School Day AAC Vocabulary
Symbols for common school-day requests and routines.
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
Prioritise the ones with consequences. Bathroom, help, break please and I don't feel good are the messages whose absence produces a problem rather than a missed opportunity, and they should be reachable in one hit. Model them during the actual routine — line up at lining-up time, not at a table — since fringe vocabulary is tied to a context and learned fastest inside it. Eight minutes on the board, then use it all day.
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 'bathroom', 'lunch' and 'recess' 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 symbols for the school day: bathroom, lunch, recess, help, finished, my turn, break please, I need a pencil, line up, water, music class, go home, I don't feel good, more time please. Fringe vocabulary rather than core — these are specific to a setting, and the setting happens six hours a day, five days a week.
What to listen for
Watch for break please and more time please being used before a difficulty rather than after it. A student who requests a break when they are already overwhelmed has the vocabulary and not the timing, and the timing is the target. Notice which requests are made to adults only — my turn is a peer message and often has no route to a peer.
Carrying it home
The school-day vocabulary mostly stays at school, but the routine translates: bathroom, finished, more time and I don't feel good all apply at home. Modelling them there gives extra repetitions with no extra effort.
What's in this activity
- bathroom
- lunch
- recess
- help
- finished
- my turn
- break please
- I need a pencil
- line up
- water
- music class
- go home
- I don't feel good
- more time please
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through fifth grade, for AAC users in a mainstream or specialist school day.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all fourteen cards play with no account.
- Which symbols should be easiest to reach?
- Bathroom, help, break please and I don't feel good. Those are the messages whose absence produces a real problem, so they should be one hit from wherever the student usually is.
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.