describe whatever it is that you are going to extend. Use that word first as that is their point of reference and then extend. The more engagement you can get from the child. The more chance you have got of that word sticking.
- Stress the word that you are using within the sentence
‘Look at that big (insert word). It is not just big it is enormous!’
- Tell them what the word you have used means
‘Can you see it? It is really big, huge, massive, really enormous’
- Act it using gestures, actions or tone of voice.
It is really e-nor-mous, even bigger than this (fling arms apart)
- Relate the word to something that is personal to that child’s experience
‘It is as even bigger than that enormous piece of playdough that you were playing with this morning. Do you remember?'
- Talk it again and again and again! There is no harm in overusing a word on first introduction as long as you don’t put the children off!
‘What else can we see that is enormous? That rock over there, is so much bigger an the others it’s enormous. I Once wrestled a shark that was as big as a double decker bus – it was enormous and had enormous teeth!’
If the child is keen to join in and have a go at using the word then that is great and you should encourage then to have a go. If they are showing no signs of wanting to join in then this is also fine. I is not so much about the child saying the word, but about them hearing it in context and making sense of it. enough to use it.
For a quick mental reminder of what you need to do, just think
Stress it, Tell it, Act it, Relate it and Talk it.
Learning to write is not hard, painful or boring if you do it at the right time and in the right order. Many practitioners still put too much emphasis on the physical mark making element of writing pushing children to do things that they are not physically or mentally equipped to do.
(Not sure what is scarier - me or the teeth!)
Once we understand the process of how children develop their mark making and writing skills then we can make sure that we are accurately assessing their progress and then reflecting that assessment in the environment that we create and the planning that we put into place.
Alongside that we should be spending a HUGE amount of time talking with children and giving them something that they want to talk and write about.
Getting children with limited interest or vocabulary to talk can be hard work. So pick things that will provoke a reaction.
Something to make them laugh
make them think, make them go ‘Yuk!’
or give them a mild fright!
(This is one of my activities where you make 'dinosaur poo' out of playdough with soil and coffee grinds mixed in. In some of the poo, you put boiled chicken bones, in some vegetation. The children have to disect the poo using tweezers (and hygienic gloves) and work out if the dinosaur who did the poo was a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore and then record their results! Get's them talking and writing every time!)
Once you have got them talking – then you will get them mark making and writing. Hold on, that sounds like a good idea for a conference. It just so happens I know a bloke who is running a really good one on just that subject! You can find the details here. If you're lucky he will bring his false teeth!
Thanks for the inspiration Granny. I am sure you are smiling down on us all (albeit a gummy one due to the fact that I have got your teeth!)
Happy talking...and writing