Developing Oral Language in Your Room
How much does the real world of each child feature in your room?
Valuing children's experience needs to be a feature of the school.
Why do we need to value their experiences?
- To celebrate children's out of school experience.
- Because it is personal they are immediately engaged!
- To develop a positive sense of self and identity.
- Such talk becomes available for writing and sharing reading. Personal talking and writing develops the backlog of remembered experience necessary for reading.
- To develop 'buzz' group writing and sharing skills.
Personal writing also arises from oral discussion by the teacher helping the children focus on the most memorable aspects. Interaction with an adult helps extend and elaborate children's thoughts.
We need to challenge children to develop serious thinking about personally felt concerns. We must learn to listen and expand our own informal conversational skills. We could develop regular group discussions about areas of interest.
Ways to begin.
- Make up a list of areas of interest to discuss. What are your children really interested in? (Think about what you like talking about; personal interests or staff meeting topics.
- These topics give us a real insight into our children's individual worlds. Such emotional and memorable topics provide inspiration for oral language, personal writing and art.
- Older children might have regular small group discussions - children contribute their views, e.g. 'How was the universe made?'
Some possibilities for oral expression themes
- Making lists/shopping/things needed for cooking.
- Looking out windows - glass (what is it?), Rain?
- Babies. What their baby can do! How we grow! Measurements.
- Good past events they remember in their holidays.
- Dispute can be conversation pieces - learning right/wrong.
- Events about grannies/granddads - old age.
- What Dad/Moms do - sex roles.
- Good drinks - how to make them.
- Food, cooking, eating - where does it go?
- How things work, their views: binoculars, tape recorder, cars.
- Electricity - their views.
- Growing old - death.
- Concepts of Father Christmas.
- What is money? How you buy things. Visit supermarket.
- Ideas about animals - pets, wild animals.
- Why roofs are sloping - visit building site.
- How cars go - start one up.
- What is night? Rainbows? Wind? Rain? Stars?
- Ever been lost? How did you feel?
- What is it like being sick.
- Playing with their baby brothers/sisters - what can they do.
- Personal disputes - rights and wrongs.
- Their Dads, Mums, Aunties, Cousins, Grannies, Granddads.
- Favourite foods! McDonalds!
- Weekend adventure - beach visits.
- Growing old. Birthdays.
- How things work - machines, toasters, jugs, tape recorders, TV.
- What is money? Where it comes from.
- Their pets - things they do.
- What is night? Ideas about sun, moon, stars, wind.
- Being lost! Being sad! Being scared! Really happy!
- What is work?
- How plants grow!
- Why do you get puffed? Cold? Hot?
- Where do teeth come from?
- What's inside us? Bones, blood, muscle.
- How do birds fly? Helicopter? Planes?
- What is maths, writing, reading, spelling - what do they think they do.
- How do candles burn? What makes fire? What is smoke?
- Puddles, what happens to them?
- Ice, what is it? Why does it melt?
- What is being naughty? What are class rules for?
- How do grown-ups have fun?
- Going to the doctor! The hospital! The dental nurse!
- Why does the Queen wear a crown?
- What does the caretaker do? What's in his shed?
- Why boats float (use school pool) and sink?
Things you need to know to tell or write a good story.
- First think of ideas and pick the best one - the idea of focus
- Think of an exciting beginning.
- Think back to how you felt at the time. Describe what happened, what you saw.
- Think of a good ending.
- If writing, check your draft with your teacher.
Use these topics for class language themes.
Make into big books for reading.
Use for personal language ideas for poetic writing.
For young children scribe their ideas (and use as a 'big book' for reading).
|