Language, Literacy and Communication

Objectives

• Identify the Language, Literacy and Communication Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs).

• Discuss the development of these KDIs in young children.

• Identify and use strategies that support children’s language, literacy and communication skills.

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What’s in a Photo?

1. Look at the various types of pictures in the center of your table.

2. Discuss what you see in the pictures and any personal thoughts you might have.

3. Create a list of descriptive words that come up in your conversations.

4. Choose one picture to share with the whole group.

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• What happened to your ideas as you put them into words?

• How did language help you say what you wanted about what was happening in the pictures or help organize your thinking?

• Why do you think conversation is important?

• To become thinkers we need language

• We start with what we , but to become ourselves we develop an inner speech.

• Inner speech is our thinking in action

• Conversation is the universal language of learning

Need for Language

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Children:• Understand (comprehend) conversations,

signing, stories, books, songs, poems, and/or chants.

• Listen; respond; connect information to their own lives; predict what will happen next; and recall real and fictional people, materials, actions, events, and ideas.

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Children:• Share observations, experiences, ideas,

explanations, feelings, preferences, and needs.

• Progress from making gestures to using sentences of increasing length and complexity.

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KDI 22: SpeakingChildren express themselves using language

Children:• Learn and use new words and phrases in

conversations, activities, written materials, and play.

• Ask the meaning of unfamiliar words.

• Use multiple parts of speech to describe, clarify, and elaborate their experiences and ideas.

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KDI 23: VocabularyChildren understand and use a variety of words and phrases

Children:• Understand and use English and their

home language(s).

• Adjust the language they use to the person with whom they are communicating.

• Know there are different writing systems (alphabets).

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KDI 30: ELL/Dual Language AcquisitionChildren use English and their home language(s) (including sign language).

Pretend Animal Talk

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Talking the Talk

• Routine talk: Talk that focuses on the here and now. – “Come to the sink and wash your hands.” – “I want the pink scarf.”

• Pretend/self talk: Talk that expresses and represents what children observe, think, imagine, and feel through play.– Self talk is the ongoing inner conversation

that leads to self-regulation.

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Work Time is the main part of the routine where

children have the ability to develop

this skill.

Mrs. Spears at the Beauty Salon

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You Say “Pop” I say “Soda”

• Look for ordinary objects in this room and come up with as many names as possible for that object.

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Coin

Clutch

Evening Satchel

Big Bag

Pocket book

EnvelopePURSE

Research Shows. . .• A great deal of vocabulary learning occurs before

children become literate (Biemiller).

• The number of words children have in their vocabulary before they come to school is highly predictive of reading success (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997).

• Children hear between 10 and 30 million cumulative words by age 3 (Hart & Risley).• Need for concern for children at the lower end.• They are not learning enough words for successful

readers as their peers.

• Children must hear new words many times in many contexts (Nagy & Scott).

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Strategies in the Classroom1. Encourage children to retain their home language

and have access and opportunities to use it when learning English, including vocabulary and conceptual skills.

2. Warm relationships with adults are the most important factor in learning a second language.

3. Learn words and phrases in a child’s home language in order to communicate.

4. Use sign language.

5. Have a consistent routine.

6. Create an album with photos labeled in both languages.

7. Get books in child’s home language.14

Writing Messages

• Action Message

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• Rebus Message

Children:• Write to represent ideas, use writing in their

play and/or ask adults to take dictation, and read what they and adults have written.

• Use writing tools such as crayons, markers, pencils, and computers.

• Copy or write letters, and progress from scribbles to letterlike forms to recognizable letters.

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KDI 29: WritingChildren write for many different purposes

Identifying Writing DevelopmentDrawing

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Identifying Writing Development

Scribble-writing

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Identifying Writing DevelopmentLetterlike Forms

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Identifying Writing DevelopmentActual Letters

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Identifying Writing DevelopmentString Letters

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Identifying Writing Development

Invented Spelling

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“Keep Out”

Strategies for Supporting Writers1. Provide materials throughout the classroom.

2. Encourage children to engage in writing throughout the day.

3. Accept the various forms of writing that children are already capable of, and help them to develop new ones.

4. Model writing for children and provide scaffolding.

5. Respond to children’s questions and offer information.

6. Encourage experimentation and risk taking.23

HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Sign in Sheet/Snack Chart

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HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Open Ended Materials

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Encourage Writing

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HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Ask for Children to Assist You in Writing

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Encourage Children to Write Messages

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Acting Out Nursery Rhymes• With your table group, think of your

favorite nursery rhymes and act them out with each other.

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Children:• Recognize the beginning and ending

sounds of words, including rhymes (same ending sounds) and alliteration (same initial sounds).

• Recognize separate syllables in words (segmentation).

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KDI 24: Phonological awarenessChildren identify distinct sounds in spoken language

Rhymes and Alliterations Help children:• Hear and match word endings that are the

same (rhymes).

• Hear and match word sounds at the beginning of familiar words (alliterations).

• Figure out that words are a collection of familiar sounds.

• Rearrange word sounds to make up new words.31

Creating Rhymes and Alliterations

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Mat -- Bat -- Pat

Fox – Feather -- Fan

Letter Links

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Omari

Charmaine

Children:• Know letters are a category of symbols that

can be individually named.

• Name a growing number of letters and associate them with their sounds (often beginning with the initial of their first name and/or other familiar words).

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KDI 25: Alphabetic knowledgeChildren identify letter names and their sounds

Support Strategies

• Provide a print-rich environment that exposes children to letters in meaningful contexts.

• Provide and use three-dimensional letters and other alphabet materials with children.

• Continue to encourage children’s early writing in all its forms (e.g., alphabet books or puzzles).

• Make letter sounds with children as they write.

• Plan and support playful experiences with the alphabet throughout the daily routine.

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Look for strategies in this SGT: Letter Collectors

Beloved Books• With a partner, talk together

about your favorite books from your childhood.

• As you talk, discuss:– Why you remember these

specific books?– What about these books

made them memorable?

• Discuss as a whole group.

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Children:• Look at a variety of printed materials for

enjoyment and knowledge.

• Ask adults to read books to them, and they “read” books to others.

• Tell or retell stories based on pictures.

• Read aloud a word, simple phrase, or short sentence.

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KDI 26: ReadingChildren read for pleasure and information

Children:• Learn about the functions of print.

• Understand the connection between spoken and written words.

• Recognize that a word is a unit of print, letters are grouped to form words, and words are separated by spaces.

• Learn about print conventions such as directionality (English is read top to bottom and left to right) as they experience various forms of environmental print (e.g., signs, newspapers and magazines, lists, messages, menus, packaging).

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KDI 27: Concepts about printChildren demonstrate knowledge about environmental print

Children:• Know how books work.

– e.g., they hold a book upright and face-forward, read it front to back, and differentiate text and pictures

• Identify the parts of the book.

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KDI 28: Book knowledgeChildren demonstrate knowledge about books

HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Importance of Reading• It offers the power and

pleasure of literacy.

• It stimulates imagination.

• It strengthens brain connections.

• It introduces children to new knowledge as well as familiar and comforting themes.

• It enhances language ability.

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HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Increasing Language through Reading

The English language contains 500,000 words, yet only 15,000 words are used in everyday speech, and only 7000 words on television.

P. Kropp (2000) How to make your child a reader for life.

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HighScope KDIs

Language, Literacy and Communication

Importance of Small Group Reading• Cozier atmosphere• Deeper discussions of the

stories• Timid children tend to get

involved• Children listen to each

other’s ideas and make contributions to the ongoing discussion

• Children are able to see the book

• Fewer child management issues42

• Children benefit from conversations that occur during book reading because they make connections between real life and text (Hohmann, 2005).

• This kind of interactive reading significantly supports the young child’s ability to comprehend the story’s narrative (Zevenbergen & Whitehurst, 2003).

Research shows that . . .

The Art of Reading

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1. When you engage children in books, you support the development of comprehension.

2. Books are the easiest and most fulfilling way of exposing young children to language development other than rich conversations.

Looking at Your Own Books

1. What are the strengths of your children’s book collection?

2. How can you use books you do have, to bring children’s attention to the story and engage their interests?

3. What kind of books would you like to add to your collection?

4. Where can you find the books you want to add?

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Implementation Plan• Turn to the last page of your Training

Booklet. • Think about each of the KDIs we have

discussed today. • Jot down ideas you would like to

remember.

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