How to Teach One Core Word All Week

If you’re wondering how to teach one core word all week.. Then this is the blog post for you! I’m always getting asked how to teach one core word a week and what way to organize it/plan it. So hopefully this blog post is going to help you be able to work on one core word per week with your students this year.

The good news is that teaching one core word all week doesn’t mean doing the same activity over and over again… And it doesn’t mean that the core word needs to be boring.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite!

The goal is that you want to expose your students to the same word in lots of different ways. We’re going to do it across different activities, environments, and routines.

The more meaningful opportunities that your students have to hear, see, model, and use a core word.. Then the more likely they are to begin using it independently.

Read on below to find out exactly how I like to structure a week of core vocabulary instruction in my classroom.

Monday: Introduce the core word

I want you to start by introducing your focus word for the week. Let’s pretend your first word is GO.

I want you to model the word throughout the day whenever you naturally can.

“Go outside.”
“Ready… go!”
“Go fast!”
“Go home.”
“Let’s go to gym.”
“Who wants to go outside?”
“Let’s go to lunch”

There’s no need to quiz your students or ask them to repeat the word constantly. Instead, I want you to simply model it during any meaningful activities.

Monday is also a great day to introduce:

A Word Adapted Book
A Symbol Adapted Book
Your communication board or AAC device
Simple classroom routines using the word

The goal is simply helping students become familiar with hearing and seeing the word.

Tuesday: Learn through play

Now it’s time to make the word come alive! One of the best things about core vocabulary is that it can be taught during play instead of feeling like a formal lesson all the time.

For example, let’s continue with the idea that this week you are teaching the word GO, you might use:

Toy cars
Ball ramps
Marble runs
Bubbles
Obstacle courses
Swing time
Toy animals

I want you to keep modeling the word while your students are engaged. You could also introduce hands-on activities like:

Play Dough Mats
Word Formation Mats
Dab-a-Dot Worksheets
Fine motor activities

Students are often much more engaged when communication is part of something fun.

Wednesday: Build literacy skills

By the middle of the week, your students have already heard the word many, many times. Now it’s the perfect opportunity to connect communication with literacy.

You might use:

An Emergent Reader
Word Worksheets
Fill in the Missing Word Worksheets
Writing Prompt Worksheets
Word Handwriting Task Boxes

Don’t worry if some of your students aren’t reading independently yet. The goal isn’t perfect reading, it’s building familiarity with the word while continuing to model communication in meaningful ways.

Thursday: Get creative

Thursday is one of my favorite days because we usually get the craft supplies out! Crafts provide so many natural opportunities for us to model core vocabulary to our students.

For example, you may say:

“Put on.”
“More glue.”
“Help.”
“Open.”
“Go.”

Students are often so focused on creating, that communication becomes completely natural to them. You can also combine crafts with:

Sensory bins
Painting
Q-tip activities
Stickers
Letter tracing
Cube building
Road formation mats

The more different experiences your students have with the word… Then the stronger those connections become.

Friday: Review and celebrate

I want you to throw away your end of week tests. Friday isn’t about testing students. Instead, it’s about giving them one more opportunity to experience the word in lots of different ways.

You might:

Re-read your adapted books.
Read the emergent reader together.
Complete a favorite worksheet.
Build the word with play dough.
Practice handwriting.
Play a movement game.
Use the word during your classroom routines.

I want you to celebrate every attempt to communicate. Whether that’s spoken language, sign language, pointing to an AAC device, using a communication board, or any other form of communication.

Every attempt from your student matters.

Keep modeling throughout the entire week

One of the biggest mistakes teachers make is only teaching their core word during one planned lesson. The real magic happens outside of those lessons. I want you to continue modeling the word during:

Morning meeting
Snack
Lunch
Centers
Recess
Art
Music
PE
Reading
Transitions
Sensory play
Arrival and dismissal

Core vocabulary should become part of your classroom language, not just part of one activity.

Don’t worry about perfection

It’s easy to feel like you’re not doing enough. I think we all get those feelings in our line of work. But, the truth is, your students don’t need these fancy and huge lesson plans every day.

What your students need is consistent and meaningful opportunities where they are able to hear and use communication.

Some days your planned activity won’t happen and some days you’ll spend more time outside than expected. That’s okay!

If you’re consistently modeling the core word throughout the day, you’re still giving your students valuable learning opportunities. Progress with your students comes from repetition – not from perfect lesson plans.

Looking for ready-to-use activities for every core word?

Planning an entire week of activities for every single core word can quickly become overwhelming. Trust me, I know how busy special education teachers are!

That’s exactly why I created my Core Vocabulary Activities Bundle. Instead of searching for new ideas every week, you’ll have a huge collection of ready-to-print resources for each core word, making it easy to keep students engaged while providing the repetition they need. The bundle currently includes activities for words such as Go, Help, More, In, Want, Stop, I, My, On, Open, Off, Put, Play, Drink, Eat, Again, Get, Feel, Like, See, Yes, No, Please, Me, Hello, Goodbye, You, He, She, We, and They, with more words continuing to be added.

Each core word includes:

Fill in the Missing Word Worksheets
Word Adapted Books
Symbol Adapted Books
Crafts
Dab-a-Dot Worksheets
Emergent Readers
Word Formation Mats (play dough, letter formation, letter tracing, stickers/Q-tips, road formation, and cubes)
Word Play Dough Mats
Word Worksheets
Word Writing Prompt Worksheets
Word Handwriting Task Boxes

Everything is designed to help you focus on one core word at a time, while giving your students lots of different ways to practice that word throughout the week.

You can take a look at my Core Vocabulary Activities Bundle here.

Teaching one core vocabulary word all week doesn’t have to feel repetitive or boring.

By introducing the word on Monday, exploring it through play, literacy, crafts, and hands-on activities throughout the week, and modeling it naturally during everyday routines, you’re giving your students repeated opportunities to develop meaningful communication skills.

We don’t want them to just memorize a word by the end of the week… Our students should be given enough opportunities that they understand that communication is powerful, meaningful and something that they can use every single day.

Give it a go. Start with one core word, model it, make it fun.. And then you get to enjoy watching your students grow into more confident communicators! Just one core word at a time.

If you found this blog post helpful, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues on social media, it helps more teachers find support, and it means the world to me and my little family too.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my Free Resource Library for tons of classroom tools, visuals, and printables to make your teaching life easier (and a whole lot more fun!).

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Nikki