Have you seen Sarah’s AMAZING adapted books?  If you have been wanting to try them out, now is the time.  There are so many benefits to using adapted books besides the language it encourages.  I use adapted books with all children because the amount of motivation alone is a winner in my book.  Kids love matching the pieces to the book and it turns normal reading into an interactive experience.  Adapted books use movable pieces that really highlight important aspects of literacy skills. Having a background of co-teaching from Pre-K 3 to third grade, I often visualize the trajectory of literacy skills.  There is so much that goes into becoming a comprehensive reader and the task can be very daunting; laying that foundation (or working on the current one) is so incredibly important.  Basic print skills that adapted books target and extend are include orientation of a book, page turning, tracking, matching pictures to words, reading left to right and so many more!  Additionally, depending on which adapted book you are using, you can work on multiple skills such as counting and cardinality, wh-questions, receptive and expressive language, colors, size and the list goes on! Below is an example of Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards for Reading Foundational Skills Pre-K (can you see the connection?!

Assistive Technology and Adapted Books

As always, make sure you are incorporating in a student’s communication device when you use these books.   You do not always have to be targeting a certain core word but using the device to model language will improve literacy (and writing) skills!  Just as in any general education classroom, you will see peer reading.  I love using my peer communication models as mini teachers because they love using the devices too!  They do not have that performance fear of using a device that we as adults can have.  I also find that if I am having difficulty engaging a student, using another peer can be more motivating.

Storing Adapted Books

One of my biggest pet peeves is losing those precious Velcro picture pieces.  The most inexpensive way I have found to store them is to simply slip them in a gallon size bag.  I am able to see what book it is and the bag will catch any of those pieces! I also store them by theme and season in a big plastic tub.  By the time Spring rolls around I simple pull out some of my favorites which include the Plant Edition and “What’s on the Grill Dad?”.

Happy reading!