With Father’s Day and Summer right around the corner I decided to create a book about Grilling and Dads. What’s on the Grill Dad? is a fun adaptive book to work on food vocabulary and number concepts. This book is perfect for ESY, summer school, or some at home fun!
Here is how I set up the book:
I placed a strip of clear hard velco across the grill and then I placed another strip of hard velcro across the bottom rectangle on each page. I put a piece of soft velcro on the back of each food item and cut out all the food items separately. I placed the food items that correspond with each page in the rectangular box at the bottom of each page.
Here is how I use the book in therapy:
I model the first page for the students. I point to each box as I read the words across the top. “What’s on the grill Dad?” Then I move to the bottom of the page and read “Yum! 3 burgers on the grill.” I model for the students how to pull off the food pieces and count as I place the burgers on the grill. “one, two, three….stop no more burgers”. Sometimes I read the first page again and we point to each burger as I review counting to 3.
Basic Level:
For some of my students, we complete the book with more hand over hand assistance. I might help the student touch some of the words on the book like “Dad” and try to have the student verbally produced the word or a verbal approximation of those key words in the book. I might help those students count out the pictures and prompt them when to stop. For me I like to use a more errorless learning approach the first time while working with my students with more learning challenges. I don’t just want the student to place the food on the grill without understanding how to count each picture as it is placed on the grill and then STOP when we get to the correct number. I use simple language and focus on multiple repetitions of naming the food and counting during the lesson. I use simple phrases through the book such as “corn on” or “more corn” to model different language concepts.
Higher Level:
For my students with higher skill levels after I model the first page I try to have the students complete the remainder of the book with more independence. I have the students take turns completing each page. I have the student touch each box as he/she helps read the words across the top of the page. As we move to the bottom of the page, I try to let my student identify the given number of food items before I provide additional prompting. I have the student count out each food item as he/she places it on the grill. Usually my students at this skill level can count from 1-5 and may only require some minimal prompting to stop at the correct number. For these students I often ask some questions on each page. For example, for the corn page I might ask – “how many corn?” “where are the corn?” or “what color are the corn?”.
How I use with AAC devices:
I also use this book with my students who use core vocabulary boards or other AAC devices such as the Nova Chat. There are various ways to incorporate using these devices while participating in this adaptive book lesson. I model different key words on the vocabulary board or device as I read the book. For example I might hit the “what” icon as I read the first line of the book “what’s on the grill day?” The goal may be for my student to push the “what” or “on” button as I read the top line of the book. The student could also just hit or touch the “on” symbol as the food item is placed on the grill or “on” along with the food item such as “fish on”. Words I would focus on while reading this book may include “my turn”, “what”, “turn page”, “corn”, “four corn”, “on”, “corn on”, etc.
Happy Father’s Day!
- Vehicle Themed File Folder Activities - May 18, 2021
- Counting and Sorting Vehicle Fun - May 4, 2021
- What Color is the Vehicle? Adapted Book and Free Vehicle Themed Bingo Games - April 20, 2021
