Together Every Day
Together Every Day
Together Every Day
Tips For Preschool Teachers & Other Early Childhood Education Program Providers
Research shows that some young children are exposed to more language in their
homes, early learning programs, and school settings, than other children. This
difference in the number of words and back-and-forth conversations to which
children are exposed is called the “word gap”.
Below are some tips that you can use to help bridge the word gap by enriching the language environment of
all young children in your care, including children who do not speak yet, children with disabilities or delays,
and children who are learning more than one language. Partner with families and encourage them to try these
strategies at home, in their home language. For children with disabilities or delays, communicate with their
other service providers and keep each other informed about the strategies you are using to enhance their
language environment.
Adult: Who will ride in the boat? Adult: Where is the man traveling?
Ask children about what they are doing. Ask children to provide explanations.
• What are you working on today? • Why do you think that happened?
• You are working very hard, tell me about your • How can I help you solve this problem?
project. • How did you do that?
• What are your plans for those materials?
For children with limited language, giving them a choice can help them respond more easily to questions.
For example, “did you use crayons or markers to draw that picture?”
Keep high expectations for all children and gradually increase the complexity of your questions as
children progress in their development.
Expand on children’s words to scaffold language and give them more information.
• Expand phrases so they are complete. • Relate to their lives and prior knowledge or
• Make phrases more complex. experiences.
Repeat what the child says, and add a little MORE. You can add words that:
Describe: Name: Provide more information:
Child: I saw Ana’s dog. Child: I like that. Child: Yay! David is coming!
Adult: Oh, you saw Ana’s fluffy Adult: I like that red shiny whistle Adult: Yes, I heard your Uncle
little dog? too! David is going to visit in August
and you’ll go to the beach!
USING NOVEL AND INTERESTING WORDS
One way to extend conversations with children is by incorporating novel words into everyday talk. Novel
words are new and rich vocabulary words that build children’s language. For example, you can use the word
“enormous” instead of “big”. Children can learn big, new, and interesting words through repeated exposures
and concrete explorations of what they mean. Teachers and families can use novel words with children in
English or in their home language. Incorporating novel words takes planning. Here are some strategies to get
you started:
• Identify novel words by brainstorming with colleagues, searching children’s books, poems, and songs, and
using a thesaurus to find alternative ways to say the same word.
• Select materials that expand children’s vocabulary, such as toy vehicle sets (e.g. ambulance, helicopter),
people figurines (e.g. astronauts, pediatricians), and everyday materials in dramatic play (e.g. colander,
stethoscope).
• Create child-friendly definitions for novel words in advance. Make sure they are simple, focus on qualities or
characteristics, and are made up of familiar words.
• Take time to clearly explain what novel words mean and how they are used.
• Make novel words “real” and interesting using photos, objects, and activities. This is especially important for
children with disabilities or developmental delays.
• Model using novel words and provide frequent opportunities for children to practice using them
• Use novel words in spontaneous conversations.
• Use novel words and other rich vocabulary words in responses to children.
• Keep track of the words a child knows and add novel words that build on familiar concepts.
• Read books and sing songs that contain novel words. Talk about what they mean.
• Expose children to novel words and have conversations with children during any activity during the day like
meal time, transitions, circle time, story time, and dramatic play.
• Let families know about new words children are learning and encourage them to use novel words in their
home language.
• If you have children who receive speech therapy or related services, share these words with the therapist who
can support their use as well.
An easy way to remember basic dialogic strategies is to “Follow the CAR.” Follow the CAR stands for:
• Follow the child’s lead
• Comment and Wait
• Ask questions and Wait
• Respond by adding a little more and Wait
Use multimedia and concrete objects to create connections between both languages. For example, show a
toy seahorse or a picture of one if you're talking about a seahorse.
Use gestures and body language when communicating in the less familiar language. Children learn from
facial expressions.
Speak slowly and clearly. Children need time to hear and process the meaning and context of what is being
said.
Anticipate new words and give clear meanings. Use a lot of context, building on objects in the environment,
routines, and what the children are experiencing at the moment.
Support interactive play with peers. Children gain a lot of their language through interaction with their peers.
Praise children’s responses so that you motivate children to continue learning their new language.
Encourage adults who speak children’s native language, including families, to volunteer in the classroom and
interact with children in their home language throughout the day.
You can find more tips like these—as well as videos, information, and more—on Too Small to Fail’s website,
www.talkingisteaching.org.
Track your child’s development using the Milestones Moments Booklet. If you have concerns about a child’s
development, including their language development, talk to the child’s family about it. Ask them if they have concerns
and if they observe the same issues at home. With their permission, conduct a developmental and behavioral
screening and encourage them to talk to their primary care provider. For more information on developmental and
behavioral screening, visit Birth to Five: Watch Me Thrive!
For more information on early learning, please visit Head Start’s National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning and
the Early Head Start National Resource Center. For more information on working with young children who are learning
more than one language, please visit Head Start’s National Center for Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness.
For more information on enhancing the language environment for children with developmental disabilities or delays,
please visit the Center for Early Literacy Learning.