Personal Choice Questions

Grade 3 | Duration: 60 minutes | 1 student

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Objective(s) aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS):

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing personal ideas clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational and general academic words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

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Student Profile:

• Gestalt language processor who uses echolalia
• Requires visuals to support comprehension and expression
• Benefits from dyslexia-friendly reading strategies
• Needs encouragement to give personal, not random, responses

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Success Criteria ("I can..." statements)

• I can use pictures and words to talk about my favorite things.
• I can answer personal questions with my own choices.
• I can read or listen to words that help me explain my favorites.
• I can try to use new words to tell about me.

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Materials

• Visual word and picture bank worksheet (see sample below)
• Dyslexia-friendly cards/plastic sleeves of word-picture pairs (large font, clear spacing, sans-serif font)
• Whiteboard or tablet for modeling responses
• Colored markers or highlighters
• Customized question prompts on cards ("What is your favorite color?" "What do you like to eat?" etc.)
• Extension activity sheet for writing/drawing favorite things

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Warm-Up: Connecting with Choices (10 minutes)

• Goal: Activate prior knowledge and personal connection.
• Use visual word-picture cards laid out on table. Model echolalia-friendly phrases that incorporate personal choice, e.g., "My favorite color is blue," instead of random word repetition.
• Prompt: "What color do you like?" Use choices from cards.
• Support: Provide sentence starters visually—“My favorite ___ is ___.” Support with large, clear font.
• Encourage student to repeat with own choice using visuals.

Differentiation: For students who need more support, reduce choices to 2-3 items. For advanced, add a brief explanation prompt (“I like blue because…”).

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2. Main Activity: Personal Choice Worksheet (25 minutes)

• Provide a worksheet with question prompts about favorite things (color, food, animal, game). Each question includes a word-picture bank adjacent to each item (example pictured below).
• Student circles or points to their preferred choices and then reads (or echoes) aloud, using the sentence starter visual ("My favorite ___ is ___").
• Teacher models full sentence responses first, then gradually fades support allowing student to say or sign independently.
• Use dyslexia-friendly font and spacing on the worksheet to minimize visual clutter.

Differentiation:

• For gestalts, chunk input by pairing choices with pictures, avoiding random word presentation.
• For advanced learner, add an open-response box to write or dictate why they like their choice.

Visual Word-Picture Bank Example:

Question	Choices (Word + Picture)
Favorite color?	Red (red apple), Blue (blue sky), Green (leaf)
Favorite food?	Pizza, Carrots, Ice Cream
Favorite animal?	Dog, Cat, Elephant
Favorite game?	Tag, Blocks, Hide and Seek

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3. Guided Communication & Reflection (15 minutes)

• Use communication cards to ask: “Why do you like ___?” Model varied sentence structures visually with options, e.g., “I like ___ because it is __.”
• Support student responses with visuals and word banks to reduce echolalia of non-personal phrases.
• Record responses on whiteboard or device to reflect back, reinforcing personal expression.
• Repeat emphasizing personal choices over generic repeated phrases.

Differentiation: For students who struggle to generate explanations, allow pointing to pictures or phrases like “It is fun” or “It is tasty.”

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4. Extension Activity: Create Your “All About Me” Mini-Poster (10 minutes)

• Provide blank mini-poster paper with space to draw or write about their favorite things.
• Encourage use of word-picture cards to label drawings or write simple sentences.
• For advanced learners, prompt using descriptive words and encourage more complex sentences.
• Allow the student to present their mini-poster if comfortable, building confidence in personal communication.

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Assessment

• Observe student’s ability to choose personal preferences from word-picture bank vs. generic/random replies.
• Check if student uses “I can…” sentence starters orally or with assistance.
• Collect completed worksheet for accuracy in matching choices to personal answers.
• Informal assessment through guided questions and extension poster participation.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Present input visually and verbally.
• Use chunked, gestalt-friendly phrases rather than isolated words.
• Allow ample wait time for processing.
• Provide reduced choices if overwhelmed.
• Incorporate interests for engagement.
• Use dyslexia-friendly fonts (e.g., OpenDyslexic), increased spacing, and color overlays if needed.
• Allow alternative communication modes: pointing, picture exchange, assisted typing.

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Extensions for Advanced Learners

• Write a short paragraph or narrative about “My Favorite Day” using their favorite items.
• Create comparison sentences (“I like blue more than red because...”).
• Develop questions to ask peers about their favorites, practicing question forms and turn-taking in conversations.

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Reflection & Teacher Notes

• Monitor for echolalic repetitions of non-personalized phrases; gently guide toward personalization.
• Reinforce that there are no “wrong” answers, only personal preferences.
• Celebrate attempts at independent communication strongly to build confidence and engagement.

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End of Plan