What to Model During Shared Reading with AAC Users
One of the questions I hear all the time
“But what am I supposed to model?”
This is one of the most common questions I hear when I share about shared reading, and it makes sense. As professionals, parents, and caregivers of AAC users, we want to be doing what feels helpful, meaningful and supportive.
There are a lot of different words you could model during shared reading with AAC users, and that can definitely feel overwhelming. The good news is: you don’t need to model everything, and there are no perfect words you have to choose in order for shared reading to be meaningful.
You do not need to model everything
When you think about shared reading, you may immediately think about reading the text on the page. However, if you have read my previous posts about what shared reading is, and how to start shared reading, you know that shared reading can look a lot of different ways.
Shared reading is not about covering all the text in the book or modeling every word. In fact, you do not even have to model words directly from the text. You can model words that describe the pictures, words that connect to something the learner notices, or a word or two you chose ahead of time that you can naturally repeat throughout the reading.
Remember that connection is the goal during every shared reading opportunity, so if modeling words feels overwhelming and starts to take away from the connection, it is ok to scale back the amount and variety of words you are modeling.
Start with a few core words
If you are just getting started with shared reading or reading a book that is less familiar to you, it might be helpful to read through the book ahead of time and jot down a few possible words on sticky notes. You can place the sticky notes right on the pages, so the words will be there when you are ready to read.
To keep things simple, focus on just a few core words.
While there are no “right” or “wrong” words to model, these are words I have found myself using across many different books:
- look
- turn
- more
- again
- go
- like
- stop
- big
- little
- funny
Starting with core vocabulary can be especially helpful because these words are flexible and naturally show up across routines, conversations, and books. That makes them easier to model consistently.
I also love modeling core vocabulary during shared reading because the words do not stay stuck inside the book. They can carry over into the child’s day, helping build connections between the story and real life.
You can also model fringe words that matter
While core vocabulary might be the go-to vocabulary to model during shared reading, don’t forget about fringe vocabulary.
Story-specific words and themes absolutely have a place in shared reading, especially when they connect to what catches the learner’s attention. That might include:
- animal names
- food
- characters
- actions from the story
- favorite objects or themes
Core words may show up more often, but fringe words can sometimes be the thing that helps build excitement and buy-in. If a fringe word is meaningful, interesting, or motivating, it is absolutely worth modeling.
Model comments more than questions
If you read my previous post about starting shared reading with AAC users, you know that shared reading is NOT about performance and is not a test.
It can be easy to default to questions such as:
- What is that?
- What color is it?
- What is he doing?
- Can you point to…?
But one powerful shift is to model comments more often than questions.
Some examples of comments you can model during shared reading include:
- I like that.
- That’s funny!
- Uh oh!
- Look!
- Let’s turn the page.
- Wow!
- There he goes.
- I see it.
Comments are a great way to draw attention to the illustrations, the action, and the emotional moments in a book. They often feel more natural, and they help build interest and connection without putting pressure on the learner to respond in a certain way.
Model feelings, actions, and surprises
Books are full of feelings, actions, reactions, surprises, and opinions. That is part of what makes them such a natural space for communication.
These kinds of words can be great choices to model during shared reading:
- happy
- sad
- funny
- wow
- uh oh
- go
- fall
- open
- like
- don’t like
Modeling these words in the context of a book makes language feel more natural, meaningful, and fun rather than like a drill.
Let the book guide you
By now, hopefully the pressure is starting to come down.
Not only do you not have to model every word in the book, you also do not have to model the exact same words every time. In fact, shared reading often feels more natural when you let the book guide what you model.
Some books lend themselves to movement and action words so you might model more verbs. Some books bring up strong feelings, so you may model emotion words. Other books naturally invite commenting, predicting, or repetitive modeling.
Whatever book you are reading, think about a few core and fringe words you might want to use, but do not feel like you have to stick to those alone. Trust your instincts and model what feels natural in the moment. That is often where the best connection happens.
Keep it natural
Nothing disrupts connection during shared reading faster than making it feel like a task that has to be completed.
We want shared reading to feel inviting and enjoyable so that learners will want to return to it again and again.
As you plan for shared reading, keep these ideas in mind:
- Model naturally, not constantly
- You do not have to model on every page
- The goal is connection and access
- Repeated, meaningful models matter more than frequency alone
- Follow the child’s interest when possible
And remember: there is no one way shared reading should look. There can be lots of movement, only a little reading, repetitive reading of favorite pages, or lots of page flipping. It all still counts.
You’ve got this!
You are ready to start shared reading right where you are.
Keep these ideas in mind:
- Start with a few words.
- Let the book help you.
- Comments count.
- Repeated words are powerful.
- You do not need to do it perfectly for it to be meaningful.
If you want more support in figuring out what to model, how to get started, and how to make shared reading more accessible, I go deeper into all of that in my e-book, Shared Reading with AAC Users: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Guide.
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