
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.
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 say target words such as 'want', 'like' and 'help' 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
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.
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.
What's in this activity
- go
- want
- like
- help
- stop
- look
- give
- eat
- drink
- play
- open
- make
- put
- turn
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.
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.