Verbal Accommodations

Overview

Lesson 8 of 10 in “The Ultimate Guide to Me” focuses on identifying and explaining accommodations that can support a student’s future learning and participation. Students use a verbal brainstorming routine to generate options, then link each accommodation to a clear benefit.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Identify personal strengths, needs, and learning preferences.
• List at least three accommodations that could support their future learning.
• Explain how each accommodation helps them learn or participate more effectively.
• Use respectful, clear speaking to share ideas in a group discussion.

Success criteria

Students can:

• Name three accommodations.
• Describe the benefit of each accommodation (how it helps me learn/participate).
• Speak clearly enough that a partner can understand their idea.
• Listen to peers and add at least one improvement to their list.

Curriculum links

• Personal and social capability: self-management and recognising strengths and needs to support learning choices.
• English (Oral language): contribute ideas in discussions and use language for a purpose (sharing information and reasons/benefits).
• HASS (where relevant to “future learning” and wellbeing): make connections between personal needs and community supports (school learning supports and inclusion).

Lesson structure (45 minutes total)

1. 0–5 min · Arrival + visual goal check. Teacher shows a simple slide/poster with three icons: Strengths, Needs, Accommodations. Students point to what they recall from the last lessons and tell the teacher one word for “accommodation” (e.g., help, support, tool).

2. 5–12 min · Low-reading warm-up: “Spot the support”. Teacher displays 4–6 pictures (e.g., ear defenders, fidget, quiet space, colour overlays, checklists, extra time). Students do a quick verbal sort: “This helps my brain when…” Teacher uses short prompts and accepts any reasonable link.

3. 12–22 min · Direct teach: what makes an accommodation useful. Teacher models with a think-aloud (high-dopamine, fast pacing):

• Accommodation = what I do/what is provided.
• Benefit = what changes for me (I focus, I understand, I finish, I feel calm). Teacher writes a 2-column visual on the board: “Accommodation” and “Benefit”. Students copy the headings only (low writing load).

4. 22–34 min · Verbal brainstorming (main task). Teacher runs a structured round using a turn-taking “sound cue” (clap/hand signal).

• Prompt: “What accommodations could help you in the future at school or in training/work?”
• Students call out ideas while teacher records them as short phrases in the table.
• After each idea, teacher asks: “What benefit would that give you?” and adds a matching benefit phrase.
• To keep this Age-6/Year-6 friendly: teacher limits to 8–10 minutes of brainstorming, then stops while ideas are still strong. For a class of 1 student: teacher acts as the discussion partner, repeating and extending the student’s ideas with one gentle question each time (“When would you use it?” “How would it help?”).

5. 34–41 min · Choose and explain: “My 3 Best Supports”. Teacher and student select three accommodations from the brainstorm list. Students practice a “30-second talk” using a sentence frame displayed visually:

• “My accommodation is ___.”
• “It benefits me because ___.” Student gives the talk to the teacher (and records an audio if desired). Teacher asks one follow-up: “Can you make the benefit more specific?”

6. 41–45 min · Exit ticket: quick confidence check. Student completes an ultra-short response on a sticky note or card:

• “Today I can list: 1) ___ 2) ___ 3) ___.”
• “My most useful benefit is: ___.” Teacher collects and glances for understanding before ending.

Resources

• Visual poster: Strengths / Needs / Accommodations icons
• Picture cards for accommodations (quiet space, noise reduction, fidgets, checklists, colour overlays, headphones, visual timetable, extra time)
• Whiteboard or large paper with two-column chart: Accommodation | Benefit
• Sentence frame card for 30-second talk
• Timer (visual timer preferred)
• Optional: audio recorder on device for student talk
• Dyslexia-friendly option: image-only choice cards + minimal text, large font

Assessment

• Formative observation during brainstorming: Are ideas connected to a specific benefit?
• Teacher checklist during “My 3 Best Supports”: three accommodations named and benefits explained.
• Exit ticket: confirms the three accommodations and one clear benefit.

Differentiation

• Support (neurodivergence-friendly):
• Use picture cards and allow pointing instead of writing during brainstorming.
• Provide a small set of starters (“quiet space”, “extra time”, “visual checklist”) to reduce cognitive load.
• Keep bursts short with a visible timer and frequent movement-free transitions (point → speak → select).
• Dyslexia-friendly reading options:
• Sentence frames as large text + optional icons; teacher reads prompts aloud.
• Student chooses from prepared benefit words (e.g., “focus”, “understand”, “calm”, “finish”) if spelling/reading is challenging.
• Extension (if student finishes early):
• Add a “When I would use it” detail for each accommodation (e.g., “when it’s noisy” / “when tasks feel confusing”).
• Compare two accommodations: “Which one helps most and why?”
• For a class of 1:
• Use high interaction and rapid repetition; teacher mirrors the student’s language, then refines the benefit wording for clarity.