Description

Ages: 4 and up

Grades: PreK and up

Things I Do At Home Interactive Reading Book

Utilizing the power of visual strategies, “Things I Do At Home” transforms the familiar routines of daily life into a powerful literacy and language tool. By moving original, Velcro-backed drawings, students associate common household activities with written words, moving from simple identification to independent reading.

How It Works

This book uses a scaffolded approach to ensure students master the content rather than simply memorizing the order of the pages:

• Foundational Vocabulary: The book features 4 dedicated picture pages where students practice matching, identifying, and labeling common objects and actions found around the house.

• Interactive Sentence Building: Using 12 sentence pages, students use their icons as visual aids to complete thoughts about their daily lives.

• Reading Mastery: As students gain confidence, they can read the sentences with or without the picture support. To ensure true reading comprehension, educators can mix up the sentence order, challenging the student to decode the text rather than rely on memory.

Building Functional Communication

“Things I Do At Home” is more than a reading book; it is a tool for functional language development. The icons serve as a bridge for students to answer real-world questions:

• Functional Inquiry: “Where do you go when you are tired?” (Student finds the bed icon).

• Action Identification: “What do you do when your hands are dirty?” (Student finds the wash hands icon).

• Predictable Routines: Helps students sequence their day, from waking up to going to sleep, reducing transition anxiety.

Why It’s Effective for Home & School

Because the vocabulary is based on a “typical day,” the skills learned in the book translate directly to the student’s environment. It is an ideal resource for:

• Beginning Readers: Those who benefit from a high degree of visual and tactile support.

• Special Education: Providing a structured, success-oriented task for students with diverse learning needs.

• Speech Therapy: Targeting verbs (actions) and nouns (objects) in a natural, functional context.

Key Features

• Real-World Context: Focuses on activities students perform every day, making the learning relevant.

• Non-Memorization Design: Encourages true literacy by allowing for the shuffling of sentence pages.

• Tactile Engagement: Durable Velcro-backed drawings provide the “hands-on” interaction necessary for many learners.

• Versatile Language Support: Perfect for practicing yes/no questions, following directions, and answering “Wh-” questions.