It's one thing to see a picture of an apple and say the word "apple," but it's another to understand what an apple is all about. We learn all about apples through our senses. In fact, we learn about the world using our senses.

So in order to make learning new words a more memorable experience, why not plan to teach your students using all five senses.

1. Have your student LOOK at the thing you are teaching. Make sure you expose them to words that are visually-based, such as colors, shapes, and sizes. An apple can be "red" or "green," "round," "small," "shiny" and so on.
2. Encourage students to TOUCH items. The apple feels "smooth" and maybe "cold," or it may be "waxy" or "slippy."
3. When possible, talk about the SMELL of the thing you are working with. An apple has a particular smell that could be described as "fresh" or "fruity."
4. Some items can be TASTED. With foods and drinks, giving students the opportunity to "bite" into an apple and see how "sweet" or "juicy" it is can reinforce the whole concept of APPLE.
5. HEARING can be another tool. Biting into an apple will typically make a "cracking" sound, or it may fall to the floor with a "thump" or "splat."

When teaching about a Unity icon, such as the APPLE itself, don't just teach the word "apple," but make sure your student gets to experience all the associations that can be made with an apple because this is what language is all about.

Materials: As needed for the target icons

Objective: To teach multi-associations for icons

Adaptations: Not applicable

Source: Russell T. Cross, AAC Product Manager, PRC
Age: All ages
Device: All
Content: Association of meaning with icon