Sentence and Story Templates (in pdf format) for young learners and older learners with moderate to severe learning difficulties

Dear Everyone:

One of the frustrations I had experienced during the days before I homeschooled Sebastien, my autistic son, was the poor quality of the worksheets given to special needs learners who were considered low functioning. They were often oversimplified, repetitive, and decontextualised. During the course of my last seven homeschooling years and my work with special needs learners, I have been designing and refining my own templates to provide worksheets that are engaging for all learners, even those who are considered low-functioning. 

Thus, I am pleased to present Awakening Minds' Fun and Interactive Sentence and Story Templates Literacy Series (Levels 1–4) (in pdf format) that are targeted at young learners aged 5 and above, as well as older learners with moderate to severe learning difficulties. They are inspired by my core belief that MOST learners including those with significant learning difficulties can be motivated to learn with engaging and interactive learning templates. It is my hope that all these learners will be initiated into the world of literacy and stories in a fun and interactive way not just for the learners, but also the caregivers/educators.  

Each of these Do-it-Yourself (DIY — Level 1) and Ready-to-Use (RTU — Levels 2 to 4) templates contains the following elements: 

• THEME or STORY to offer a meaningful and relevant context that can interest learners;
• Various types of SCAFFOLDING such as “hangman” word prompts and images that can be cut out/colo(ur)ed to facilitate teaching and learning, as well as offer task diversity to break the monotony of writing; and
• Detailed INSTRUCTIONS for adult users (caregivers/educators) on how to design (needed for Level 1 only) and carry out the learning activities with learners, using the templates.

I have also created a FREE explanatory booklet that can be easily downloaded so that you have a firsthand look at these templates to determine whether they are appropriate for your learners. To BUY or LEARN more about these products, please go to: http://www.awakeningminds.sg/sentence_story_templates_4_kids.html. 

Here is a concise summation of the themes and learning objectives of each level.

LITERACY LEVEL 1 (USD3.99, 15 pages each)
The THREE Do-it-Yourself (DIY)* Sentence Templates are: 1) Food: I Want; 2) Places: I Want; and 3) Things: I Want. The themes of these Sentence Templates revolve around the learner’s favo(u)rite (frequently requested) foods, places, and items — all of which would be either interesting and/or familiar, and hence meaningful and relevant, to the learner.

Learning Objectives: 1) Learn to spell, read, and write the words corresponding to the foods/places/items he/she likes; 2) Learn sentences that begin with “I want...” (through reading and writing) to request for the foods/places/items he/she likes; and 3) Learn to respond to the question “What do you want?” with “I want...” (through reading and writing)  to request for the foods/places/items he/she likes. 

* As these worksheet templates are about the particular aspects of life the learner likes, you will have to prepare the images and corresponding labels yourself (detailed instructions are provided in the templates). However, if you don't have time to work on them, please check out Literacy Level 2 templates that are ready for use.


LITERACY LEVEL 2 (USD6.99, 14 pages each)

The THREE Literacy Level 2 Ready-to-Use (RTU) Sentence Templates are: 1) He Likes to Eat...; 2) He Likes to Go to; and 3) He Likes to Play With. The themes of these Sentence Templates revolve around a boy’s favo(u)rite (frequently requested) foods, places, and items/friends. 

Learning Objectives: 1) Learn to spell, read, and write the words of foods/places/items-friends; 2) Learn sentences that begin with “He likes to eat...”/”He likes to go to”/”He likes to play with” (through reading and writing) to refer to foods/places/items-friends; and 3) Learn to respond to the following questions: 1)“What does he like to eat?” with “He likes to eat...”; 2) “Where does he like to go?” with “He likes to go to...”; and 3) “What/Who does he like to play with?” with “He likes to play with...” (through reading and writing).

LITERACY LEVEL 3 (USD7.99, 14 pages each)

The THREE Literacy Level 3 Ready-to-Use (RTU) Sentence Templates are: 1) Doing 1: What is He/She Doing; 2) Doing 2: What are They Doing; and 3) Doing 3: What is He/She OR are They Doing. The themes of these Sentence Templates revolve around what various individuals are doing. Supported by images, the contexts should still be sufficiently interesting and meaningful to the learner who had completed Literacy Levels 1 and 2. 

Learning Objectives: 1) Learn new vocabulary, different pronouns, and verbs within the context of simple sentence structures; 2) Learn to respond to two types of interrelated questions in Doing 1 and Doing 2, eg: 1) “What is she doing?” that focuses on the action (verb); and 2) If the response is “She is reading”, the follow-up question will be  “What is she reading?” that focuses on the item (“book”); and 3) For Doing 3, the two types of interrelated questions are: eg. 1) “What is she doing?” that focuses on the action (verb); and 2) If the response is “She is writing”, the follow-up question will be “Where is is she writing” that focuses on the place (“beach”).

LITERACY LEVEL 4 (USD10.99, 22–24 pages each & USD14.99, 33–38 pages each)

The FOUR Literacy Level 4 Ready-to-Use (RTU) Story Templates are: 1) At the Beach 1; 2) At the Beach 2; 3) On Holiday 1; and 4) On Holiday 2. The “mini-life stories” of these Story Templates revolve around groups of individuals engaged in doing fun things at the beach and on holidays. Supported by images, the contexts should still be sufficiently interesting and meaningful to the learner who had completed Literacy Levels 1, 2, and 3.

Learning Objectives: 1) Learn new phrases and vocabulary; 2) Practise using parts of speech in basic sentences; and 3) Learn how to pose and respond to: “What”, “Where”, “Who,” “How many” and “Yes/No” questions.

To BUY or LEARN more about these templates, please go to: http://www.awakeningminds.sg/sentence_story_templates_4_kids.html. 

Also, for more advanced learners (typical learners aged six and above, or older learners with moderate learning difficulties who have some knowledge of parts of speech), I also have theWords, Pictures, Story (WPS!) Story Template and Workbook. Recently, I have also created a FREE explanatory booklet for download so that you can take a "look inside". To BUY or LEARN more about these templates, please go to: http://www.awakeningminds.sg/books.html#wps4kids

Please feel free to share this email with other caregivers and educators whose learners may benefit from them. 

Best regards,

Kah Ying

8163-4509