Understanding What You Read
Predict When Reading: Have the child predict what will happen next when reading a book together. Sample questions include:
What do you think is going to happen next?
Oh no! What is she going to do now?
What would you do if you were him?
How are they going to solve this problem?
Read Expressions: Use illustrations to help a child build their vocabulary and start to understand emotions. When a character is sad, happy, angry or surprised, pause to look at illustrations and talk about the characters’ facial expressions. Ask, “How do you think she’s feeling right now?”. Authors who are particularly skilled at portraying emotions in both words and pictures include Kevin Henkes, Patricia Polacco, Arnold Lobel and Mo Willems.
Make Connections: Connect personal experiences with recently read stories or informational texts (e.g., Your shoes got dirty. Now they look brown like Pete the Cat’s shoes in Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.).
Recall Details: Have the child recall a story or information from text (e.g., book, magazine, brochure). The retell may be organized sequentially (e.g., first, next, last) or by a specific set of details (e.g., color, type of food, habitats, character actions).
Draw a Picture: Have the child draw a picture of the story. Ask the child to tell you about their drawing.
Act it Out: Invite the child to act out parts of the story by pretending to be one of the characters. Join in and pretend with them!
PEER Method:
- P: Prompt the child with a question about the story. Prompting the child focuses attention, engages the child in the story, and helps the child understand the book. Point to something in the picture, for example, a balloon. “What is that?”
- E: Evaluate the child’s response. “That’s right! That’s a balloon.”
- E: Expand on what the child said. “That’s a big, red balloon! We saw one of those in the grocery store yesterday.”
- R: Repeat or revisit the prompt you started with, encouraging the child to use the new information you’ve provided. “Can you say big, red balloon?” Each time the book is reread, the expanded vocabulary words are verbalized again.
Don’t feel obligated to use the PEER procedure on every page, with every book. Keep it fun! Use PEER when it fits and when the child is engaged with the story.
Story Time: Ask questions before, during, and after reading together. Story time questions
Story Sequencing This activity includes listening to a short story and putting picture cards in order (beginning, middle, and end) to retell the story.
Oral Language –
Tune In, Talk More, Take Turns (3Ts): Tune In means to be in the moment by paying attention to what the child is focused on and talking about it. What children focus on is always changing, so stayed tuned in and change your words to match. Once you Tune In, Talk More with the child. Remember, every word you say fills their vocabulary bank and builds their brain. When you Tune In and Talk More, you automatically Take Turns. No matter a child’s age, you can Take Turns and have a conversation.
Photo Talk: Look at photos of the child’s friends and family members. Model telling a story about the photo or the people in the photo. Have the child tell stories about photos of their choice as well.
At the Supermarket: Increase the number of turns taken in a conversation by having the child guess what you spy as you describe an item (e.g., green, sweet, and succulent). Repeat several times. At the Supermarket
Expand on Observations: Repeat the child’s comments on something seen, heard, or experienced. Add additional descriptions to teach new information and/or vocabulary. When a child says a classmate was hurt at school and crying really loud, you may respond by saying, “I am sorry to hear he got hurt today. It must have really hurt if he was wailing so loudly”.
Why?: Answer genuinely when the child asks, “Why?”. First ask if the child has an answer to their question by asking, “What do you think?”. Then suggest looking up the answer in a book, on a computer, or on a smart phone. Discuss how the child’s answer is similar and/or different from the answer found, increasing the number of turns taken in conversation.
How was your day?: Ask more specific questions with additional follow-up questions to increase the amount of turns taken in a conversation.
- Who did you play with today? Tell me what you did with them.
- Did the teacher read a book? What/who was the book about?
- Who sat next to you at lunch? What did you talk about?
Conversation Cards: Use conversation cards any time or place to increase a child’s use and understanding of oral language. Suggestions include at the dinner table, while waiting in a store or restaurant, and during bedtime routines. Use follow up questions to increase the number of turns taken in a conversation.Conversation Cards