 to teach concepts such as colour, for a round like this indicates who knows and who needs the verbal label to be attached to their choice. More important than knowing the concept is using colour for expression and having a watchful adult voicing the mood of flowing lines or angry stabs of the pen. Putting words to such moods is the first step towards emotional literacy.
The joint paper charts the process. What appears to be scribble represents pathways, journeys, mazes, enclosures, anger, water, fire, speed - all the ingredients of a possible narrative. We can link individual parts to the whole. My drawing is there too to talk about, and I can scribe key words or ideas. Real objects such as dinky cars or Lego people can interact with the drawings, and the expression is therefore multi-modal.
Encouraging children to visit each other's "worlds" on the paper before them gives me the chance to model the rules of courtesy and social negotiation. We can problem solve and resolve territorial fights.
To bring matters to a close, I can tell or pretend-write the story in the middle with the children joining in. We often roll up the paper to signal the end and allow a new start for other children. Farewells are as important as greetings and these need to be modelled as well.
Other treasures in my pockets can spark off different experiences: a spider in a box, a sparkling jewel, a spinning top, a magnifying glass, a mirror or a chime. So that communication can be more reciprocal, the children are allowed to bring a pocketsize treasure of their own from home to "show and tell". This has been arranged by letters home to parents telling them of my aim to encourage language development and inviting them to meet me half an hour before hometime to hear what has happened. I can share the large papers with them and additionally sometimes have digital photos and tape recordings.
How did this all come about? I was employed in Hartlepool LEA on a sessional basis to undertake a project to tackle low levels of language use in nurseries in this urban area. This was in response to Ofsted reports noting poor base-line language assessment results with the knock-on effect on literacy results. The starting point for the project was the assumption that oral competence provides a sure foundation for literacy skills.
I came as a visitor to a nursery once a week for six consecutive weeks for the whole nursery day. A preliminary visit agreed the context for the "Talking Table" and involved staff and parents in the proposal. Guidelines about conversational principles and mediational strategies were available as handouts. This was to be an inclusive intervention, not singling out those with particular difficulties but open to all children and parents.
An unexpected outcome was that the children the school would have picked out for special help volunteered themselves more readily, possibly needing the reassurance of the concerned and listening adult alongside. Parents reported that their children came more happily to nursery on Wednesdays clutching their secret treasures in their pockets. Anxious parents were the ones who tended to turn up early to hear news and air their own concerns around another "Talking Table" for them.
Parental comments collected as part of an evaluation testified to changes in attitude and confidence:
"A has come out of herself a lot. She is keen to bring things on Wednesdays to talk about."
"N's confidence is rising. He is ready to tell me things that have happened in nursery like the spider losing its leg and being put in the bin!"
Evaluation of such an intervention is difficult given the complexity of such group experiences involving the whole class, staff and parents. But if numerical data is needed, staff can track individuals and count instances of conversation starters and responses. Non-verbal expressions can also be noted.
Further evidence of enduring changes comes with my follow-up visits. I find the "Talking Table" has become part of the nursery layout and sessions are run by parents, assistants and even by able children th