... . ... Use this site to help your students learn to: Babies learn to speak in stages. First they babble, then they practice making individual sounds. Next they string sounds together to speak words. As toddlers, they begin to string words together. We must surround all of our children with language by entering into meaningful conversations with them. Some of the ways we can foster language development are: Using nursery rhymes to let them hear the rhythm and flow of our language Related ONLINE ACTIVITY: Six popular Nursery Rhymes. Singing simple songs with them and using call-and-response activities Using body language in songs, stories, and in everyday activities Name objects Set out a set of common objects and have children name them and discuss different attributes (size, color, weight, shape) Naming and touching body parts through active rhymes, games, and songs Grouping and naming pairs or objects that go together Have a riddle box for each theme - the children love to guess the answer Introducing new words Through stories. Through looking at magazines together and discussing them. On neighborhood walks or field trips By making word cards with a word and its picture. Through lotto games In environmental print ONLINE ACTIVITY: Try our playful method of introducing new words. See: Word Puppies. Use our sample lesson about Alaska and create some of your own. One-to-one conversations Model correct pronounciation and grammar Model complete sentences Model listening and responding to each other Model questioning and answering Engaging in conversations about their journal entries Telling simple stories which involve the children responding Reading favorite stories over and over and then letting the children tell them to you Asking open-ended questions Facilitating dramatic play situations In the housekeeping area Outside Using prop boxes Using found objects to stimulate imaginative situations Fill a box with objects and ask the child to tell who might own them (ex. a pizza wheel, spatula, fake pizza ingredients, pizza pan) Using puppets To encourage a shy child to speak To do puppet shows of familiar stories To encourage children to make up their own scenarios To invite children to come to a small group activity Chart activities recording a favorite _____ (color, shape, animal, activity) list favorite songs (words & pics) and let children choose which one to sing begin a poem and have them help you rhyme it make voting graphs have children predict what will happen in a certain situation and record it later, follow up and see if the predictions came true Do webbing activities with the children write a topic word and have the children tell you what they know about it record what they would like to know about the topic Use finger plays to encourage language Model problem articulation sounds play word games using the sound each time you hear a word with the sound, write it down on a posted page notice when the sound is used correctly; do not notice incorrect usage Back to Top ©1998, 2018, Susan Jindrich. All rights reserved.