Teaching beginning learners in an autism classroom requires careful planning and thoughtful strategies to build those foundational skills. Tasks that can be easily broken down, scaffolded, and taught in small steps provide essential support for these students. Using tools like flashcards, matching games, and breaking big tasks into smaller parts) can create meaningful learning opportunities tailored to individual needs.
1. Index Cards: The Superpower You Didn't Know You Had
Just grab some index cards! Having them on hand when you teach is like having a secret superpower, especially when you're short on time or working with a tight budget! Use them to draw shapes, write numbers, letters, or color names. If you need a matching game, just make two sets. No fancy materials are needed, just a marker and creativity. Some index cards come in various colors, making them perfect for students working on color-sorting goals. Just grab 3 clear plastic bins, place one color of each inside, and you have a simple color-sorting activity. Who knew index cards could be so versatile?
Here are the best things to remember about index cards:
- Affordability: Great for teachers just starting out: If you are low on funds, you can still address skills.
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Versatility: They can be used to create countless activities that target a wide range of IEP skills.
- Usability: Color cards can make a great work task: Use color index cards for sorting.
2. Flash Cards: A Flexible Teaching Tool
Flashcards are a simple yet powerful resource for teaching all kinds of skills. Teachers can use them to build vocabulary, teach shapes, colors, words, or even support communication. Start by introducing a small set of flashcards and gradually increase the variety as the learner gains confidence.
Here are a few ways to use flashcards in the classroom:
- Identification: Hold up a flashcard and ask your student with autism to point to the picture or word.
- Sorting: Have your students group flashcards by category, such as animals or foods.
- Matching: Ask students to pair flashcards with identical images or objects in the classroom.
- Turn-taking: Use flashcards in games to encourage social interaction and communication.
To scaffold this activity, begin with two or three options and provide prompts, reducing help as the student becomes more independent. If you do not feel like making your own, try these flashcards from The Little Thinkers Garden!
These animal-themed flashcards are a great way to keep students engaged while building foundational math skills. Use them for counting practice, number recognition, or as a fun addition to your math center activities!
3. Matching Games and File Folder Activities
Matching games and file folder activities are excellent for developing visual discrimination, attention to detail, and early academic skills. These games involve pairing identical or related items, such as matching pictures, numbers, or words.
Here’s how to set up and use matching games:
- Start simple: Begin with exact matches (e.g., identical animals) before introducing related pairs (e.g., a picture of a dog and the word “dog”).
- Create file folder activities: Use Velcro-backed images and a sturdy folder for an interactive and portable matching task. See our file folders below.
- Incorporate themes: Align games with classroom topics, like seasons, shapes, or letters, to make them engaging and educational.
These activities can also foster independence as learners become more familiar with the materials. Matching games can be underrated, but they offer opportunities to build a wide range of skills. From cognitive development and communication to fine motor skills, following directions, turn-taking, and reinforcing academic concepts, these unexpected benefits make matching games an invaluable resource.
4. Put-On Tasks
Put-on activities and put-on tasks (such as placing items onto a mat, board, or into containers) are highly beneficial for students with significant special needs, especially for beginning learners who are just starting to regulate themselves and follow directions. These activities build foundational skills in a structured and supportive way. If you have students who are otherwise not engaged in the lessons, try “put-on” tasks first.
Here's why they're important and how they help:
- Following Directions. These tasks provide clear and simple instructions like "Put on the block" or "Place the circle here." This helps students learn how to follow one-step directions, which is a building block for more complex skills.
- Task Completion and Independence. Put-on tasks are often short and have a clear beginning and end, which helps students learn task completion and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Our "put on" colors asks students to glue on pieces of something red. It is a baisc concept, but saves you time since all you have to do is print it and find red items for students to glue.
- Fine Motor Development. Picking up small items and placing them precisely helps students practice grasping, pinching, and hand-eye coordination, which are essential for pre-writing skills.
- Self-Regulation Practice. Completing a put-on task requires patience, focus, and sitting for a short period of time. These are all key self-regulation skills that students need to learn before moving on to more advanced activities.
- Routine and Predictability. The repetitive nature of put-on activities helps students feel secure and confident, especially those who thrive on structure. It prepares them for following routines throughout the school day.
Put-on tasks can build confidence by offering a simple way to be successful. They teach that tasks have a start, middle, and end which is a crucial concept for learners who need structure. Your students will learn to focus and be engaged in the activity when offered routine, hands-on activities to start. They serve as a foundation for tackling more challenging tasks down the road.
5. Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) Cards
DTT is a structured teaching method that breaks skills into small, manageable steps. Each trial focuses on one task, using clear prompts and reinforcement. By repeating and reinforcing, students build understanding at their own pace. Luck for us, Discretely Teaching has created a resource to help with this. This copy and go book about the alphabet was made to facilitate easy inclusion of discrete trials into your instruction.
As you may know, a short DTT activity sets up the learning environment for younger students and new learners in a structured way. Each trial consists of three main parts:
- Instruction: Provide a clear prompt, such as “Touch the number 3.”
- Response: Wait for the learner to respond.
- Reinforcement: Offer immediate feedback, like verbal praise or a preferred item, for correct answers.
If the learner struggles, use prompts or modeling to guide them toward the correct response. Over time, fade the prompts to encourage independence.
There is also a set that helps with flashcards for learning numbers. It provides numbers 1-20 flashcards in multiple fonts and includes copy & go number cards to support generalization. It offers detailed instructions for structuring sessions, including error correction, reinforcement, and prompting hierarchies. The even greater part about this book is that it includes Data Tracking Sheets that offer a baseline data sheets for assessing initial knowledge so that you can see where your students starts and where they finish.
You can see the numbers cards book here.
Whichever flashcards you find most helpful, once the students learn the skill, your students and their parents will thank you!
