In this self-contained lower elementary classroom, a teacher has chosen the topic of the circus for students to write about in preparation for an upcoming classroom community outing. The class has exchanged ideas about what they might see at the circus and now the students will select one of these ideas to write about. The teacher provides graphic symbols as visual supports for the students to use when selecting their topics. One boy is seen using his comprehensive communication system to interact with another adult while the teacher goes around to each of the other students. The video demonstrates effective strategies for engaging students with significant cognitive disabilities in literacy instruction.