Adding in adaptive tools for expressive and receptive communication can keep children of all abilities engaged and building their literacy skills.

Receptive Communication

How are we giving children opportunities to understand what is being communicated by us and the story?

  • Use familiar visuals from other activities.
  • Offer hands-on materials for children to hold, like a stick or piece of hay. Real materials are a great way to make connections!
  • Act it out. Show children what is happening. What does it look like to "huff, and puff, and blow"?

Expressive Communication

What opportunities are we giving children to communicate what they know about the story?

  • Keep visuals on hand that relate to the story. When asking a question like, "What does the next little pig build his house of?" make visuals available for a non verbal response.
  • A child might point to, pick up, or use eye contact to indicate the visual for their answer. Be on the lookout for different kinds of communication!
  • Offer tangible objects like felt board pieces, puppets, paper cutouts, etc... Allow children to move them to answer questions and/or act out predictions for what happens next. This is a good way to get children to share alternative endings as well.
  • Provide pre-recorded buttons when appropriate for children to make a response. Keep it to 2-3 options and teach children how to use them ahead of time.

Errorless Responses

This picture shows a single-button that can be pre-recorded. This is a tool for offering an "errorless response." Errorless response tools should be used carefully. A teacher records the right answer on a single button for the child to press. The child is not making a choice, simply pressing the button in response to a cue. For children who are still learning the basic back and forth of communication, they can be a great option. They help a child understand that when a question is asked, they can respond. However, make sure to continually offer ways for the child to give independent responses. Including eye contact for visuals.