Description

Teaching the core words up and down can easily turn into pointing at arrows on a page—with little carryover to real understanding.

This AAC Core Word Book & Experiment takes students from ZERO (identifying “up” and “down” in isolation) to HERO (using those words meaningfully during a story and a real science experiment).

Students follow Ruby the bird as she flies up into the sky and comes down to the ground, seeing the core words repeated naturally within an engaging, predictable story. Then, students bring those same words to life through a hands-on floating egg experiment, observing whether the egg goes up or down in different liquids.

This resource builds deep understanding by pairing language, literacy, and science—giving AAC users repeated, meaningful opportunities to communicate with purpose.

Activity Time

30–45 minutes
• Core word story read-aloud
• Comprehension questions
• Hands-on floating egg experiment

Student Will Practice:

• Using the AAC core words up and down

• Attending to a predictable, repetitive story structure

• Answering comprehension questions using visuals

• Making simple observations during an experiment

• Predicting outcomes (up vs. down)

• Participating in basic science exploration

• Expanding expressive language beyond drill practice

• Generalizing core words to real-world experiences

What’s Included:

• AAC Core Word Story featuring up and down

• Visual AAC symbols embedded throughout the text

• Comprehension questions with picture answer choices

• Floating Egg Experiment video link

• Experiment recording/chart page

• Visual supports for identifying up and down

• Easy-to-follow, low-prep activities

Benefits:

• Makes abstract core words concrete and meaningful

• Combines AAC, literacy, and science in one lesson

• Encourages active engagement through hands-on learning

• Supports generalization of core words beyond the book

• Ideal for speech therapy, special education, and AAC users

• Students stay motivated and curious

• Teachers love the built-in experiment connection

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