How to Read with Kids to Promote Language Development – Part 4

Reading with young children promotes language development and literacy skills. Learn strategies for sharing books based on what type of communicator the child is from a speech-language pathologist. Part 4 of our series focuses on the combiners stage.

Part 1 – Discoverers
Part 2 – Communicators
Part 3 – First Word Users
Part 4 – Combiners

How to Read with Kids to Promote Language Development

This is the last day in our series.  Rachel is sharing strategies for reading to our children with us.  Rachel is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) with training in children’s literacy and clinical experience in developing reading and writing skills in children.

Read part 1 of the series here.
Read part 2 of the series here.
Read part 3 of the series here. 

We have been looking at what types of communicators our little ones are.  Here are the stages that Rachel outlined in her first post.

• Discoverers: earliest stage of communication, child responds to environment through crying, body movement, and facial expressions. For example, child may smile in response to seeing a familiar face.
• Communicators: communicate by looking at you, making gestures, pointing, and making sounds.
• First Words Users: imitate words they hear or begin to use words by themselves. Initially say one word at a time using words that represent people, objects, and actions. Use one word to express an entire message
• Combiners: begins to use two-word combinations (i.e., “Want teddy.”)

Today, we will focus on Combiners.  Here’s Rachel!

——————————————————————————————————————-

How to use books with a Combiner

• Introduce new ideas through books. If you read to your child about a topic (e.g., dinosaurs) and then take a trip/visit a place related to that topic (e.g., museum), it will increase the child’s understanding and encourage them to interact with the book more. Can also use books to introduce things he/she may never experience first-hand (e.g., riding a spaceship).
• Use books to build on your child’s experiences. When you read about going to the zoo, talk about your trip to the zoo, what you saw, what you felt, etc…
• Use books to help your child cope with new or difficult experiences. For example going to the doctor, getting a new sibling- the Mercer Mayer books are good for this type of stuff.
• Use books to introduce your child to imaginary places and creatures. This will help enhance their creativity.
• Choose books with simple stories with a main character
• Use books to target grammar that is difficult for your child (plural-s, present progressive –ing, past tense –ed)

To help facilitate language development with Combiners, it’s also important to follow these tips/guidelines:

• Imitate your child’s utterances: repeat your child’s words using correct productions (modeling)
• Add language to build your child’s understanding of more complex ideas: use longer sentences and add information/comments to encourage imagination, discussion of feelings, past experiences, and problem solving

Highlight your language: Not just about what you say to your child, but about how you say it.

Highlight your language by using these 4 strategies:

1. Say less: use short, simple sentences when talking to your child because they can’t take in a lot of info at once. Saying less makes it easier for your child to understand and remember words you use, and its easier for them to imitate a word that’s highlighted in a short sentence  (Put on your coat because we’re going to get your sister from grandmas vs Coat on.  Put coat on.  Going to grandmas.)
2. Stress: make important words stand out by stressing them (say louder, change your tone) to get kids attention and help them understand and learn words
3. Go slow: slowing down speech gives your child time to understand what your saying and to try to say the word themselves (stretch words or pause slightly between words)
4. Show: kids learn language best when they can see what you’re talking about

——————————————————————————————————————-

Thanks Rachel for helping us learn how to get the most out of reading with our children!

Book Recommendations for Combiners

Aiden loves to read a variety of books.  We still read the simple board books, but he started enjoying longer books during this stage.  Aiden gets absorbed into the stories and follows the characters through their adventures.  Here’s a list of books Aiden requested on a near daily basis when he was a combiner {he was almost 2}.

	Owl Moon by Jane Yolen Did you notice that Patrick was reading this book to Aiden in the picture above? Not staged – just a random photo I found in our picture album. It goes to show how often Aiden requested this book.
	Bear Snores on by Karma WilsonWe love this whole series about Bear and his friends. That’s why I included them in my list of picture books about friendship.
	Me and My Dad! by Allison RitchieThis book started a Father’s Day tradition in our house. Each year, Aiden gives his dad a book. We place his handprint and a little note in the front of the books.
	My Dad, My Hero by Ethan LongAiden helped me choose this book for the second Father’s Day. With its vivid pictures, this book reads like a comic book.
	Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae
	For You Are a Kenyan Child by Kelly CunnaneEvery time I read this book, I’m transported back to when my husband and I were on mission in Kenya. The Swahili words woven throughout the story help to take you there.You can read more about the book in this post I wrote for the Exploring Geography Series at Mama  Smiles.
	The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon StoneDo you remember this book from when you were a kid? I do!
	The Newborn King from the Book of Luke adapted by Cindy RobertsonAiden loves the star, Mama Mary, Daddy Joseph, and Baby Jesus
	1, 2, 3 to the Zoo a counting book by Eric CarleThere are no words just train cars, animals, and numbers. Be sure to find the little mouse on each page.
	Jump! By Scott M. FischerIt’s about a bug who jumps away from a frog who jumps away from a cat who jumps away from a hound…etc.

I hoped you enjoyed Rachel’s series of posts.  I know I did!

What type of reader is your little one?  What are your favorite books?

Connect with Inspiration Laboratories on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or Facebook .  You can also subscribe to posts by e-mail.

Linking up here.

Disclosure: Amazon links are affiliate links. See disclosure policy for more info.

This post was first published on December 2, 2011.