Literacy for All in Our Playrooms: Building Blocks of Language

1. Literacy for All in our Playrooms 2018-19

2. SLC Quiz What % of children have SLC disorder when they start school? What % of children in areas of high deprivation start school with communication difficulties? What % of young people in the youth justice system have communication and language difficulties?

3. What % of children have SLC disorder when they start school? 7.58% What % of children in areas of high deprivation start school with communication difficulties? 50% What % of young people in the youth justice system have communication and language difficulties? 60%

4. 6-13 months in problem-solving ability 11-18 months in expressive vocabulary These differences exist and can persist throughout school and into adulthood In Scotland today, at age 5, the gap between children from the most advantaged and most disadvantaged families is already:

5. Literacy for All in our PlayroomsListening and Talking Session 1 Overview –listening and talking, role of the LPA and understanding context Session 2 Early Literacy Strategies and Provocations for Talk Session 3 Phonological Awareness Session 4 Phonological Awareness through Music and Family Learning Session 5 Meeting the Needs of all Learners

6. Building Blocks of Language SPEECH SOUND DEVELOPMENT VERBAL CONVERSATIONS UNDERSTANDING/USING PHRASES AND SENTENCES SIMPLE CONVERSATIONS USING SINGLE WORDS VERBAL UNDERSTANDING GESTURE POINTING SITUATIONAL UNDERSTANDING TURN-TAKING BABBLE VOCALISATION HEARING ATTENTION LISTENING LOOKING

7. 6 stages of communication and language development

8. A discoverer • Birth to 8 months approximately • Discoverers are interested in others but don’t yet intentionally give messages to their caregivers • At this stage your responsiveness is vital • Express their feelings through behaviours which the adult has to interpret

9. A communicator Approximately 8-13 months Send messages to others with a goal in mind Enjoy interactions Critical milestone – develop joint attention

10. A first words user Approximately 12 – 18 months Will begin with one or two words (accompanied by gesture) progressing to around 50. Developing ability to have brief conversations Understanding of language really becoming apparent

11. A combiner Approximately 18 – 24 months 50 single words, sudden growth spurt expanding to about 200 Will be using two word sentences and single words Will require a lot of support from adults to keep conversations going

12. An early sentence user Two to three years old approximately Moving from 2-5 word sentences and can hold short conversations Children likely to be more successful in conversations which they initiate

13. A later sentence user Between the ages of 3 -5 approximately Using longer more complex sentences Can hold a conversation for extended period of time. Vocabulary up to 5,000 words

14. Identifying conversational styles… Some children initiate conversations with ease….others don’t Some children respond readily during interactions…. others don’t

15. Four conversational styles.. The sociable child The reluctant child The child with their own agenda The passive child

16. What helps : TALK strategies (LCFE)

17. Turn Book reading into a conversation • Observe • Face to face to encourage interaction • Place quieter children in front of you • Stop every now and then to observe children • Wait • 5-10 seconds • Very important in encouraging interactions • This may be before or after you turn the page, after you point out a particular characters expression, after a turning point in the story, after you ask a question • Listen • Active listening • Trying to understand without making assumptions or interrupting • Listening carefully in order to build on what the child says.

18. Turn Book reading into a conversation Strive for five Strategy for keeping the conversation going “studies show that children who participate frequently in extended conversations with adults have better language and literacy outcomes.”

19. Turn Book reading into a conversation – strive for 5 TURN 1 Ali: My bus… TURN 3 Ali: I think the elephant is too big… I will try… TURN 5 Ali: the dog is smaller and I have seen dogs on buses before… TURN 2 Karen: that’s a great big bus… I wonder if we could fit an elephant on it! TURN 4 Karen: oh the poor elephant! She is too big to fit! Would any of her friends fit?

20. Strive for 5 TURN 1 Jordan: Moira, look! I made a giant car with the blocks. TURN 3 Jordan: I am going to drive to Africa to see the elephants. TURN 5 Jordan: No it won’t. My car can fly and it can go really fast TURN 2 Moira: Jordan, what an amazing car! Where are you going to go in your car? TURN 4 Moira: All the way to Africa! Africa is very far. I think it will take you a long time to get there.

21. Hanen Video 1

22. Hanen Video 2

23. Key references • Weitzman, E, Greenberg, J (2002) Learning Language and Loving It. 2nd Ed. A Hanen Centre Publication • Weitzman, E, Greenberg, J (2010) ABC and Beyond. Building Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Settings. A Hanen Centre Publication

24. LEL Blog: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/gc/gccleadersofearlylearning/