Books Books Books!
Books are the timeless resource that we can never have enough of. Their visual impact and catchy verse pull us all in. They are such a great way to stimulate the imagination and expose children to endless opportunities of language learning. The variety of books available means that children with a range of language, social and communication needs can benefit and share a love of reading.
The best thing about books? We can get them for free! We are lucky to have so many amazing local libraries where we can access a never ending list of children's storybooks (and plenty for adults too!).
How can we use them to teach language? Here is an example of some language areas that we can target:
Imaginative play and thinking.
Repetition of words and phrases.
Phrase fill-in - for example: 'incy whincy _____'
Rhyming.
Comprehension of singe nouns and verbs.
Vocabulary development/expansion
Fine and gross motor imitation - with action stories.
Recognition of colours, numbers and shapes.
Categorisation of items.
Comprehension of WH questions (e.g. Who, where, what, when questions).
Story sequencing - for example; a story has a clear beginning, middle, end.
Inferencing - what will happen next? Why is something happening?
Expansion activities - for example, creating artwork to compliment a story, creating sensory play to mirror a story, or creating an obstacle course to mirror the story - The language opportunities within these activities alone are endless!
Most importantly - the social interaction, facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice that we can apply when reading a story to our children help to teach valuable social and emotional skills.
The opportunities are endless. And they are so much fun for all of us. It gives us adults an excuse to get silly; with silly voices and actions and as much craziness as possible!!
While we're waiting for libraries to reopen, dig out whatever books you have, or borrow some from a friend, and reintroduce some of your favourite characters to your home!
Stay tuned for more posts on specific books and how to use them in sessions.
Enjoy and stay safe!!
The Speech Sound Clinic.