The role of the Environment - The indoor and outdoor environment, whole school and wider community is seen as the learning environment. The learning environments should encourage independence, active learning and interaction. It is ideal to have zoned areas both inside and outside of the classroom. Learning environments need to be kept organised and tidy. Resources should be well labelled and easily accessible to the children, as appropriate. The teacher needs to plan for resources that support the focus of learning in relation to children’s individual outcomes. - Opportunities for children to practise what they have learnt should be provided for in the environment. Each environment needs to be adapted to suit the needs of the children. Natural, muted colours should be used within the learning environment so as not to over stimulate the children. Where possible, displays should reflect the zone they are in. Make the environment a beautiful, comfortable, homely and safe place. 

 

Core Words Curriculum – We get our words from the Dynamic Learning Map’s “First 40” recommended core vocabulary words. These words are recommended for students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that need to start with a limited number of words in their communication systems due to motor, sensory, and/or cognitive challenges. These words were selected from a larger core vocabulary set based on their usefulness in everyday communication and in addressing the DLM Essential Elements. The “First 40” words are intended to get a student started with AAC, and additional core vocabulary words should be added over time, as the student learns and begins to use these words for communication. All these strategies encourage teaching core words in natural contexts. We model words to communicate during real, fun activities. This helps AAC users and gestalt language processors to learn the meaning of core words and how to use them to communicate. In the end, we all have the same goal for the AAC users – to give them the ability to communicate their thoughts clearly to anyone they need to talk to. Core words can do this.