Transition & Self-Advocacy Teacher Checklist, PreK–K

Self-advocacy, knowing how to ask for what you need and stand up for your own access, starts in the earliest years. Use this checklist with PreK and kindergarten children to teach it in developmentally appropriate ways. It helps you build the foundations of independence by offering daily choices, teaching attention-getting strategies, and modeling turn-taking; grow early access awareness so children learn to signal when they do not understand using simple signs like HELP, AGAIN, and SHOW-ME; and strengthen participation by giving wait time and letting children try before an adult steps in. Practical examples show what each skill looks like in the classroom.