English in Early Childhood
Language development opportunities
Below is some advice for the adult on how to support a child’s language development while doing these and other types of activities.
Children will reap the future benefits of this language rich environment, so closely connected to the activities that they love doing.
* Playing with blocks
use language for counting and sorting: How many are there? Shall we put the blue ones here?
use positional language: in, on, under, below, behind, next to
explore language related to size: big, small, long, short
describe what a child is doing while playing: finding, stacking, pulling, pushing, building, pressing, dragging
describe shapes and objects the children are making: square, rectangle, tower, house, castle, garden
* Dress-ups (and drama)
describe the costumes (fairy, princess, pirate, king, clown) and actions for getting dressed: put on, pull up/down, zip up, do the buttons up, unbutton, unzip
highlight the relevant parts of the body: put your arms through here, tie this around your waist/wrist, put these on your feet - first your left foot, then your right foot, put this over your head
use nursery rhymes and stories to model language for imaginary play
develop listening comprehension by encouraging the children act out the rhyme or story in their costumes
extend vocabulary associated with role-play: hospital, airport, artist’s studio, garden centre, vet, doctor, routines (breakfast/lunch/dinner/bed time)
* Making and decorating (art and craft)
name the materials: paint, paintbrush, crayon, felt-tip, marker, card, paper, crepe paper, shiny paper, tissue paper, newspaper, glue, scissors, cotton wool, fabric, sequins, feathers
describe properties and textures of materials: runny, thick, smooth, hard, long, short, spiky, rough, shiny
experiment with and describe colour
use instructions: paint, draw, colour, smudge, blur, blow, copy, pour, make, cut, stick, decorate, hang (it) up
art appreciation and describing what the children have made, painted or drawn.
* Malleable materials (dough, plasticine, clay)
use language of manipulation: push, pull, drop, squeeze, press, bend, twist, roll, stretch, squash, squish, pinch, flatten, poke, scrape, break apart
describe length/thickness: longer than, shorter than, the same length as
use language related to colour and smells
describe texture: soft, hard, squishy, lumpy, grainy, shiny
talk about materials that can be added to dough: feathers, sticks, twigs, shells
explore language related to shapes
* Music and movement activities
use language related to actions, position and parts of the body: put your hands up in the air, draw circles in the air, touch your nose, wriggle your fingers, jump, hop, lie face down on the floor, lie on your back, move over there, come closer, curl up into a ball, stretch your arms out as wide as you can, take a nap
name musical instruments: shaker, drum, recorder, xylophone, block, triangle, bell, tambourine
use language to describe sounds: loud, quiet, soft, high, low, long, short, fast, slow, tap, shake, scrape, knock, tick, hum, howl
familiarise children with a range of sounds through onomatopoeia
use songs and rhymes to work on pronunciation, rhythm, stress and intonation
* Toys and small world play
extend vocabulary related to a particular topic: park, zoo, farm, hospital, transport
comment on the objects, toys or figurines the children are playing with
comment on the settings, scenes, themes or storylines children are developing as they play
describe the position of the things the children are playing with: behind, next to, in, on, under
* Puzzles
describe the pictures and colours on the puzzles
comment on the shape of the puzzle pieces: rectangle, square, triangle, circle
comment on the position of the puzzle pieces: up/down, here/there
encourage the social aspects of using puzzles: take turns, it’s your turn next, share
* Sand play and water play
use language related to equipment and resources: brush, spade, scoop, spoon, cup, jug, bucket, sieve, cutters, rake, comb, funnel, sponge, soap, bubbles, straw, ladle, tea pot, watering can
extend vocabulary related to imaginary play: boats, diggers, bulldozers, tractors, treasure, dinosaurs, pirates, gardens, tea party, firefighter, plumber, dolls
use descriptive language: wet, dry, damp, gritty, hard, lumpy, flat, smooth, wavy, sticky, cold, frozen, clean, dirty
use language related to size, shape and position
describe capacity and quantity: enough, more, less, too much/little, overflowing, how much/many? a pile/cup of…
describe actions or what is happening: it’s fallen down, it’s gone, flatten, pour, tip, fill, scoop, cover, stir, splash, leak, drip, float, sink, trickle, spray, wash, dry
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