Why Teach a Sign of the Week?
Teaching community and safety signs is an important part of building independence for students with disabilities. Signs are everywhere—in schools, stores, and public spaces—and understanding them helps students navigate the world safely.
A Sign of the Week routine provides structured, repeated exposure to important signs, helping students develop recognition and comprehension skills. By adding in some hands-on activities and real-world connections, you can make learning community signs engaging and meaningful for all of your students!
Setting Up Your Sign of the Week Routine
Your Sign of the Week routine should be consistent and simple to implement. Here's how to get started:
Choose a Weekly Sign
Select signs that are highly functional and frequently encountered. Start with basic safety signs (Stop, Exit, Restroom) before moving to more complex ones (Caution, No Entry, Push/Pull). Select signs that are applicable to all of your students. For example, if you are working with elementary age students, teaching about road and traffic signs are not as applicable.
Use real-life images and clear, bold visuals. Remember that sometimes signs look different but mean the same thing, so it's important to include real-life examples.
Create a Visual Display
Create a bulletin board or wall space to display the sign of the week.
Include the sign itself, a definition, and real-world examples.
Use Velcro, magnets, or dry-erase materials to make it interactive.
Incorporate Multi-Sensory Learning
Pair visuals with spoken words, gestures, and sign language.
Use real-life objects when possible (e.g., show an actual Exit sign from your school hallway).
Put signs up in your classroom- on/off on the light switch, keep out on your teacher file cabinet, push/pull on the classroom door.
Daily & Weekly Activities for Teaching Signs
To reinforce learning, integrate Sign of the Week into your daily routine. Here are some example activities that you can add to your weekly schedule:
Introduce the Sign
Show the sign (flashcard, real photo, digital display).
Discuss its meaning and where students might see it.
Use a social story or adapted book to provide context.
Practice Recognition & Sorting
Have students match identical and non-identical signs.
Use sorting tasks to categorize signs (e.g., safety vs. informational signs).
Play a "Find the Sign" game in the classroom or hallway.
Apply Learning with Worksheets & Centers
Provide worksheets with tracing, matching, or labeling activities.
Use task cards with multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions.
Add signs to independent work bins or small group instruction.
Real-World Connections
Take a classroom walk to find the sign in the building.
Watch a short video showing the sign in a real-life setting.
Role-play situations where the sign would be used (e.g., stopping at a Stop sign, finding an Exit).
Review & Assess
Play a sign-themed Bingo or matching game.
Give students small sign flashcards and ask them to place them correctly around the classroom.
Use a simple exit ticket, asking students to draw or identify the sign of the week.
Take IEP data on sign identification.
Differentiation for All Learners
Not all students will interact with signs in the same way. Here’s how you can adapt your Sign of the Week routine.
Non-Readers & Emerging Learners
Focus on visual matching (identical and non-identical signs).
Use errorless learning activities where students place the sign in the correct location.
Teach students to find and use the sign on an AAC device. Focus on signs that double as core words, like Stop, In, Out, Go, On, Off, etc.
Early Readers & Functional Skill Builders
Work on matching words to signs and beginning comprehension.
Have students practice pointing to the correct sign in real-world pictures.
Use sentence stems to describe the sign’s purpose ("I see this sign at ___").
Advanced Learners
Introduce sentence writing and comprehension questions about the sign’s use.
Discuss what happens when people ignore the sign (e.g., what happens if you don’t stop at a Stop sign?).
Why a Sign of the Week Routine Works
A Sign of the Week system keeps things consistent and helps students slowly get better at recognizing community signs as the school year goes on. Your students will not only spot signs but also get what they mean and how they work in real life.
Ready to Get Started?
Implementing this routine is easy with the Sign of the Week curriculum! Check out my ready-to-use Sign of the Week bundle with a weekly interactive bulletin board display, worksheets, task cards, and interactive activities that will make teaching community signs simple and engaging.
Let’s help our students gain the independence they need—one sign at a time! 🚦✨
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