Before joining Crick, I was an elementary school teacher for eight years. If there's one thing I learned, it’s that no two schools approach guided reading in quite the same way.

When planning training at Crick, I often find resources and ideas that would have been invaluable in guided reading sessions. So, I thought I’d share some of them with you. I'll also share some practical ways Clicker can support guided reading across different grades, topics, and learner needs.

Listening to and discussing a wide range of texts

LearningGrids, our bank of ready-made resources, includes nearly 800 Clicker Books. With fiction and nonfiction texts spanning different curriculum areas, these speech-supported books help students access material beyond their independent reading level.

You could use these books as a whole class teaching tool by introducing and sharing the book on your interactive whiteboard, reading the text all together. Students can then revisit the book independently. They can either read it themselves or use the built-in speech support to listen along, reinforcing understanding and building confidence.

Our books are available at a range of levels, making them a useful tool for adaptive teaching.

• Read a Book: These books offer a large section of text on each page
  
  
• Read in Steps: These books offer several separated sentences per page, each with its own speaker button
  
  
• Read It Yourself: These books offer one or two sentences per page

These different book types enable students to access the same content as their peers, but at their reading level.

Clicker Books are a great way to familiarize students with traditional tales and myths, and legends. You can explore the Story Corner section of LearningGrids to discover the range of stories we have available.

You can adapt all our resources to meet different reading levels or to link with the topic you are covering. For more information on how to edit or create your own Clicker Book, see our tutorial videos.

Sequencing and retelling

Once you’ve introduced a text, the next step might be to encourage students to sequence the story and retell it in their own words, thinking carefully about key features, characteristics, and vocabulary.

Retelling a whole story can be quite a challenge, especially if students have only heard it once or twice. Having the right level of support in place can make a real difference.

A Tell the Story Talk Set supports students with picture prompts to help them recall the key events. They can then record themselves retelling each part, breaking the story down into manageable chunks.

This not only gives the students a safe and supportive space to practice retelling but also provides a useful way to capture evidence of their understanding. The recordings can even be revisited later as a scaffold when students move on to their own written work.

Tell the Story Talk Sets aren’t limited to storytelling either. They can be used to support any sequence of events. For example, instructions for baking a cake or explaining the life cycle of a plant.

Clicker Boards are a great resource for supporting students with sequencing events. The Story Steps resources, for example, work in a similar way to a story mountain activity. Students are given the beginning and ending and then complete the remaining sections with pictures or text to highlight the key events and summarize the story.

You can also print these resources, making it easy to provide students with a physical copy to draw on or annotate with key vocabulary. It’s a ready-made template that can slot straight into your lesson, saving valuable preparation time while still offering meaningful learning opportunities.

In some Clicker Boards, students are given the key events from the story and are challenged to organize them into the correct order. This simple activity is a great way to check understanding of sequencing and narrative structure.

Voice Notes can also be added to a Clicker Board, giving students the opportunity to expand on their ideas or record full sentences alongside their sequencing work.

These activities work well as a whole-class task too! You could invite students to the front of the classroom to rearrange images on the interactive whiteboard, encouraging discussion and collaborative thinking as they justify their choices.

Rhymes and poems

To make studying poetry more interactive, you could use a Listen and Say Talk Set. For example, in the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star resource, students select the image to hear the poem and can then record themselves reciting it. They can listen back to the poem as many times as they need to and re-record until they are happy with it. 

This works particularly well for kindergarten classrooms. Students can listen independently as many times as they need to before recording their own version. You can easily create your own Talk Sets, tailoring them to the specific poem or rhyme you are focusing on.

A Clicker Board can support a student’s recognition of recurring language in stories and poetry. For instance, in a sequencing board, students can match each line of the poem to the corresponding image. Once they’ve ordered the poem correctly, they can add Voice Notes to practice and record their recitation. This helps to reinforce both memory and fluency.

Word meanings

Let’s imagine you’ve read a text, maybe using a Clicker Book, and you’ve spent time picking out the key vocabulary.

The next step might be for students to define those words to deepen their understanding in a traditional “dictionary lesson”… one I used to dread! Students would spend ages locating a word, only to then copy out a definition without really processing what it meant.

Those definitions might end up written in books or displayed on a Working Wall - never to be revisited during the rest of the sequence of lessons.

This is where Connect Sets and Word Banks really come into their own. These writing grids provide the scaffolding students need to engage more meaningfully with vocabulary.

For example, in this Charlotte’s Web Definitions Connect Set, students can select a word from one grid and then match it to the definition.

In the following grid, students are prompted to use that word in a sentence, helping to secure their understanding by applying it in context. The grid contains all the key words and phrases needed, reducing cognitive overload and supporting success.

Word Banks are another useful tool, with the relevant vocabulary organized across tabs. Students can write their own definitions, drawing on the Word Bank to support spelling and word choice as needed. These can be used across both fiction and nonfiction texts, making them a flexible addition to your guided reading toolkit. 

Clicker Boards are a great way to keep these definition lessons interactive! Students could match the word to the definition and then use Voice Notes to record a sentence using that word. Bringing a more active, engaging approach to what can otherwise be quite a static task.

If you’d like to create or adapt these resources for your own texts, you can follow our tutorial videos.

Understanding the books they read

Clicker Boards can be a great way to explore what students already know, from their own experiences or from what they have read, and how this can help them understand the text. You could insert an image from the book and students could create a mind map of key vocabulary or ideas, linking them to their own experiences.

A similar approach could be used when making predictions or discussing the significance of the title and events. The Book Cover Detective Clicker Board includes useful prompts to get students thinking carefully about what the title might suggest and what could happen in the story. You can easily adapt this resource to suit your class, simplifying it where needed for younger learners.

When developing inference skills, using what is being said and done, the Character - Outside and Inside Clicker Board provides a clear structure for exploring characterization. Students can gather ideas about a character’s “outside” (appearance, clothing, voice, and behavior) and “inside” (likes, dislikes, personality, and secrets), helping them to build and justify their inferences with evidence.

I remember doing this activity on flipchart paper, drawing a character outline and trying to capture ideas as quickly as possible! Often, I’d rewrite everything at the end of the day so it was clear enough for the Working Wall. With this resource, the template is ready to go, and students can contribute ideas either as a class or independently using the tabs. They can even add Voice Notes to explain how a character is feeling or to justify their interpretations. You could then print the completed board so learners have a copy in their books to refer back to in future writing.

I also really like the Before and After Clicker Boards. They prompt students to use what they already know about a text and what has already happened to predict what might happen next. It’s a simple but effective way to encourage discussion and support creative thinking, while keeping the focus firmly on evidence from the text.

Explain clearly their understanding

Many learners can talk confidently about what they’ve understood and explain what a text is about. The part they find tricky is getting those ideas down on paper, particularly when answering comprehension questions.

I remember that, depending on the grade, simply writing out the questions could take up a large chunk of the lesson. To save time, I’d provide numbered questions for students to stick into their books. However, this often led to frustrating one-word responses!

This is where Connect Sets are incredibly useful. These writing grids help students to structure their answers and are a fantastic way to encourage them to write in full sentences. Learners can enter the question and then complete the answer using the provided options. The grids include all of the words and phrases they need while still allowing for choice. This gives you a clear insight into how well they’ve understood the text.

Answering and asking questions

Students can often find it challenging to ask purposeful questions about a text. Without support, their questions can sometimes be quite simple and don’t always deepen their understanding.

To support this, you could use the Using Question Words Clicker Board. This board provides prompts that encourage learners to generate a wider range of questions and explore different question types. Insert an image into the middle cell and then students can create and record questions about it, using a different question word each time to broaden their thinking.

A Talk About Talk Set also works well as a hot-seating activity. The picture provides a clear stimulus, giving students a starting point as they generate their questions.

With the option to include up to six recordings, students could create a range of question types, including a who, what, where, when, and why question. Alternatively, one student could record a question, with their partner responding by recording an answer, creating a more interactive and collaborative task.

If you’d like to adapt these resources, you can find step-by-step guidance in our tutorial videos.

Summarizing

From my own experience, summarizing is something many students find particularly challenging. Picking out the key events or the most important information from a text can be tricky, especially when they’re not sure what to prioritize.

This Chapter Summary Word Bank is a helpful tool to support this skill. It provides a range of useful sentence starters within a single grid. The sentence starters guide students on what to include and how to structure their responses. As the prompts are intentionally generic, this resource can be applied to almost any text. So, it's a versatile addition to your guided reading lessons.

Book review

You’ve reached the end of the book! Now, it’s time to reflect on what you’ve read. This was always an area I found challenging in the classroom. I’d spend time creating a template to help students fill in all of the necessary information. But once it came time for them to complete the task they would only fill in the bare minimum. Because I’d tried to make it look engaging, presentation would often suffer too!

The Book Review Clicker Board offers a ready-made structure for students to organize their ideas. They can type in their reviews or use Voice Notes to give a verbal review. This makes it accessible for a range of learners. Before the lesson, you might choose to add your own Voice Notes with instructions. You can also include prompts and key questions to guide their thinking.

For a more structured approach, you could use one of our writing frames. These resources provided sentence starters to help students include relevant detail and develop their ideas more fully.

My First Book Review is a lovely resource for younger learners. This Word Bank helps them to share their thoughts in a simple, accessible way.

For a more comprehensive writing frame, you could use the Book Review Frame. The tabbed Word Bank scaffolds paragraphs introducing the text, summarizing the plot and characters, and encouraging students to share a personal response.

Rounding up

Guided reading can look very different from one classroom to the next. But whatever the structure, the goal remains the same. We want to help students engage deeply with texts and develop the skills they need to become confident, independent readers.

What I’ve always found is that it’s not the activity itself that makes the biggest difference, but the level of support and engagement we build around it. That’s where Clicker can really come into its own. Whether it’s providing scaffolds for vocabulary, supporting learners to sequence and retell, encouraging richer questioning, or helping them translate their understanding into writing, these tools make it easier to meet a wide range of needs within your classroom.

They also offer something just as important - variety. By mixing listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities, you can keep guided reading sessions purposeful and engaging. At the same time, you can reduce some of the workload that comes with creating resources from scratch.

Ultimately, Clicker isn’t about replacing what you already do well - it’s about enhancing it. Giving students the right level of support at the right time can help them to access texts more confidently, express their ideas more clearly, and develop a real enjoyment of reading. And if it saves you a little time along the way too, that’s always a bonus!

Want to know more about how Clicker can support guided reading lessons and with reading in general? You might find these resources useful:

• Clicker and Phonics
  
  
• The science of reading and Clicker’s decodable books
  
  
• Early reading support with Clicker

For personalized advice on using Clicker with your learners, you can schedule a customer care meeting at any point during your subscription.

A student is working on blending the sounds in the word dog. The reading specialist says each sound, asks the student to blend “in their head,” and then waits for a response.

The student understands the task, but demonstrating it is harder. Some students struggle to respond quickly. Others find pointing, speaking, or navigating a device more demanding than the reading itself. And for many learners with complex profiles - including those with autism, sensory or motor differences, or communication challenges - every response option carries its own trade off.

Spoken responses may not clearly show what the student knows. Picture choices can invite guessing. Navigating a device can become more of a motor task than a reading task.

Moments like this appear often when teaching emergent readers with complex communication or learning needs. The literacy goal is clear. Demonstrating it is not always straightforward.

Emergent or conventional? The question that influences everything.

In Comprehensive Literacy for All (CLFA) classrooms, one of the most important instructional questions is whether a student is currently an emergent or conventional reader. The answer shapes everything, from the texts students encounter to the kinds of writing and word work they experience each day.

Many students with complex learning profiles - students with autism, intellectual disabilities, complex bodies, or communication challenges - remain emergent readers longer than their peers. For these students, literacy instruction must create the conditions that enable reading and writing to develop.

When “prove it” gets in the way of reading

Special education teams need evidence that students can blend and decode. At the same time, they must honor different ways students communicate and respond without adding so much scaffolding that the literacy skill itself becomes hard to see. The Science of Reading has helped bring phonics, decoding, and structured literacy back into focus.

But for teams working to implement CLFA, these expectations raise new questions when students have complex communication or learning needs.

• How do we assess phonics and blending when students cannot easily demonstrate their thinking aloud, in writing, or through quick motor responses?
  
  
• How do we build inner voice without turning communication supports into a test-answer routine?
  
  
• What do we do with core programs like UFLI and their decodable passages when students interact with text in different ways?
  

As special education teams work to build CLFA-aligned systems, they are trying to balance all of this by supporting inner voice, respecting the different ways students communicate and respond, and still meeting phonics and assessment expectations.

In practice, this means designing literacy lessons where students explore the same rich texts as their classmates but access them in ways that match their communication and learning styles. Tools like Clicker can help make this possible by giving students flexible ways to access text and express their ideas.

In our “CLFA book collection” webinar, Rose Racicot and Barb Lark demonstrate this approach. Rose is an occupational therapist and assistive technology expert, and Barb is an experienced speech-language pathologist. Together, they show how to pair the CLFA book collection with Clicker and how it works in real classrooms.

Why inner voice matters for complex learners

Inner voice is especially important for students with complex communication or learning needs, including those who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Some learners know their letter sounds for years but still struggle to blend and read words. Often, they have not yet built a strong internal voice to “hold” those sounds. When adults regularly say the sounds and words for students, it can unintentionally slow the development of that internal processing.

Karen Erickson, co-author of Literacy for All, calls inner voice a tool that helps readers hold words in memory. When a student's inner voice is weak or not used, they may recognize individual words or follow along when someone reads aloud. However, they may struggle to read silently and understand on their own. For students with complex communication needs - including those who rely on AAC - learning how to use an inner voice is an important step in moving beyond early word reading.

During the webinar, Barb revisited a core CLFA principle that aligns with this research:

“Emergent literacy is highly dependent upon the nature, frequency and accessibility and interpretability of experiences with print… and the experiences really need to carry a high level of meaning for each individual student in order for it to be at its most successful.”

Inner voice grows when students have many meaningful experiences. They need easy-to-understand text that connects to what they care about. That is why the CLFA book collection centers on rich shared reading, shared writing, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and self‑selected reading - not rapid‑fire “What word is this?” probes.

This shift moves the focus toward daily conditions that make blending possible. Students have regular and valuable print experiences every day. Over time, repeated exposure helps students recognize words more automatically. This helps them develop their inner voice and gain confidence in understanding connected text.

When demonstrating reading becomes the hardest part

Another challenge appears when literacy activities become focused on how students respond rather than what they know. In some phonics lessons, the process of responding- whether through speaking, selecting a picture, navigating a device, or writing - can be so demanding that the focus shifts away from the literacy skill entirely. This is not only a challenge for students who use AAC. It applies to many emergent readers with complex learning needs: students whose motor demands are high, whose processing speed differs from their peers, or whose attention is consumed by the mechanics of the response.

The webinar addresses this directly. When we looked at the CLFA activity plan for The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, Barb explained that her planning documents are “idea ticklers,” not test scripts. They focus on shared reading, shared writing, predictable chart writing, and extension activities like cooking or sequencing. These tasks invite real communication, including comments, connections, and questions.

Rose added, “Clicker provides a unique way to provide choices for accessibility… to scaffold all these different writing options… so that every student in a classroom - a diverse group of students - can access that content.”​

For special education leaders, this approach has clear implications:

• Use flexible tools first for authentic reading and writing experiences: shared writing, independent writing, and composing with support.
  
  
• Use low-tech options such as small picture arrays, Elkonin boxes, or silent pointing when you need clean decoding data.

Are they emergent or conventional? It’s an important distinction

Many special educators also ask how to adapt UFLI decodable passages for students who engage with text differently. CLFA invites a different starting point: is this learner primarily emergent or conventional right now?

In the webinar, Barb showed how the CLFA book collection differentiates support:​

• Emergent learners start with shared reading and shared writing, rich oral language, alphabet and phonological awareness, and lots of “looking at and listening to” books, even when they are older students.
  
  
• Learners who are becoming conventional readers get more guided reading, word study, self‑directed reading, and writing, but they still benefit from shared reading.

Barb told the story of a sixth‑grade student with a complex body and sensory profile. This student used partner‑assisted scanning and was just starting eye gaze. Her goal for the year was “to learn to read and write.” She is an emergent learner, but her age does not cut her off from full CLFA instruction.​

Many practitioners are moving from a “can’t do yet” mindset to a “can do with the right supports” mindset. Instead of deciding if a student isn’t ready for inner voice or certain comprehension tasks because of age or a developmental label, they look at what the student can do with print, language, and communication in real situations and build from there.

For SPED directors, this is a systems question. Do your assessments, schedules, and staffing patterns leave room for older emergent learners to get strong emergent instruction? Or are these students being pushed into conventional routines too early because of grade level or program structure?

What districts can control: the conditions that make literacy possible

CLFA also names conditions for learning. These include:

• enough time
  
  
• comprehensive instruction
  
  
• knowledgeable adults
  
  
• accessible ways to communicate and respond
  
  
• personal connection to the curriculum
  
  
• repetition with variety
  
  
• cognitive engagement and clarity
  
  
• encouragement of risk‑taking
  
  
• high expectations.

These are factors districts can manage with schedules, materials, coaching, and staffing to make comprehensive literacy possible for complex learners.

Chapter 2 of CLFA “breaks down the critical and crucial components to enable successful comprehensive literacy instruction” and notes that most of these are adult-dependent, some are system‑dependent, and many require mindset shifts for practitioners.​

Our webinar gives concrete pictures of what these conditions look like when they are in place:​

• Significant time allocation. Barb’s activity plans expect multiple readings of the same book, shared writing across five days, and repeated chances to revisit vocabulary and ideas in different ways.
  
  
• Flexible means of access and interaction. Rose shows how features like switch access, recorded speech, interactive books, and talking word processors let students with different motor and sensory needs work with the same texts.
  
  
• Cognitive clarity and knowledgeable others. The session names emergent vs conventional, connects CLFA strategies to UDL, and shows where Clicker Sets and Clicker Analytics fit into district goals and data systems.

Without these conditions, literacy instruction can narrow over time - drifting toward easier tasks, compliance responses, and missed opportunities for the genuine reading and writing development that complex learners deserve.

Where to go from here

If any of these situations feel familiar, the blending task that turns into a motor test, the decodable passage that overwhelms a student who engages with text differently, the tension between inner voice and adult modeling- you are not alone.

You also do not have to solve these problems by yourself or start from zero.

In the CLFA + Clicker webinar, you and your team will see:​

• CLFA’s core beliefs and conditions for learning in action across a range of complex learner profiles.
  
  
• Concrete examples of shared reading, predictable chart writing, and book‑based routines for both emergent and conventional learners using Clicker.
  
  
• How tools like Clicker Books, Talk, Writer, and Analytics can support expression, access, and data - without turning any one tool into a “test answer machine.”

If you are ready to move beyond “Can this student tap the right symbol?” and toward “Are we giving this student the conditions, tools, and time they need to become a reader and writer?”, here is a next step:

Watch the webinar with your team. Bring one real student or classroom to mind. As you watch, note each time you think, “This would solve that problem we keep talking about.” Then use CLFA’s conditions for learning as your checklist for what needs to change in your system next.​

Watch the webinar now:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Clicker resources be used across different devices and platforms?

Yes. Clicker Sets run across Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and iPad.

Can teachers digitize books to use with Clicker for students with disabilities?

Yes. Under the Chafee Amendment, educators can digitize copyrighted books for accessibility if the student has an IEP or 504 plan and owns the physical copy. Many teams also use Creative Commons images or the Crick resource library when building digital versions.

Does Clicker support alternative access methods like switches or eye gaze?

Yes. Clicker supports a range of accessibility options including switch access, eye gaze systems, and other adapted inputs. On computers, these settings can integrate with dedicated eye-gaze devices or external bars connected to a laptop or tablet.

What kind of data can Clicker Analytics provide for educators?

Clicker Analytics shows how students produced a piece of writing, including which supports were used, which word grids were accessed, and where speech support helped. Teachers can also add notes to document instructional observations and share insights across multidisciplinary teams.

How can teams start using Clicker with CLFA resources?

Many districts begin with the CLFA book collection activity plans and use Clicker to support shared reading, predictable chart writing, and scaffolded writing tasks. Teams can adapt supports depending on whether students are emergent or conventional readers.

Is there a way to try Clicker before purchasing?

Yes. Schools can participate in a 90-day Clicker Pilot Program, which includes training and implementation support so teams can evaluate how it works in their classrooms.

If you’re looking for inclusive, structured, and engaging reading resources, you’re in the right place.

The Clicker Planet Wobble series began over 20 years ago as printed books accompanied by CD-ROM activities. Today, the series is available online in the Story Corner on LearningGrids.

Let’s take a closer look at the Planet Wobble resources and how you can use them to support literacy progression.

A story world designed for inclusion

The creators designed the series to be inclusive. The stories follow six friends with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The group also includes twins, as well as Holly, who uses a bespoke wheelchair.

The stories take place in the imaginative world of Planet Wobble. This setting allows the characters to have relatable experiences and adventures without real-world constraints. The collection covers many themes such as time travel, treasure hunting, and mystery solving. The colorful illustrations and varied storylines appeal to both developing and reluctant readers.

Structured progression across four levels

Planet Wobble stories are organized across four levels:

Level 1 – Short, predictable texts

Level 2 – Familiar family experiences with simple dialogue

Level 3 – Group events with richer description

Level 4 – Longer narratives with more dialogue and a clear story structure

How Planet Wobble reading resources support literacy development

Each story includes a book, in addition to a selection of linked activities:

• Read a Book – Read the full story about the characters.
  
  
• Read It Yourself – Read a shorter version (one sentence per page).
  
  
• Talk Set – Talk about a sequence of pictures to retell the story.
  
  
• Sentence Set – Select one word at a time to reconstruct the key sentences.
  
  
• Connect Set – Choose beginnings, middles, and endings to rewrite the story.
  
  
• Matching Set – Match story pictures to spoken sentences.
  
  
• Make a Book – Create a personalized book using the pictures and Word Banks.

This range of scaffolded tasks not only boosts confidence, but also enables learners who need to revisit language and story content to embed their learning.

Enhanced comprehension support

In addition to the resources above, most of the stories also include a Questions activity and a Do You Remember activity. These sets offer short quizzes requiring recall and comprehension skills. For young readers and learners with special needs, the pictures provide an additional layer of scaffolding. However, all Clicker resources are easy to edit and adapt to suit individual needs. For example, you can reduce the number of incorrect choices or remove the picture if you want the task to evidence a student’s comprehension ability.

Additional resources for Level 4

Two extra activities are also included for the Level 4 stories. Firstly, to support planning for writing, students can use the Story Elements Board to note the characters, setting, problem, and solution. Secondly, the related Word Banks provide key story vocabulary and character names to support students as they write more independently.

What’s coming next?

More Level 4 stories are on their way:

• The Wobble Lands takes the characters on an unusual and exciting day out.
  
  
• The Game features a unique sports competition.

These two stories and their related activities will soon complete the Planet Wobble collection.

To explore all the Planet Wobble reading resources, visit the Planet Wobble section on LearningGrids.

To discover another group of Clicker reading materials, check out our Clicker Friends blog.

Why expectations shape identity — especially for students with complex needs

"I’m not who I think I am.

I’m not who you think I am.

I’m who I think you think I am.”

This well-known idea, often linked to sociologist Charles Horton Cooley and his theory of the looking-glass self, suggests that our identity is shaped by how we believe others see us.

In other words: We become the reflection we are shown.

For the children and young people we represent - students with complex needs, many of whom are non-speaking or use AAC - this idea should give us pause.

Because whether intentional or not, schools are constantly holding up a mirror.

The mirror we hold

Children do not build their identities in isolation. They build them in relationship.

They notice:

• Who gets the books.
  
  
• Who gets asked the questions.
  
  
• Who is expected to read.
  
  
• Who is given writing opportunities.
  
  
• Who is talked about rather than talked to.
  
  
• Who is spoken to as a 'learner'.

And over time, they draw conclusions.

If a student is never explicitly taught to decode… If they are never given meaningful opportunities to write… If literacy is quietly replaced with sensory activities year after year…

What might they conclude? Not consciously at first. But gradually. They may begin to believe - because it is reflected back at them - that they are not readers. Not writers. Not candidates for literacy. Not because they have been told so directly. But because they have never been expected to become so.

And over time, expectation becomes identity.

When absence speaks loudly

We often talk about the harm of low expectations. But sometimes it is not what is said that shapes identity - it is what is absent. The absence of phonics instruction. The absence of shared reading that assumes comprehension. The absence of real writing opportunities. The absence of age-respectful texts.

When literacy teaching is consistently withheld, the message is powerful:

"This is not for you.”

And if a child repeatedly receives that message, it is entirely rational for them to internalise it.

They become who they think we think they are.

The risk for non-speaking learners

For students who use AAC or who have complex physical and sensory needs, this risk is amplified. When communication is slow, mediated, or physically effortful, adults may unintentionally:

• Confuse motor difficulty with lack of understanding.
  
  
• Prioritise care over cognition.
  
  
• Reduce curriculum breadth.
  
  
• Assume reading and writing are unrealistic goals.

Without intending to, we can reflect back an identity of limitation. And when a student believes that adults do not see them as someone who will ever read or write, it becomes harder for them to imagine that future for themselves.

The power of a different reflection

But there is hope here. If identity is shaped by reflection, then reflection is something we can change. When we:

• Prioritise communication access as early as possible.
  
  
• Teach literacy explicitly and systematically.
  
  
• Provide robust AAC access alongside reading instruction.
  
  
• Share ambitious, age-respectful texts.
  
  
• Create authentic writing opportunities.
  
  
• Design tasks that allow students to experience success as readers and writers — not just participate alongside them.
  
  
• Break learning into achievable steps without lowering the end goal.
  
  
• Notice and name progress, however small, understanding that meaningful literacy development may take time — and that time is not a reason to lower expectation.
  
  
• Communicate high expectations & belief consistently not conditionally.

We hold up a different mirror (because opportunity alone is not enough).

One that says:

"You are someone who can."

"You are someone whose thinking matters."

Sitting near books is not the same as being taught to read. Being present during writing is not the same as composing. Students need structured opportunities where success is possible - where effort leads to visible progress, where their attempts are treated as real literacy attempts, and where achievement is recognised as meaningful.

Success builds competence. Competence builds identity. Identity builds motivation.

When a student experiences themselves succeeding - decoding a word, contributing a sentence via AAC, recognising a grapheme, choosing vocabulary with intention - they begin to revise the story they tell about who they are.

Not:

"I am someone this isn’t for."

But:

"I am someone who is learning to read."

"I am someone who can write."

And even before fluency, something begins to shift. And that shift is powerful. It offers belonging, agency and possibility.

Literacy is about who you get to be

Literacy is not just a skill, it is an identity. It's about whether a child sees themselves as someone who belongs in the world of stories, information, ideas and self-expression.

If we never expect a student to become a reader or writer, they may begin to believe that this world is not for them. But when we reflect belief, entitlement and high expectation - consistently, explicitly and without compromise - we open a different pathway.

Because children do not just learn to read and write, they learn whether they are readers and writers.

And that belief often begins with us.

As a founding member of the Alliance for Inclusive Literacy, they collaborate with others across the sector and actively share effective practice to challenge assumptions and raise expectations.

They offer sponsored training courses to develop teachers’ skills and understanding, building capacity for inclusive literacy in all classrooms, and support schools to reflect on and strengthen their approach to inclusive literacy - from underlying principles and expectations through to everyday classroom practice. This may include reviewing current provision alongside staff, supporting the development of reading and writing approaches, delivering PD as standalone sessions or as part of longer-term engagement, and providing follow-up support to help embed and sustain effective practice over time - ensuring that inclusive literacy is not just introduced, but meaningfully lived across the school for every learner.

Elyse Reynolds wasn’t looking for evidence of adoption for assistive technology. She was just walking down a hallway.

But there it was, Clicker, open on a student’s laptop while writing. She didn’t recognize this particular student, and she felt that small, private win. "Clicker is just embedded," she'll tell you. "It's being used."

That's what four years of district-wide adoption looks like at Lake Washington School District, a district of 32 elementary schools outside Seattle. Not a rollout metric. A moment in a hallway nobody planned, with a kid whose name you don't know, doing exactly what you hoped they'd be doing.

Elyse and her counterpart Taylor Phu are Lake Washington's two Assistive Technology Specialists. Both came up as special education teachers — something they note is unusual in the AT world. Taylor spent fifteen years in the district, working with middle schoolers through transition-age students before moving into the role. Elyse made the shift in 2017. The classroom didn't leave them when they left it. It's the lens through which they see everything, including what it takes to get a tool into the hands of the people who need it most.

When a student who refused to write produced a full paragraph

The day after a Clicker training, a para tried something different with a student who had, up to that point, refused to write in any form. This was a student who had decided, somewhere along the way, that writing wasn't something they could do. The next morning, Taylor got a photo of a full paragraph on the screen. Pictures popping up alongside the words as the student typed, the page filling in a way that must have felt, finally, like something working the way it was supposed to.

"Paras are the backbone of special education," Taylor says. They're in the room every day. They're the ones who need something they can actually use tomorrow morning, with no preparation, no time. Getting Clicker into that para's hands, and making sure she knew what to do with it, was the whole point.

One strong support across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3

That thinking, teacher-first and relentlessly practical, starts with how Clicker fits into Lake Washington's MTSS framework. Central to that framework is a belief Taylor and Elyse always return to that a strong support shouldn't live only at Tier 2 or Tier 3. If a tool genuinely works, it should work across all three tiers.

Because all elementary students at Lake Washington have access to Clicker, Taylor and Elyse can offer it as a genuine Tier 1 support. But what makes it hold across tiers is the range it contains. One student might be typing independently with word prediction on. Another might be working through a Sentence Set, writing in whole phrases. A third might be using switch access.

Same tool, same activity, same classroom, but calibrated differently for each kid. Nobody needs to be pulled out, and nobody gets a visibly different experience. They're all simply writing. This kind of access across tiers reflects a Universal Design for Learning approach, where support is available to all students, not just those who qualify for them.

Early on, a general education teacher looked at Elyse mid-meeting and said something that stuck, "Every student needs this tool in my class."

Keeping tools top of mind with just-in-time communication

Knowing what teachers need and when they need it comes directly from having been in the classroom themselves. "Elyse and I have a little bit of a SpEd teacher's brain," Taylor says. When they send out newsletters highlighting Clicker resources, they think about when it’s most useful, like the week before spring break, or that first week back from a long weekend. They know what a just-in-time message feels like versus a well-intentioned one. The feedback they get back confirms it. Teachers write to say, "I was able to use that Clicker Set today." Taylor says the staff's response "reignites not just their knowledge of Clicker but their excitement about it."

The newsletters are structured accordingly, as well. They keep it simple at the top and include deeper resources at the bottom, packaged so a special ed teacher can forward the whole thing to a para in one click. Even the best resource won’t gain traction if friction occurs at the handoff point.

The tech tool is never the hard part. Adoption is.

The tool is almost never the hard part in technology integration and adoption. Taylor and Elyse have spent four years building human architecture, one relationship at a time. Someone must be in the room, fluent enough to translate the technology tool into whatever problem the person in front of them is trying to solve.

Supporting multilingual learners with shared scaffolds

Nowhere is that more visible than in the classrooms that have brought Taylor and Elyse back. One MLL teacher developed a weekly plan for previewing vocabulary with her students before they entered the general education classroom. Every week she'd pull the upcoming content, adapt it inside Clicker, and send it ahead so her students could arrive with the language already in hand. When her students got to the GenEd classroom and the textbook came out, they already had the necessary prior knowledge to access the content.

As Taylor describes it, "this teacher wasn't overly simplifying key vocabulary either; she would bring down the amount of text on the page." The rigor stayed, but the barrier came down.

And whenever she made materials in Clicker for one student, she'd print extra copies and leave them in the pod area for the whole grade level. Any para, any SpEd teacher, anyone who needed them could just go grab one. Something built for a single kid with individual effort has now become a practice for an entire grade. Taylor and Elyse recognized it immediately, and it's now a system they carry into every training they do. Make it once and make it available. The student you built it for isn't the only one who needs it.

That same MLL teacher used her experience with her students with staff. A native Japanese speaker, she'd put up a sentence in Japanese — no images, just text — read it aloud, and ask the room: what did I say? After silence, she'd then put up the same sentence with Clicker images alongside the text. Suddenly the room could tell it was about the life cycle of a butterfly. For a moment, everyone in that room felt what it is to be a multilingual learner still acquiring language while the classroom keeps moving forward without you.

Translating practical takeaways from trainings

Taylor and Elyse recognized it because they'd been doing a version of the same thing for years — sitting in literacy trainings, SIOP instruction, any professional development they attend, writing in the margins: how could this be done when someone isn't confident speaking? Their answer, almost every time, is Clicker. But the answer only means something because they know what question they're trying to answer.

There's a boy Taylor describes as bright, stubborn, and completely uninterested in writing. This student finally sat down when someone showed him his writing as a Clicker Book and told him he could put his name on it because he was an author. Taylor describes it as the whole point of teaching writing, "I'm not having somebody else do this for me. This gets to be my choice."

What successful technology adoption looks like across large school districts

It comes back to that moment when Elyse saw a student she didn’t know using Clicker.

It means Clicker traveled far enough from the people who introduced it that it doesn't need them anymore. It means a teacher or para made a decision, in a room Taylor and Elyse weren't in, because someone took the time to show them how to use it, and it was simple enough to get started. "It doesn't break on kids," Taylor says. And after four years, neither does the work they've built around it.

If you want to hear Taylor and Elyse walk through their specific examples, the MLL workflow, the phonics sets, and how they made the case to district leadership, watch their webinar here:

If you have been exploring LearningGrids recently, you may have seen the new Clicker Book, The Boy Who Only Ate Pancakes. The book is the latest in our collaboration with the organization, Book Dash.

In this blog, we’ll be exploring the Book Dash collection, its purpose, and how you can use the collection with your learners.

What is Book Dash?

Book Dash is a nonprofit organization based in South Africa. Their vision is that - “every child should own a hundred books by the age of five.”

Book Dash’s volunteer creatives have written hundreds of open-access picture books. Many of the books have strong African themes, but the messages of the stories are universal. Most of the books are aimed at early readers, and many are available in multiple languages. The books are published under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license, which means that anyone can access and use the books for free!

Book Dash and Clicker

Book Dash wants as many children as possible to have access to their stories. That’s why they have given us permission to use their resources to create Clicker Books and supporting activities. We don’t make any changes to the original stories, and we also try to maintain the original designs of the books as much as possible.

Working with Book Dash gives our users access to stories with diverse representation. The stories have beautiful illustrations to engage readers and bring the stories to life. On all our resources, we give full acknowledgement to Book Dash, so hopefully through Clicker, more people are becoming familiar with their organisation and their mission.

We currently have 12 Book Dash books published on LearningGrids, which you can find in Story Corner. For all the titles, we create a Clicker Book version of the story, as well as a range of speaking and writing activities to support the book. These include Sentence and Connect Sets to rewrite the story with varying levels of support, as well as Word Banks and a Make a Book to create your own version of the story. A Talk Set is also provided to practice recording the story before the writing activities or to create an oral presentation.

Curriculum links

In many cases, we also create Clicker Boards or other resources that link the theme of the book to other curriculum areas or topics. In the latest story, the boy’s mom sneaks healthy ingredients into her son’s pancakes since that is the only food he will eat. This book is a good stimulus for discussions about healthy eating. You’ll find quite a few related resources already on LearningGrids. Plus, we have included a Clicker Board with the Book Dash resources that encourages students to think of healthy items that they could add to different foods, such as with pizza or yogurt or pancakes.

There are a number of books that are great for links to social emotional learning. For example, Who Is Our Friend? (about a group of animals who have an unlikely friend that helps them) is a perfect lead-in for talking about the importance of friendship and how friends help us. Or My Inside Weather - a story about a child who uses the weather to talk about her feelings.

There are also books that lend themselves to focusing on word level work, such as Little Ant’s Big Plan. It is about how an ant’s love of reading saves the day, but it also has rhyming words for students to explore. A House for Mouse can be used to have a closer look at the use of adjectives in the description of Mouse’s dreams.

Some books, such as What If (a story about a girl with a big imagination), are a perfect inspiration for students’ own story writing. Goldfish Genius, which is a text-free book, provides a valuable opportunity for students to develop their own creative story-telling skills.

What’s coming next?

Next month, we will be publishing resources for the book "Going Places.” It is about the adventures children can go on when they read books – great for discussions with students about what type of adventures they like to read about.

Keep your eyes out on LearningGrids for more Book Dash titles in the future!

If you’d like to learn more about using our LearningGrids content to support your students, you can read these blogs:

• Adapting Clicker LearningGrids resources with Widgit Symbols
  
  
• Weather activities to get students thinking, talking, and writing
  
  
• LearningGrids: Reading and writing resources for adaptive teaching
  
  

Introduction

The Clicker Friends series on LearningGrids was designed to provide engaging educational content to support young learners. Each story in the Clicker Friends collection is carefully crafted to encourage reading, writing, and discussion, making it an invaluable resource for teachers and learners alike. You can find the series in the Story Corner section on the LearningGrids website.

Recently, we have undertaken a comprehensive update of the Clicker Friends series to ensure consistency and maximize the learning potential of every story. These updates introduce a cohesive set of resources and activities for each tale, allowing children to explore, respond, and create with confidence. Whether it’s reading a book, building sentences, or engaging in interactive tasks, Clicker Friends provides a rich and supportive environment for literacy development.

In this blog, we’ll explore the refreshed Clicker Friends series and how you can use it to inspire and motivate your learners.

Clicker Friends

Our Clicker Friends collection is based around eight friends and their everyday activities. The characters are:

Billy	Freddie	Lizzie	Maisie
Mary	Robbie	Sally	Tommy

The stories are based on themes of seasonal activities (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving) or everyday activities that most young children can relate to (going to the park, playing in the playground, going to the beach).

The first Clicker Friends story was published almost 15 years ago.

Earlier stories were created on older versions of Clicker. This meant that some of the stories had different supporting activities.

We have now ensured that all the stories have the same resources available to support students’ learning. This helps users feel confident and familiar with the stories, as they know what to expect.

There are currently 11 stories in Story Corner/Clicker Friends:

• A Day at the Zoo
  
  
• Christmas Time
  
  
• Thanksgiving Traditions
  
  
• A Day at School
  
  
• A Day at the Beach
  
  
• The Show
  
  
• At the Playground
  
  
• A Trip to the Park
  
  
• The Halloween Party
  
  
• The Easter Egg Hunt
  
  
• The Toy Store

The outline of resources to support each story now looks like this:

Read a Book

This is the stimulus story for the family of resources. It follows a simple pattern: there is a page for each child and the activity they are doing. In the simplest stories, there is just one sentence on the page.

A Day at the Zoo simple present tense verb “likes” – always the same verb but a different noun (animal)	Christmas Time simple present tense different verbs each time
A Day at School continuous present tense “is reading,” “is writing,” etc.	Thanksgiving Traditions simple present tense different verbs each time

A Day at the Beach simple past tense ”splashed,” “collected”	The Show simple past tense “sold,” “juggled”

After this, we add some very small steps of progression in the complexity of the sentences – for example, adding simple prepositions or conjunctions.

At the Playground prepositions in each sentence: “down the slide,” “up the net,” “across the bridge”	A Trip to the Park introducing conjunction “and”: “Mary and Billy rode their bikes”

The Halloween Party 2 sentences – simple past tense + adjective in 2nd sentence “Billy carved a pumpkin. The pumpkin was big.”	The Easter Egg Hunt 2 sentences – simple past tense + preposition in 1st sentence and adjective (color) in 2nd sentence “Tommy found an egg behind the shed. The egg was green.”	The Toy Store present tense – the same verbs throughout “is buying/wants,” but a different noun (toy) and verb (to fly, to make), and introducing pronouns (he/she)

Sentence Set

Based on text from the book, we offer a simple sentence building activity with a pop-up (View & Remember) model users can access by clicking the button.

This model allows students to:

• look,
  
  
• cover (hide the model),
  
  
• write,
  
  
• and check (open the model again to check against their writing – and check by hearing their sentence read back when they add a period).

Of course, teachers can also easily change the sentence model offered to provide adapted levels of support:

• None - no model is provided.
  
  
• View & Copy - the model is always visible.
  
  
• Listen - the model is spoken when    is clicked.

Connect Set

Again, based on text from the book, this activity asks children to write by selecting from clusters of words. While there is some progression (depending on the text), we have deliberately kept these very simple.

Sometimes, we give a starter and a choice of endings:

Sometimes, we offer a starter, a choice of middles, and an ending.

Some of these will focus on choosing the correct verb:

Some will focus on choosing the correct preposition:

In the Toy Shop story, we ask the children to create two sentences by selecting the appropriate beginnings, middles, and endings:

Talk Set

A Talk About set using pictures from the book. This is an open-ended activity, so children can approach it at their own level.

They might choose to retell the story they read or focus on particular aspects such as adjectives, verbs, or prepositions.

Matching Set

This is a picture matching activity with a listening focus. A simple sentence from the story is offered as a sound target. Students then choose the matching story picture from the selection.

Make a Book

This activity offers a front cover with a picture and an empty text box for students to add their name as the author. Within the book itself, there is just a single page. Providing just one page means that children can add as many (or as few) pages as they like rather than having a predetermined set number of pages to fill.

The activity book page has an empty picture cell, and students can add a story picture from the picture bank:

There is also an empty text box where children can write independently or use the supporting Word Banks to help them write:

All of the Make a Book resources offer vocabulary support in the pop-up Word Banks. The first tab has the story character names. The next tabs are determined by the complexity and content of the story text. For example, there might be (as in the Halloween Party example below) tabs with Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns to support students in building text to accompany the pictures (e.g. Billy/carved/a big/pumpkin):

Word Bank

The Word Banks provide key vocabulary for writing about the story. They have two topic grids under the headings: Characters and Story Words. For example:

Clicker Board

The aim of our Clicker Boards is to get children thinking about very basic sentence components. Each board features a picture from the story as the stimulus. Students are asked to think of key components to create a sentence. First, they think about Who? - the “naming part” (subject) of the sentence. Then, they think about Doing what? - the “telling part” (predicate) that gives information about what is happening.

This is designed as an open-ended activity, so children may choose to construct simple or more complex sentences about the pictures. They are not restricted to the text they have read in the story.

So, for the picture below, this looks like:

Who?	Doing what?
Lizzie and Freddie	flew a kite
The children	played
Freddie	ran on the grass

The Board also has a sentence cell to allow children to write (or use the Voice Note to record) the complete sentence (e.g. Lizzie and Freddie flew a kite.).

For all of our Clicker Friends stories, see the Clicker Friends section in Story Corner on LearningGrids, or simply search for Clicker Friends.

We have a whole host of equally engaging stories to explore in our Story Corner category – from Traditional Stories and Fables & World Stories to Myths & Legends. You can also find stories by award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Pete Williamson in our Daisy & Friends section. There are even some Decodable Stories for children who are learning to read through phonics.

If you have any questions about these or any of our LearningGrids resources, please email our Customer Experience team via training@cricksoft.com, or schedule in a free customer care meeting to explore them in more detail.

Weather is something we all experience. It's familiar, universal, and suitable for all ages. It can also be a fantastic tool to get children thinking, talking, and writing. Since students already understand what it feels like to be cold, wet, or hot, educators can use these everyday experiences to engage learners without needing to explain complex concepts.

To support this, LearningGrids offers a wide range of ready-made weather resources. The sets are designed to help you personalize learning, promote independence, and nurture writing success.

Introduce the topic of weather with a Clicker Book

Clicker Books are a great starting point for a literacy lesson. Simply choose your topic and select the level of difficulty that works best for your learners.

Teddy’s Weather - Read a Book 

This book introduces weather vocabulary through simple, repetitive sentence structures. Each page names a type of weather and shares how Teddy responds to it. This makes it ideal for young readers and English language learners. The related writing sets reinforce the sentence patterns to support overlearning. They also help boost early writers’ confidence in sentence writing, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Weather and Climate - Read a Book

This book contains longer and more complex passages, which are ideal for older students. The book provides clear explanations of key vocabulary and concepts, such as the difference between weather and climate and what a meteorologist does. You can use the related sets to help learners communicate their understanding through writing.

Engage learners with interactive activities

We have published lots of activities that focus on the topic of weather and offer scaffolded writing support for learners of different abilities.

Weather Symbols – Look and Read

This Matching Set features recognizable weather icons with labels. To complete the activity, students need to select the word from the list to match the weather shown in the main image. This helps learners with the recognition and reading of simple weather words. In “Edit Mode,” the difficulty of the task can be easily adjusted to suit different learning levels.

Good and Bad Weather

Explore the positive and negative sides of different weather conditions using this Talk Set and Clicker Board. Each set includes a graphic to spark ideas and provides varied ways to record discussions and research findings. Students can capture their thoughts orally or in writing. Additionally, you can turn their Clicker Board ideas into a Word Bank for added scaffolding to support independent writing tasks.

Today’s Weather

This Connect Set offers a great short task for the start of each day. This activity can be especially engaging for neurodivergent children who often benefit from structured routines. The resource reinforces days, months, and common weather vocabulary. Sharing the student’s completed sentences on your interactive whiteboard is a great way to celebrate success and give your reluctant writers a positive start to the day.

Build up topic-specific vocabulary

Building strong vocabulary skills boosts confidence and helps learners express their ideas. You can help students acquire the necessary vocabulary with the help of resources like the ones below.

Weather Words

Ideal for writing story settings or comparing different weather types, this simple Word Bank includes key words for each type of weather. In “Edit Mode,” a sentence starter could be added to offer more scaffolding and support literacy development.

Describe the Weather

Building on this, these differentiated Word Banks are designed for more confident writers. They include familiar vocabulary alongside more expressive language, such as” sludgy” and “scorching,” to inspire writers to be more adventurous with their word choices.

Shades of Meaning

To enhance vocabulary development further, encourage learners to consider word intensity by using one of these Clicker Boards alongside the Word Banks above. This task can expand students’ word choices and improve the quality of their writing.

You can explore the full Weather & Climate category on LearningGrids.

If you want to learn more about the resources we offer on LearningGrids, you can read our blogs:

• LearningGrids: Reading and writing resources for adaptive teaching
  
  
• Farm Animals: Adaptable resources to meet learners’ needs
  
  
• Adapting Clicker LearningGrids resources with Widgit Symbols

We’ve recently published a new group of adaptable Clicker resources on LearningGrids called Farm Animals. The collection is ideal for early readers and writers, as well as English language learners (ELLs), and includes resources with different levels of challenge to suit each student’s needs.

Let’s explore how you can personalize these resources in conjunction with Clicker’s innovative features to offer additional support for your students and help them become independent readers and writers.

Some of the features we will focus on include:

• Differentiated resources
  
  
• Personalized content
  
  
• Additional writing supports

Differentiated resources

We built a tiered set of Farm Animals resources around two Clicker Books: a Read It Yourself book, ideal for pupils beginning to read independently, and a Read a Book for those who are more confident readers.

Each page of the ‘Farm Animals’ Read a Book includes two sentences. The first sentence names the animal. The second sentence tells the reader the location of the animal on the farm using a prepositional phrase. If a student needs the text read aloud, they can click the speaker button on each page.

The Read It Yourself book offers a simplified version of the story. This book focuses on the first sentence from the Read a Book, creating a repetitive structure of “This is a…” to highlight the animal names. The speaker button is not included to encourage students to try to read the book for themselves. They can, however, click on individual words to hear them if needed.

Once you have assigned a student the book most aligned with their current reading level, you can adapt the activity further using Clicker’s in-built features. You could add a microphone button to either of the Clicker Books to provide early readers with an easy way to practice reading the text. The recordings could be used as part of a student’s reading record. ELLs could use the microphone to record the text in their first language. They could then share the completed books with the class.

Personalized content

The Farm Animals collection also includes several writing activities to help students learn the names of animals and develop an understanding of sentence structure.

The Sentence Set enables students to recreate simple sentences from the Read it Yourself book, and students can listen to a spoken model sentence if they need more support.

The Connect Set is a progression from the Sentence Set and mirrors the language in the Read a Book. In this activity, students have an extra challenge as they have to choose the correct animal to complete the sentence.

You can edit any resource from LearningGrids to meet the needs of your students. For instance, if you wanted to use the Connect Set but have it mirror the content of the Read It Yourself book, you can easily change the content and layout in Edit mode. You can even add images to the animal cells in any set using Picturize. This would offer students additional support for completing the activity.

Additional writing supports

As part of the group of Farm Animals resources, we have included a Picture Words Word Bank. You could use the Word Bank before reading the book to introduce the animals. Or you could use it afterwards with more independent writers to encourage them to write their own sentences about them.

The Word Bank could also be used for spelling practice, using a special writing support feature in the Document. In Options/Settings, you can turn on Picturize for the Document. Students can then type the name of the animal into the Document (using the Word Bank as visual support) and if they have written it correctly, the animal will appear, matching the Word Bank.

Another resource that you can enhance with additional writing supports is the Farm Animals Clicker Board.

The activity focuses on making sentences with prepositional phrases. The cells prompt students to plan two parts of the sentence – the subject (the what) and the object of the preposition (the where).

The Board would be a great whole-class activity on an interactive whiteboard or as a task for more independent writers. Students who need additional support can use the Predictor to help them write the words. A Voice Note is also included so that students can record the sentence or practice the sentence before writing.

The bundle of Farm Animals resources also includes Matching and Listen and Say Talk Sets to reinforce the animal names. Plus, a Make a Book activity for students to create their own book about the animals.

Be sure to search for “animals” on LearningGrids or check out the At the Farm Collection for lots of other resources to inspire and support your readers and writers.

For more information on using the adaptable resources on LearningGrids to support your students, you can review the below:

• Adapting Clicker LearningGrids resources with Widgit Symbols
  
  
• Spiders!!! Cross-curricular activities to engage readers and writers
  
  
• LearningGrids: Reading and writing resources for adaptive teaching

We recently announced that Clicker users can now access a library of almost 10,000 Widgit Symbols at no extra cost.

This means that you can use Widgit Symbols alongside our already extensive Crick Picture Library of almost 5,000 images.

In our previous blog on the topic, we covered how you can add the symbols into different areas of Clicker such as the Predictor and different types of writing grids.

This time, we are diving into the different ways you can adapt LearningGrids resources with Widgit Symbols, and how doing so can improve understanding for your learners.

Adapting LearningGrids resources with Widgit Symbols

You can add Widgit Symbols into any of our existing resources using the Picturize tool. To Picturize the entire set, navigate to “Edit Mode” and select the “Add Picture(s)” button, then select the Widgit Symbol library, and check or uncheck the option to ignore high frequency words as required. To add symbols to a cell, simply select the cell you want to add an image to.

Widgit Symbols in:

Sentence Sets

Many of the Sentence Sets on LearningGrids work well with symbols. A great place to start is with the Sentence Patterns resources, as they contain simple, repeated sentence structures. You might want to focus your symbol support on the repeated structures, such as I like/can/am/went/like to. Or you can focus on the element of the sentence pattern that changes, such as the noun, verb, or adjective. Try it with I Like to – Sentence Patterns.

Sentence Sets that focus on adjectives work nicely too, as in the Opposites Sentences Sentence Set:

You can also use symbols to support more complex sentence writing, such as the Above, Behind, Under Sentence Set, and instruction writing, such as our Making Gingerbread Cookies set.

Connect Sets

Some of our Connect Sets already contain images, such as the “I Went - Sentence Patterns” set seen below. You can opt to keep or replace the existing Crick Picture Library images when you Picturize these resources. You might want to use Widgit Symbols in both the main picture cell and the component word cells for consistency.

Alternatively, you can create a “next step” challenge by keeping the photorealistic Crick Picture Library image in the main picture cell and using Widgit Symbols in the component word cells so that learners can practice matching the symbol to the concept.

Generally, the simpler Connect Sets work best with Picturize, as in the examples below, where the symbol-supported word cells contain a word or simple phrase:

• I Like – Sentence Patterns
  
  
• Insects
  
  
• 3-D Shape Hunt
  
  
• Colors Around Us

Word Banks

Word Banks are some of the easiest and quickest resources to adapt using Picturize.

The “Quick Words” sets are a great place to start, as the focus is on keywords. Be mindful of words that can have multiple meanings, as this means they will also have multiple associated symbols. For example: bark – verb/noun, bat – animal/sports equipment, fly – noun/verb. Make sure that the image chosen is correct for the context!

It’s easy to change the image to the correct contextual symbol if needed. Simply select the cell in Edit View and use the picture icon to choose the appropriate symbol.

There is a wide range of possibilities for Word Banks with Picturize – it can be used for lower-level, simple vocabulary from Nursery Rhymes and stories, or for subject-specific topics for upper elementary.

(Top tip: Don’t forget you can apply “Maximize Height” to the cells in the grid to optimize the display size of the symbols.)

Word Banks with symbols are also great for supporting:

1. Storytelling: As in these Quick Words resources for Jack and the Beanstalk and Goldilocks.

2. Instructions: As in these Quick Words resources for Make a Birthday Cake and Brushing Your Teeth.

3. Higher level topics: See the Seasons of an Apple Tree, The Solar System, Biomes, and Rivers Quick Words Word Banks for some good examples of this.

Picture Words

We have a selection of Word Banks called Picture Words, which make use of images from the Crick Picture Library. You may want to adapt some of these with Widgit Symbols.

Here’s an example of an existing resource (Woodland Picture Words) which uses images from the Crick Picture Library – and how it compares to a version with Widgit Symbols. You could even offer these “Picture Words” Word Banks with alternate tabs of photorealistic (i.e. Crick Picture Library) images and symbols.

Clicker Boards

Most of the Clicker Boards we create contain lots of “content-free” cells for tasks such as mind mapping.

However, you can still add Widgit Symbols to Clicker Boards to add additional signposting for the cells that do contain text.

For example, you can add Widgit Symbols to the headings in the Shades of Meaning - Adjectives board so that learners have a clear understanding of concepts like “big” or “good” before they try to come up with more intense synonyms for them.

You can also add symbols to the prompts in Clicker Boards, such as Molly Mouse and Synonyms and Antonyms, to ensure that your learners know exactly what they need to add into the empty cells as they complete the activity.

Talk Sets and Matching Sets

Adding symbols to Talk Sets and Matching Sets is a great way to help learners make the connection between the concept and the sound of the word.

To do so, you will need to remove the existing images from the set and replace them with Widgit Symbols. A good tip for doing this quickly is to open a related Word Bank that has already been Picturized with symbols. While creating a Talk or Matching Set and adding in the symbols, use the “In Open Clicker Sets” option to select the symbols that appear in the related Word Bank.

Sets with simple vocabulary work best, such as the Talk Sets  I Can – Sentence Patterns and Jack and the Beanstalk – Key Words.

LearningGrids ‘family’ of symbols-adapted resources

Finally, here’s an example of a complete “family” of resources based on the story The Wind and the Sun, which have been adapted with Widgit Symbols. This gives you an idea of the kinds of linked resources your students could be using with the extra layer of signposting and support offered by symbols.

Have a look through thousands of existing resources on LearningGrids to explore the ways this exciting Clicker and Widgit Symbols collaboration can open up new levels of engagement and understanding for your learners.

If you need any assistance updating to the latest versions of Clicker, contact our Technical Support team. If you have any questions about the new tools and features, we’ve introduced, schedule a customer care meeting with a member of our Customer Experience team.

We recently published a new group of Clicker sets - All About Spiders. The resources focus on the unique features and behaviors of spiders. We chose the topic because it covers a range of science learning objectives but also because spiders catch the imagination of many students - and can keep them engaged in reading and writing.

These aren’t the only arachnid-themed Clicker sets on LearningGrids. We have a range of other cross-curricular spider activities that can inspire the readers and writers in your classrooms.

Let’s have a look at resources in a few LearningGrids categories:

• Greek Myths
  
  
• Literature
  
  
• Nursery Rhymes
  
  
• Creative Writing

Greek Myths

In the Story Corner, you’ll find the Greek myth The Weaving Contest. It is the story of Arachne who challenges the goddess Athena to a weaving contest. Athena punishes Arachne by transforming her into a spider. There is a Clicker Book version of the myth to read, as well as a range of writing activities to help students retell the story and demonstrate their understanding.

Literature

Students always love the classic novel Charlotte’s Web - the story of Wilbur the pig and his friendship with a spider named Charlotte. Using the resources on LearningGrids, students can write about the novel, analyzing the characters and themes. There are also activities to support the development of persuasive writing skills – students write to a character in the story to persuade them to spare Wilbur’s life.

Nursery Rhymes

The next group of Clicker sets with a spiders’ theme is geared toward younger learners. The Itsy Bitsy Spider resources start with a simple Clicker Book to practice reading the nursery rhyme. Then there are a range of supporting activities, including a Clicker Board for sequencing and a Talk Set that focuses on creating rhyming strings, as well as Sentence and Connect Sets for rewriting the nursery rhyme.

Creative Writing

With Halloween coming soon, the spooky season is upon us. And what’s spookier than spiders and cobwebs! To help spark students’ imagination and support their creative writing, there are a number of spooky Word Banks, Writing Frames, Clicker Boards, and Talk Sets.

Be sure to visit LearningGrids and check out Collections for other cross-curricular topic ideas to engage your readers and writers. Here are some other resources you might find helpful:

• LearningGrids: Reading and writing resources for adaptive teaching
  
  
• Using Clicker with traditional stories
  
  
• Supporting struggling writers with Clicker Q&A

A library of almost 10,000 Widgit Symbols is now included in Clicker Desktop and Clicker Writer as part of a Clicker subscription.

Widgit Symbols are used to support learning all over the world. We’re pleased to announce that you will now be able to use these symbols alongside the powerful scaffolds built into Clicker!

Symbols in interactive Word Banks

In many classrooms, teachers use Widgit Symbols to help students access complex vocabulary linked to their learning. We’re all familiar with the sight of students referring to teacher-made symbol sheets or looking over to a symbolized working wall as they write.

In Clicker, these symbols-supported vocabulary lists become interactive Word Banks. Students can click to add the word and symbol to their text, saving time copying vocabulary so students can focus on the construction of their texts. Of course, when using their Word Bank in Clicker, students can hear each word read aloud to them – using symbols alongside one of Clicker’s core support features.

The child here was writing about mummification in Ancient Egypt. To help, the educator created a word bank with key words and added Widgit Symbols.

Turning existing vocabulary lists into Clicker Sets with symbols couldn’t be easier. Copying lists across from planning documents into Clicker is a 1-minute job and adding symbols to the whole Clicker Set can be done in two further clicks. Alternatively, add symbols to one of the thousands of Word Banks already prepared on LearningGrids.

Here I’ve adapted the Natural Disasters Quick Words set from LearningGrids.

Symbols to support sentence construction

Clicker users have long been using Sentence Sets as a scaffold to support students build up an understanding of a simple sentence. For some learners, picking a key concept to structure sentences around can be a great way to see success. Adding a familiar symbol to that concept gives students an extra scaffold when writing.

Here I have chosen a pre-made Clicker Set from LearningGrids and added the Widgit Symbol for favorite on each grid.

Easily adapt how many symbols you want to use

Clicker makes it easy to decide how much symbol support you want to use with your learners. We know that symbolizing every word can be confusing for children. Simply click “Ignore high frequency words” when you are picturizing your Clicker Set.

On the left, every word is symbolized which is often not preferred by students.

On the right, I’ve symbolized the word “favorite” - the concept the child has been working on - as well as the symbols for each sport.

Give students control of symbols

We’ve all seen how powerful symbols are when supporting students read texts in the classroom that we, as teachers, have prepared. With Picturize in Clicker, students can add Widgit Symbols to their own document where they choose. This gives students a scaffold they have chosen when reading back their text.

A child I worked with has a passion for animals. This was his main way of accessing writing. He’ll now be able to use Widgit Symbols in Clicker Writer.

Widgit Symbols in the Spell Checker and Predictor

Often go-to scaffolds for older Clicker users, the Predictor and sounds-alike spell checker (with speech feedback, of course) can now include Widgit Symbols. Students can use these tools independently whenever they choose. For a child I worked with in 5^th grade, the Predictor was his absolute favorite scaffold - he went from a reluctant to enthusiastic writer, listening to suggested words before adding to his text.

Picking the perfect scaffold

In Clicker, students can choose which scaffold to access and when. Each student will have their preferred tool, it could be text-to-speech, word prediction, Voice Notes, or the sounds alike spell checker. Widgit Symbols in Clicker provide another tool for students and teachers to call upon to support writing.

How to update:

Clicker Writer

• Chromebook users - the app will update automatically.
  
  
• iPad users - iPads with automatic updates turned on will see the new features instantly; if not, update Clicker Writer via the App Store.

Clicker Desktop

Visit Downloads - Crick Software US. For standalone computers, simply run the installation package. For network deployments we recommend uninstalling first before re-deploying. Network installation instructions are here.

Recently, we met with Gemma Gwilliam, Head of Digital Learning, Education and Innovation for the “Portsmouth: The Digital City” Project in the UK, to gain an insight into the huge impact she has made in developing digital literacy across schools Portsmouth.

Gemma has led a coordinated approach to raising digital confidence among staff and students. This has ensured that tools like Clicker and DocsPlus are embedded into everyday learning rather than treated as add-ons.

Her work has supported teachers and support staff to embrace technology with purpose and enabled students to build the skills they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.

Here, Gemma shares her top tips for building digital confidence in students, teachers, and the wider school community.

“It’s not an add-on. It’s how we do things now.” - Amy Quade and Nicci Sawdy, class teachers and Assistant Heads of Digital

First, build teacher confidence

When I began working on digital literacy in Portsmouth, it quickly became clear that the main challenge wasn’t the technology, it was the staff confidence. Many didn’t feel comfortable enough in their digital skills to introduce new technologies to the classroom, or to teach the students how to use them. So, we started tackling that confidence gap and quickly saw positive results. One elementary school teacher even told me that they used to avoid technology in their classroom, but now feel confident using it thanks to step-by-step training.

Here’s what worked:

Start with the “why”

Our teachers and support staff are incredibly busy with lots of spinning plates. It was important to them that they understood the purpose behind using digital tools. It isn’t about technology for the sake of it - it’s about independence, inclusion, and better outcomes for learners.  Once we explained the rationale and they understood it, engagement grew!

Even schools without the infrastructure to get started can begin here. Defining your “why” and embedding it into your school development plan ensures digital learning is part of your long-term vision.

Model and demonstrate

Show staff the tools in action so they gain confidence. A quick demo or a colleague modeling new technology in a real lesson makes the hypothetical tangible. It helps teachers to visualize using the technology in their own classroom and bridges the gap between no-tech and purposeful-tech.

Teachers in Portsmouth have used screen sharing to model tasks step-by-step, helping students and other staff members see exactly what the new technology looks like.

For example, we’ve then had staff members visiting different schools based on the way they want to use Clicker. This has included visits focused on oracy, writing, math, and reading.

By sharing knowledge in this way, teachers and support staff can use technology to its full potential. One special education coordinator told me that they have been able to make huge progress with their students now that they have the right digital tools.

Make it part of everyday teaching

The more teachers embed the use of technology in routine lessons, the less daunting it feels. This has a positive impact on the students’ confidence, too. Showing our staff how everyday use benefits them reinforces the message that technology should be purposeful and impactful.

“The project opened a whole new world of opportunities for our staff and children—from cost-saving tools to training that’s been inclusive, practical, and judgment-free.” - Senior Leader on the impact of “Portsmouth: The Digital City” Project

Start small and celebrate little wins

Begin with basic features (don’t overload the staff!) and celebrate each step forward. Recognition of progress motivates people to keep going, and keeps the technology on everyone’s radar for positive reasons.

For example, following our own training with Siân from Crick, we always have first-time users start with a blank page. We then have them use it as a word processor with the accessibility features enabled, including the speech-feedback option.

Next, we move onto the pre-made resources but in a progressive format as we would with our young people. We begin with Sentence Sets, progress to Connect Sets, and then move on to Word Banks.

We also ensure that this training aligns with the outcomes we want for our young people, or the problem we’re trying to solve.

Next, build student confidence

For students, the starting point is often even simpler. Some children need to be taught very basic digital skills before they can make meaningful use of classroom software.

“When I use speech-to-text, it helps me explain my ideas.” - Grade 2 student

Don’t assume any digital skills and teach the basics

It’s easy to assume that your learners already know the basics of using technology, but that isn’t always the case. Begin by teaching students to turn devices on, log in, use a mouse, and open a file.

Once they have that foundation, they can grow and, importantly, they learn how to independently access their devices.

Emma Ramsey at St. Judes Primary introduced a great way to embed digital skills in her school. During morning attendance, her students use laminated Chromebook keyboard sheets so they can practice typing their login details. It’s an innovative way to practice this key skill even if you don’t have access to devices that day. This method worked so well that we shared it with our lower elementary classrooms across the city.

Then embed skills in real learning

Once students have the basics covered, digital skills are often best taught in context. Let students practice them while writing a story, researching a topic, or publishing their work.

Encourage everyday use

Repetition breeds confidence, so give students regular, consistent opportunities to use the same tools across different subjects. Familiarity helps them feel secure using the technology independently and boosts their confidence when it’s time to try something new.

Allow time for exploration

Getting a new piece of technology is very exciting, so children will need time to explore on their own. Don’t expect students to stay entirely on task until they’ve had a chance to “try this” and “press that.” Give students permission to try it out without fear of making mistakes or not meeting a learning objective.

Celebrate success

Acknowledge every achievement - whether it’s a student completing work on a word processor for the first time or writing even more than they thought possible. Those moments are powerful and foster a positive relationship with technology.

Embedding digital skills across a school or trust

Building confidence at an individual level is essential - but it isn’t enough on its own. For digital tools to truly make a difference, schools and districts need a shared vision and commitment.

When only a few teachers or members of staff embrace digital learning, progress is patchy. Students have inconsistent experiences, and staff development remains uneven.  A shared vision is the key to success.

“When everyone is onboard, digital skills become part of the culture - and that’s when I’ve seen real transformation happen.” - Primary School Head Teacher on the transformation they have seen with “Portsmouth: The Digital City” Project

Not sure where to start? Look locally

Schools unsure of how to begin can look at what’s happening in their local community:

• What tech do secondary schools use?
  
  
• What are other elementary schools doing?
  
  
• What digital literacy skills do secondary schools expect students to have when they arrive?

Aligning your digital offer helps reduce the digital divide and ensures smoother transitions for all students as they move through their education.

Here are some other lessons we’ve learned along the way in Portsmouth:

Create a shared vision

Leaders must clearly explain why digital skills matter. This explanation must connect them to priorities like inclusion, independence, and preparing children for the future. Technology for all includes considering parents and carergivers. Around 21% of US adults have low literacy, and it’s likely that a similar proportion of parents and carergivers may struggle with digital tasks. Schools should try to offer continuous digital access to students, especially with homework in mind, to ensure equity and support at home.

Lead by example

When school leaders use digital tools with confidence, staff are much more likely to follow suit.

Build consistency across classrooms

Students should see digital skills being used everywhere - from early phonics to upper elementary project work. That consistency normalizes digital learning and shows students that what they’re learning this year will also be important next year.

Invest in ongoing training

One-off sessions don’t stick. Staff need regular, hands-on training that evolves alongside their needs.

In Portsmouth, we began our Clicker and DocsPlus training as a small group of 15 schools, before expanding across the city. Now into the fourth year of this project, our Clicker Champions for the city are leading their own sessions based on feedback and priorities identified by schools.

For example, in October 2025, one of our leads will be demonstrating how to use Clicker for writing moderation and oracy. Another will be sharing how they use Clicker to support adaptive teaching in lower elementary. We then offer the opportunity to see this in action, deliver personalized training for the staff and school and even team teaching.

Celebrate collective success

Share stories of classes or grade groups who are embedding digital practice. In Portsmouth, celebrating these successes helped spread enthusiasm across schools.

Listen and adapt

When staff and students feel their voices are heard, they’re more willing to engage. Try and keep communication open and listen to whether staff members need more support – especially if it involves making sure that the technology runs smoothly. When tech doesn’t work, lessons become frustrating and teachers lose confidence in using it purposefully.

The results

When digital skills are embedded across a school or district, they stop being “something extra” and become a natural part of teaching and learning. Teachers feel supported, students feel capable, and technology is used to its full potential.

True digital transformation isn’t about devices or software - it’s about people. If we invest in confidence, consistency, and culture, the results are powerful!

Read our success stories:

• Cumberland Infant School
  
  
• Springfield School

Want to explore opportunities to build on your school’s digital literacy?

• Book a discovery call to see how Clicker and DocsPlus can support teachers and students.
  
  
• Read our blog post So, what is assistive technology?

Educators everywhere are facing the same dilemma:

How do we give every student what they need, when the range of skills in a single classroom feels impossibly wide?

In Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), Tier 1 is designed to serve all students with high-quality, inclusive instruction. When that foundation isn’t solid, everything built on top begins to wobble.

As Dr. Katie Novak, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) expert and author, explains:

“UDL has to be the foundation of a multi-tiered system. It has to be first, best instruction with all students present, and if it’s not, we’re going to be trying to intervention our way out of weak Tier 1. Which is never going to work.”

Clicker is a UDL tool. It helps schools strengthen that “first, best instruction” through Tier 1, and it continues to provide meaningful, scaffolded supports as students move into Tier 2 and Tier 3. Strong intervention is a continuation of strong core instruction.

The real-world tension between idea and possibility

Clicker in small groups: Supporting MTSS without the overwhelm

Theories and frameworks have always been at odds with classroom realities. Educators are told to support students by differentiating. However, the logistics, especially in early literacy, can feel impossible.

You (or your teachers) are juggling wide skill gaps, limited planning time, and curriculum pacing guides that don’t slow down just because your students need more support.

One student is still working on letter sounds. Another is already reading paragraphs. A third needs every word read aloud. And somehow, the expectation is to meet all of those needs simultaneously, without extra hands, time, or tools that make it manageable.

Best practices like differentiation don’t need to be an illusion. Clicker can be used to help students build sentences, engage with phonics-aligned texts, and practice writing in a way that feels accessible and empowering. The tools support their motor needs and their literacy development, without requiring teachers to create an entirely separate curriculum.

It’s a clear example of how MTSS doesn’t need to be work with additional, separate resources. When the right tools are already in place, it simply means better support, which is exactly what the MTSS framework calls for.

MTSS is not a program - it’s a practical way to give kids what they need

If you’ve ever sat in a team meeting wondering what to do next for a student who isn’t making progress, you’ve already felt the need for a better system.

MTSS is that system; it’s a way of organizing how we support students based on real-time data, collaborative decision-making, and instruction that meets student needs. As Dr. Stephanie Stollar put it,

“MTSS is the delivery mechanism for the reading research.”

At its core, MTSS is evidence-based instruction and equity. Most of the time, we look at skill gaps and try to remediate those deficiencies, but as Dr. Sarah Brown explained:

“MTSS is more than just identifying who needs help and giving it.”

Instead, MTSS offers a system-level approach that asks:

• What’s working in Tier 1 instruction?
  
  
• Who needs something more?
  
  
• And how can we deliver that support in a way that’s strategic, sustainable, and helpful?

Here’s a quick overview of what that looks like in practice:

• Tier 1: Core instruction for all students. This is your main block of classroom teaching, ideally high-quality, universally designed, and accessible to the full range of learners.
  
  
• Tier 2: Targeted small-group intervention. For students who need a bit more practice or support in specific areas, delivered a few times per week.
  
  
• Tier 3: Intensive, individualized intervention. For students with more significant needs who benefit from additional targeted intervention.

Clicker supports all three tiers, but the most important takeaway here is not that you or your teachers need more tools. You already have plenty at your disposal. Adding more makes for more complexity, and that’s not the goal. The goal of MTSS is to simplify support. And that starts by using the right tools in smarter, more strategic ways.

Supporting students across the 3 tiers of MTSS

One of Clicker’s strengths is its flexibility. It’s not the star of the show; students are. It’s why Clicker doesn’t have to be reserved for one setting, one student group, or one support tier. In many districts, Clicker is used as whole-class support. And, in others, Clicker is a Tier 2 and Tier 3 support.

Here’s how Clicker aligns with the MTSS framework across all three tiers:

Tier 1: Universal instruction

Clicker strengthens Tier 1 by making core instruction more accessible for every student. Its built-in supports - like word prediction, speech feedback, and customizable writing grids - provide scaffolded supports during whole group instruction, and allows all students to participate meaningfully in grade-level instruction.

For example, teachers can use Clicker’s Sentence Sets and writing grids during whole-group phonics or comprehension lessons. These tools offer just enough structure to support struggling writers while still allowing independence and creativity.

This is what MTSS at Tier 1 is really about. It’s not “everyone gets the same.” It’s “everyone gets what they need in a shared learning space.”

Tier 2: Targeted intervention

Imagine this scene: a second-grade classroom where most students are progressing academically, but a few students still struggle with basic CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) blending. The teacher has been covering more advanced vowel teams in whole-group phonics lessons because that’s what the pacing guide says.

Rather than rushing ahead, the teacher pivots. During Tier 2 small-group time, they use Clicker to target exactly what these students need: custom Word Banks for CVC practice, decodable texts, and short writing prompts that reinforce exactly those sounds.

Tier 3: Intensive intervention

When a student needs additional time for targeted intervention, Clicker meets the need. Educators can adapt Sentence Sets, sentence frames, add Voice Notes, simplify vocabulary, or build custom writing tasks that align with student needs.

Clicker allows educators to document, respond to, and build upon what students can do, right now, in real instructional time.

Data-informed, team-led instruction (not tracking)

MTSS uses multiple data points to help inform student academic deficiencies. Targeted intervention groups are then created based on the need to support academic progression within those identified deficiencies.

Groupings in an MTSS framework are meant to respond to current needs. As new data comes in, groups adjust. And when those groupings are driven by a collaborative team, not a single teacher working in isolation, they become a tool for equity, not exclusion.

Clicker makes it easier to act on those decisions. You can co-create writing supports, share templates across classrooms, and build continuity between classroom instruction and intervention services.

Final thought: MTSS only works when we use what we already have well

At the end of the day, you don’t need 27 new tools or to overhaul a curriculum to provide tiered support. All you need is a system that helps you make the most of the resources already at your fingertips. And a way of seeing frameworks for what they are: guidance to support decision-making.

Clicker bridges the gap between whole-group instruction and individualized supports. Between what your teachers are already doing, and what your students actually need. Between big-picture frameworks like MTSS, and the day-to-day work of small group lessons, targeted scaffolds, and differentiated writing tasks.

Across tiers, across classrooms, and across time, Clicker helps make MTSS real, practical, and sustainable.

Accessible literacy instruction with Clicker to help all learners read and write

Educators are tireless champions of literacy. 

They’re working hard to give every student access to reading and writing. And when students use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), have limited fine motor skills, or are still developing early language, that work becomes even more complex.

Teachers face IEP goals, time constraints, and classroom challenges. To manage this, they use structured routines. These routines feel productive, and many times, they are. Activities like letter formation, word copying, and fill-in-the-blanks help build basic skills and provide practice.

But even with the best intentions, it’s easy for instruction to tip toward compliance over communication. Not compliance in a legal sense, but rather tasks that are easy to measure and follow. But, these tasks may not encourage connection, expression, or meaning.

So how do we know if we’re teaching students to form letters… or to use language that matters?

Comprehensive Literacy for All helps educators manage the tension between routine and meaning. It also clarifies the line between explicit instruction and implicit learning.

What is Comprehensive Literacy for All?

Comprehensive Literacy for All (CLFA) was created by Dr. Karen Erickson and Dr. David Koppenhaver. This evidence-based framework helps students with significant disabilities learn to read and write. It challenges traditional views on "readiness" for literacy instruction. It also emphasizes a core belief:

All children can learn to read and write.

CLFA recognizes that literacy starts when access starts. When we create the right conditions for students, they can engage, communicate, and grow.

Its guiding principles are simple:

• Progress begins when opportunity begins
• Emergent literacy depends on the frequency, accessibility, and interpretability of print
• Instruction should support communication over routine-following

Emergent vs. conventional learners: A practical framework

One of the most helpful contributions CLFA makes is the distinction between emergent and conventional literacy learners. Rather than assuming a student’s readiness based on age or diagnosis, CLFA encourages educators to answer four questions:

1. Does the student identify most letters of the alphabet most of the time?
2. Do they engage during shared reading?
3. Do they have a reliable means of communication?
4. Do they understand that print carries meaning?

If the answer is yes to all four, the student is ready for conventional literacy instruction.

If the answer is no to even one, they’ll benefit most from emergent strategies for now.

Emergent strategies build the solid foundation literacy instruction needs. They help students move forward with confidence. When we know where a learner is, we can meet them there and build from it.

How can we turn inclusive literacy theories into classroom realities?

Of course, belief alone isn’t enough. Inclusive literacy instruction also requires thoughtful implementation and supportive resources.

Organizations like the Special Education Technology Center (SETC) and Special Education Technology British Columbia (SET-BC) are doing the work of CLFA. 

These organizations give educators tools, training, and advice that align with CLFA’s vision. It’s a space where research intersects with practical, everyday instruction.

Clicker is often mentioned in the literacy collections of SETC and SET-BC. It is designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in mind. The supportive word processor aids so many students in developing their reading and writing skills. This support extends to those with complex communication and learning needs.

Here’s how Clicker aligns with the core ideas of CLFA. Students who use Clicker can:

• Participate in shared reading experiences
  • Clicker texts come with visuals and speech. These tools help students develop background knowledge, enhance comprehension, and create connections.
    
    
• Write with purpose
  • Tools like Sentence Sets and Word Banks help students explore and use tiered vocabulary to construct meaningful sentences, even before writing independently.

• Communicate more effectively
  • Built-in picture support and word prediction reduce frustration and support language development.

• Stay focused
  • Clicker houses thousands of ready-made reading and writing resources. Everything is in one place, so there’s little need for transitions or complicated tech setups.

Clicker, when used with intentional teaching, helps create more than compliant classrooms. Students build language skills, make choices, and share their ideas.

"It’s a literacy tool that allows for immediate expression of ideas. It allows children to go from stock answers to broader self-expression,” Barb stated. “For students with learning challenges, it allowed access that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It allowed them to access independent reading materials. It allowed them to express themselves in writing, in a way they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do." - Barb Lark

CLFA framework to classroom practice: Shared reading in action

Literacy and how educators teach it has been under a microscope for several years. Many teachers wonder if they’re reading aloud enough to their students or if they’re doing literacy ‘the right way’. 

In the special education lens, one of the most powerful routines in a comprehensive literacy approach is shared reading. It’s a strategy that emphasizes engagement, interaction, and comprehension. When done well, shared reading develops receptive and expressive language. It builds vocabulary and opens doors for all students to get involved.

As Barb Lark, longtime SETC volunteer and advocate of Clicker, explains:

“Everybody can benefit from shared reading strategies where the emphasis is on understanding, engagement, and interaction.”

Using principles from CLFA, Barb develops activity plans that layer in comprehension, vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, and phonological awareness. The same book will be read multiple times but for different purposes.

Example: Shared reading strategy using Clicker

Here’s how an educator might structure a week of shared reading using Barb’s approach and Clicker:

Focus	Goal	Strategy
Day 1: Shared reading with CAR/CROWD strategies	Build understanding and engagement.	Introduce a Clicker Book on an interactive whiteboard or on individual devices. Ask open-ended questions using CROWD prompts (Completion, Recall, Open-ended, Wh- questions, Distancing). Highlight core vocabulary throughout and model language with AAC or visual supports.
Day 2: Vocabulary focus	Reinforce vocabulary with picture support.	Identify core and fringe vocabulary from the book. For AAC users: ensure fringe vocabulary is available in their system. For others: use printed or digital Clicker Matching Sets and Clicker Boards with pictures  for sorting, categorizing, or matching words and pictures.
Day 3: Alphabet & sound awareness	Connect print to sound and meaning.	Use Clicker’s Sentence Sets or Cloze activities to practice letter recognition and initial sounds tied to the story’s vocabulary. Embed familiar sentence starters  for emergent writers to complete with support.
Day 4: Expressive language & writing	Support students in expressing ideas related to the book.	Use a Clicker writing grid or template that allows students to retell part of the story, make a prediction, or share a personal connection. Students who use AAC can respond using their device while others use word banks and pictures.

Why it works

This layered approach supports a wide range of learners:

• Emergent communicators get repeated, supported exposure to print and language.
  
  
• AAC users engage with both core and fringe vocabulary in meaningful contexts.
  
  
• Every student benefits from the various ways Clicker offers access. They can use speech feedback, visual aids, or scaffolded writing support.

Most importantly, the routine prioritizes language and interaction over compliance. 

Tell me more. A powerful shift in inclusive literacy instruction

As Dr. David Koppenhaver often points out, inclusion gets wrapped up in physical presence or access. However, it’s more; it’s communication, intention, and invitation. One of his most powerful instructional prompts is deceptively simple:

“Tell me more.”

When a student writes a single word, instead of correcting or filling in the rest, we can simply ask for more. If a student writes ‘wind’? Ask, “Tell me more about that.” Suddenly, wind becomes, “The wind blew the boy’s hat into the street.”

This simple invitation can double or triple a student’s output, especially for beginning writers or those using AAC.

Writing, Koppenhaver reminds us, is inherently individualized. We aren’t doing letter writing “because it’s R Day”; we’re forming letters because it gives students a reason to communicate, to think critically, and to connect what they’re learning to their lives. With the right tools and a responsive approach, all students can become writers, and not because they copy a model, but because they have something to say.

Inclusive literacy instruction calls for communication over copying

When literacy instruction centers on compliance, students become passive participants: coloring in letters, copying words, or repeating tasks. But when we center communication, something else happens: students begin to see themselves as readers and writers. They become collaborators and makers of meaning.

That shift doesn’t happen overnight. But with frameworks like CLFA and tools like Clicker, educators can take clear steps to create inclusive, intentional literacy instruction, without needing to start from scratch.

Explore additional resources:

• View SETC Clicker Resources and SET-BC’s

Introduction

Recently, more schools have requested online training for using Clicker with younger learners, especially emergent readers and early reading.  

As a former early elementary teacher, I use my experience in these sessions to showcase how many of Clicker's key features are beneficial for these students.

Here are the four key elements of teaching early reading that I would focus on supporting with Clicker: 

1. Exploring vocabulary 
2. Decoding
3. Using expression 
4. Comprehension and understanding

Exploring vocabulary with early readers

Matching Sets

I am a huge advocate of using Matching Sets to support with those vital early reading skills. They are a flexible resource and intuitive for children to use independently. They also make a great teaching tool on your interactive whiteboard! Matching Sets enable students to match words, pictures, and sounds to rehearse and consolidate new vocabulary. 

I would often pre-teach vocabulary ahead of a new topic or text, and Matching Sets are a fantastic way to do this. In my experience, letting students explore new words and connect them to their sounds and images helps them read more confidently on their own. 

Teaching vocabulary is crucial for early reading, so LearningGrids offers numerous ready-made Matching Sets on various topics.

Decoding resources for early reading

Having taught younger learners, I know how important phonics activities are to help students build confidence decoding new words.

Our fantastic phonics resources on LearningGrids are easy to build into your planning to support your phonics teaching.

The recently added CVC decodable stories and activities are written with phonetically decodable text and a few high-frequency sight words, helping students to build key early reading skills. They are perfect for 1:1 reading sessions, but they also work well in a group or as a whole class activity.

Clicker Books

As reading is vital for students to fully access the curriculum, making sure early learners are secure in their knowledge of phonics is one of the key priority areas. Reading books that are decodable for a student and pitched at their stage of learning is important for building confidence.

Use the Read a Book version of the stories for added speech support. The Read It Yourself version is designed to encourage students to have a try at decoding and reading the text for themselves, so it's ideal when children are feeling more confident with the phonemes and graphemes at their level.

Matching Sets

Another way I always recommend using Matching Sets is to support your phonics teaching. 

In my teaching days, I loved simple phonics activities and games that my class could access independently. Matching Sets are an excellent resource for students developing blending, segmenting, and grapheme-phoneme correspondence skills. They are a valuable tool for supporting early reading to help students develop their decoding skills and ability to sound out words.

Using expression as early readers

From my experience teaching 1st grade, I know that teaching expression and intonation in reading can be challenging. Though students are learning many new skills, developing expression is key to building comprehension and a love of reading.  

Adding our recording tool into a Clicker Book is a great way to support students with this. 

Clicker Books

You can edit Clicker Books to include an audio recording of students reading the text aloud. They can listen back to this to: 

• Hear the story read in their own words 
  
  
• Listen out for how they've used expression
  
  
• Check if they've paid attention to punctuation
  
  
• See if their sentences make sense 

You could also record adults reading the text aloud using these recording tools and ask the students to play teacher! If an adult purposely reads with little expression or poor punctuation, students can listen for ways to improve and give feedback - simple but effective way for students to demonstrate their understanding of these skills, without even realizing it! 

Early reading comprehension and understanding

It's great when a student can read a word, a full sentence, or even a whole book but how can we ensure they've actually understood what they've read?

Comprehension skills are a vital part of early reading, and Clicker has a few ways to help!

Reading into writing

One of the things I love about using Clicker Books from LearningGrids is the corresponding writing activities. Writing grids vary in scaffolding and help students write about the book they've read. This is perfect for helping them to consolidate the text and show their understanding.

Speaking and listening

Talk Sets are another fantastic way to gauge a student's understanding of a text. They allow children to verbally share what they've read and are especially useful for students who struggle to express themselves in written form. They can record their thoughts about different parts of the text, describe characters or settings, retell a story, and so much more!

Conclusion

Clicker offers a wide range of resources that can support early reading skills, from pre-reading skills such as exploring new vocabulary, to post-reading comprehension activities.

By incorporating Clicker's interactive activities into your lessons, students are provided with valuable opportunities to practice and consolidate a range of key reading skills, allowing them to gain confidence in accessing content across the curriculum.

This is just a small snippet of how Clicker can help with early reading skills. Here are some other resources you might find helpful: 

The science of reading and Clicker's decodable books

Decodable stories - Clicker's CVC early reading resources

Using Clicker with traditional stories

What is adaptive teaching?

Adaptive teaching has become a key focus in classrooms, aimed at making learning more inclusive and accessible to all students. This approach enables teachers to tailor their instructions to diverse learning needs without lowering expectations.   

Implementing adaptive strategies can be difficult, especially when trying to balance the diverse needs of students with the constraints of time and resources. With Clicker, teachers can overcome common barriers to adaptive teaching and create an inclusive learning environment where every student can thrive. 

Our three-level Clicker Books and writing grids are designed to support students of all abilities. This means everyone can access the same topic content in a way that suits their reading and writing needs.

The resources are designed to work hand-in-hand, providing a consistent and inclusive approach to learning that encourages students to engage with reading and writing across the curriculum.

Three-level books for adaptive teaching and reading support

Clicker’s three-level books are a fantastic new resource for reading support in the classroom. Each book is available in three distinct reading levels, ensuring every students - whether emergent, struggling, or fluent readers - can dive into the same topic content.

Read It Yourself 📖

Content: One simple sentence per page, designed for students who are just starting to read independently. The focus is on decoding and basic comprehension. 

Support: On each page children are encouraged to attempt reading the sentence for themselves. However, the words can be read aloud by clicking on them, or a speaker button can be added to offer maximum scaffolding.

Purpose: This level is ideal for emergent readers who need support with word recognition but are encouraged to engage independently. 

Read in Steps 📘

Content: Multiple simple sentences on a page. This version is ideal for students who need more support to break down information. 

Support: “Bite-sized” chunks of information in short sentences so students access small pieces of information one bit at a time. Text-to-speech feedback is available throughout.

Purpose: The focus here is on breaking down complex ideas into manageable parts, allowing students to access information at their own pace.

Read a Book 📙

Content: This level offers the most complex text, with longer, in-depth explanations and more challenging vocabulary. So, this book type is perfect for students who are confident readers.

Support: A speaker button is offered to develop reading fluency in longer pieces of text. Students can also click on individual words to hear more complex words read aloud.

Purpose: At this stage, students work with more ambitious content, requiring a deeper understanding of the subject matter and the ability to express their ideas through written responses. 

While the text complexity changes across levels, the topic content stays the same. This means students can explore the same subjects together, no matter their reading ability, encouraging inclusion and shared learning experiences.

Clicker writing grids for adaptive teaching writing support

Clicker’s writing grids have always been a staple for supporting writing development, and a customer favorite.

They offer three levels of support that align perfectly with their Clicker Book counterpart:

Sentence Sets 🖊️

Students recreate exact sentences from the books, reinforcing reading and writing connections. These align with Read It Yourself Clicker Books.

Connect Sets ✍️

Students match sentence fragments (beginnings, middles, and endings) to build their own sentences, combining structure with creativity. Connect Sets match our Read in Steps Clicker Books.

Word Banks 📝

Topic-specific vocabulary banks that help more independent writers express their understanding using key words from the books. Word Banks are organized in tabs to provide access alphabetically or through topic areas. They accompany our Read a Book Clicker Books.

How Clicker’s reading and writing resources work together

Clicker's writing activities mirror the content of the three-level books, ensuring a seamless transition from reading to writing. As a result, students feel more confident as they move between reading and writing tasks, reinforcing their understanding and skills.

The magic of Clicker’s resources lies in how they complement each other. To begin, students can read about a topic at a level that suits them. Then they can move on to writing activities that reinforce what they’ve learned. As a result, students are supported in both reading comprehension and writing skills which helps them engage more deeply with the curriculum.

Clicker’s flexibility also makes it a powerful tool for adaptive teaching. Whether a student needs additional scaffolding or is ready for more independent tasks, Clicker enables teachers to tailor reading and writing activities to suit individual learning needs.

For example, a students might read about the Shang Dynasty at their reading level and then use a matching writing grid to create sentences, connect ideas, or write independently using topic-specific vocabulary.

This method keeps learning cohesive and accessible, no matter where a student is on their learning journey.

What are the benefits of using Clicker’s three-level books and writing grids? 

• Inclusive curriculum 🫶: By offering different levels of content on the same topic, Clicker ensures that every student, no matter their reading level, can engage with the subject matter and demonstrate understanding. 
  

• Scaffolded support 🏗️: The books provide scaffolds - from simple sentences to complex vocabulary - that progressively build students’ skills, ensuring that no one is left behind. 
  
  
• Flexibility in teaching 🔀: Teachers can use the books to support adaptive teaching, modifying the pace, support, and materials to meet the diverse needs of their class. This approach aligns perfectly with the goal of personalized learning - tailoring instruction to the individual needs of each learner. 

Extra activities to reinforce curriculum learning

Beyond reading and writing resources, Clicker offers a range of interactive activities for children to respond to the text and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding:

• Talk Sets 🔊: Students can discuss topics and share ideas aloud, building speaking and listening skills.
  
  
• Clicker Board 🎨: Learners can manipulate and link any combination of words, pictures and sounds as they summarize the text.
  
  
• Make a Book 📕: Students create their own books based on what they’ve learned, encouraging creativity, understanding, and retelling.

These activities provide varied ways for students to interact with content. Consequently, learning is more dynamic, enjoyable, and inclusive as students choose how to show their understanding.

Find out more about Clicker's inclusive learning resources

🔍 The science of reading and Clicker's decodable books

🧮 Early writing – planning and pre-teaching with LearningGrids

📖 How to make reading more accessible in inclusive classrooms

📹 On-demand webinars: Free recordings of our fantastic webinars. Explore how Clicker can support a variety of learners, needs, and settings.

In a recent blog post, I looked at how our new CVC decodable Clicker Books support a science of reading approach to phonics instruction. Today I want to explore some of the additional Clicker resources on LearningGrids that can be used alongside the decodable stories.

For each of the books (Tig in Mud, Bug in a Bin, and Peg and Bob), there is a series of activities related to:

• Pre-reading revision

• Text comprehension and vocabulary extension

• Decoding skills

Decodable stories: Pre-reading revision

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, it is important to use decodable books that are based on sound-spellings that readers have already been taught. The Letters & Words Clicker Board can be used before any of the books to revise and reinforce the letters and sounds that will be covered in the text. The CVC words from the story are also included on the Clicker Board to practice segmenting and blending the words before they come across them in the Clicker Book.

The Key Words Matching Set reinforces the CVC words in the decodable stories' text.

Text comprehension and vocabulary extension

Talking about the plot and exploring the children’s understanding is an important part of using decodable stories. The stories and pictures have been authored so that there are things to talk about and ways to extend vocabulary, even starting on the cover – “Who do you think Tig is?” “What do you think will happen to Tig?”

Once students have read the stories, they can use the Tell the Story activity or the Clicker Board sequencing activity to retell the story in their own words.

Decoding skills

A Connect Set and a Sentence Set are also included, allowing students to rewrite the story while practicing their decoding skills. With the Connect Set, students need to sound out the last word to choose the correct CVC word to complete the sentence.

The Sentence Set provides another opportunity to decode the text from the decodable stories, as well as reinforce an understanding of sentence structure. To make it a greater challenge for some students, the model sentence could be changed to a spoken model so that students have to listen to the sentence and then decode the word choices to recreate the sentence.

The Key Words Talk Set can also be used for decoding practice, either before or after they read the Clicker Book. Initially students may need to record themselves segmenting and blending the words (/c/ /ă/ /t/ - cat). But with enough decoding practice, orthographic mapping will allow most children to read the words from sight – without having to sound them out each time.

Click on the links below to see the CVC decodable stories and their supporting Clicker Sets in LearningGrids:

• Tig in Mud

• Bug in a Bin

• Peg and Bob

Be sure to check out the Sounds & Letters category on LearningGrids for many other phonics related activities. Here are some other resources you might find helpful:

• Support early reading with Clicker

• Clicker and Phonics webinar

As many schools revise their reading instruction to be more aligned with the science of reading, phonics has gained greater traction in early elementary classrooms. Decodable books have an important role to play in the teaching of phonics, and on LearningGrids we have recently published three CVC decodable Clicker Books.

What is the science of reading?

The science of reading is a collection of research from the past few decades that has explored effective strategies for teaching children to read. The strategies are especially important for struggling readers. The research provides a framework for evidence-based reading instruction and focuses on five main areas:

1. Phonemic awareness
   
2. Phonics
   
3. Fluency
   
4. Vocabulary
   
5. Comprehension

Let’s have a closer look at phonics, in particular.

What is phonics?

Phonics involves matching the sounds (phonemes) of spoken English with the individual letters (graphemes) or groups of letters. Phonics instruction helps students increase their ability to sound out, or decode, new words.

How does phonics align with the science of reading?

One of the main findings from the science of reading is that there needs to be explicit and systematic instruction. For phonics, this means teachers usually follow a plan. This plan shows what sounds they teach and the order they teach them.

There isn’t an overarching scope and sequence that all schools use. However, most schools begin by teaching short vowel sounds. This means that CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words are usually among the first words children can read.

With explicit and systematic phonics instruction, students need to be given lots of ways to practice the new sounds and letters that they are taught. This is why decodable books are so important.

What are decodable books?

Decodable books are texts that focus on specific phonics patterns. The books give students the opportunity to use their segmenting and blending skills to decode words in context. It is important that students are offered decodable books based on what sound-spellings they have already been taught. The majority of the words in the text should be able to be sounded out based on the student’s phonic knowledge.

Clicker’s CVC decodable books

In the case of our new CVC decodable Clicker Books (Tig in Mud, Bug in a Bin, and Peg and Bob), we highlight in the notes exactly which sounds/letters each book focuses on. Almost all the words in the books are CVCs, but they do include a couple of high-frequency sight words, such as “the” and “is”.

We offer two versions of each book – a Read a Book and a Read It Yourself. Since many educators suggest getting a child to attempt to decode the text on their own first, you may want to use the Read It Yourself book. The only difference from the Read a Book version is that the speaker button has been removed – so that students can’t just listen to the book.

While the texts are simple, we have worked hard to create stories (and illustrations) that will catch the interest and imagination of young readers. Your students will have fun reading about the different characters: a mischievous dog, a mud-loving cat, and a large bug lurking in a toy bin!

In an upcoming blog post, I’ll explore the other Clicker activities that have been created to support these decodable Clicker Books. In the meantime, here are some other resources that you might find helpful:

• Support early reading with Clicker
  
• Building phonic confidence with Clicker webinar
  
• Clicker & phonics webinar

Traditional stories are an important aspect of literacy for young children. They are diverse in culture, rich in language and structure, and often contain moral lessons and themes. These stories provide children with opportunities to analyze story elements, develop critical thinking skills and discuss character development. 

Here are just some of our fantastic resources from LearningGrids’ Story Corner that you can use to support your students as they explore traditional stories.

1. Clicker Books

Introduce a traditional story such as, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, using Clicker Books - Read a Book. These are perfect for reading aloud to your whole class or for individual students to listen to the story using the speech feedback tool. The text follows the familiar fairy tale structure and is a great starting point for discussing story elements and character development.

2. Clicker Boards

Clicker Boards are an easy-to-use mind mapping tool for students to gather and plan out ideas. These can be used by individual children and small groups or to promote discussion with the whole class. Traditional stories have strong characters that can grow and change. These characters can prompt students to think more deeply about their traits, choices, and challenges. Students can quickly and easily add text and an audio recording to the Clicker Board.

3. Connect Sets

Our curriculum team has created a bank of differentiated activities that serve a range of student needs. These resources are found in LearningGrids and cover a wide range of topics and subject areas.

Connect Sets offer students more autonomy when building sentences and encourage the use of key vocabulary, phrases, and punctuation. They can be used following a read aloud to check for understanding and to address specific needs or misconceptions. Teachers can then tailor their lessons and plan for future instruction.

If you are looking for more traditional stories, that are supported by a range of literacy activities, check out our growing collection in the Story Corner.

For other literacy resources that are great for young learners, look at these blogs:

• Nursery Rhymes and early language skills
• Heart Words and Clicker
• Support early reading with Clicker