Communication Corner- Core Words

When teaching a student how to communicate, it is often difficult to know where to start. Core words are a great place to start because they are often words that hold a lot of meaning and they are used frequently across the day.  Core words include words such as:

• Protest words: no, stop, done
• Attention seeking words: look, help, hi
• Requesting words: want, more, go
• Location words: up/down, on/off, in/out
• Pronouns: I, you, me, it
• Descriptive words: good/bad, big/little, fast/slow

These are words that can be used in many different situations to meet important communication functions. Core words can be expressed with verbal language, sign language, pictures and communication devices. Most dynamic communication devices have a grid of core words as the home page to make it easy to access the most frequently used core words.

Fringe Words vs Core Words

If we talk about core words, we have to talk about fringe words.  Fringe words are typically nouns. They are very specific to the situation and may not be used repeatedly across the day. Fringe words are more concrete and easily represented by a picture, while core words can be more difficult to represent with a picture. If you are training a student to use Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), you will start by teaching fringe words. This is because when teaching an exchange, it is easier to exchange a picture for an object. When teaching fringe words it is best to start with words that are highly motivating for the student. Pair core words with fringe words to expand communication.  On more advanced communication devices, core words are often the home page and the user must navigate to find the fringe words. This is because there are many more fringe words than core words.

Teach use of core words across the day

Repeated practice is essential to developing functional use of language. We love how our ALIST speech and language pathologist Ann-Marie Small provides direct instruction of core words to her students through a variety of engaging activities. 

First students read a Core Word Vocabulary Book which provides many repetitions of the targeted word. These books can be found here: AdaptEd for Special Ed Core Vocabulary Books TPT

Ann-Marie Small
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Then, Ann-Marie provides practical practice through fun activities. For the core word "find" students played a game of elf hide and seek. They had many opportunities to talk about how they had to "find" the elf! 

Ann-Marie Small
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Ann-Marie Small
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Books from previous lessons are incorporated into the library so students can practice them over and over. 

Ann-Marie Small
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Ann-Marie collaborates with her teachers so that the core word instruction is incorporated into the classroom. There are visual reminders provided to staff as well as posted on the classroom doors so that any visitors can help to facilitate the core words.

Ann-Marie Small
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Consider how target core words can be modeled and facilitated across the day. Look at the student’s schedule and make a plan to incorporate use of the target core words. Many of our teams do a “core word of the week” to encourage all staff to practice the use of a target word. They use these great visuals from Speech Room News. The visuals can be passed out to staff members and/or posted around the classroom to provide reminders for staff. These visual reminders can be found here: Speech Room News Core Word of the Week TPT

Rachel Engle and Rebecca Spidel
Horace Mann Elementary, Springfield

Rachel Engle and Rebecca Spidel
Horace Mann Elementary, Springfield

Laurie Maravetz and Mitch Duncan
Schaefer Middle School, Springfield

In addition to modeling use of the core word, it will be important to expect the learner to initiate use of the word for communication. Instead of prompting, entice the use of the word and wait. As soon as the core word is communicated, respond in a meaningful way to reinforce the learner. The goal is to develop functional and spontaneous use of powerful core words.

Once the students start to develop a repertoire of core words, many of our teams have posted PECS cards and designated core word boards in the classroom for easy access to the vocabulary throughout the day. 

Mitch Duncan
Springfield High School, Springfield

Casey Lathrop and Katie Bigelow
Brookville Elementary, Brookville

Allison Clements
Schnell Elementary, West Carrollton

Susie Stoner and Heather Costa
Bradford Elementary, Bradford