How do I teach new words?
Use words that Teach.
Words that teach are those that you use to
tell your child that you are listening and you are interested.
These are words that also will give your child new ways
of saying things and new meanings. You can also show your
child how to use more complex language. Your skills of conversation
(taking
turns, pausing,
balancing)
will give your child a natural opportunity to learn the
words.
You can respond to
your child's talk by changing something about the words:
Changing
the order of the words
Child:
"big ball"
Parent:
"the ball is big"
Adding
words to make his/her talk more adult-like
Child:
"want more"
Parent:
"You want some more"
Adding
a different word that means the same thing, or almost
the same thing
Child:
"smush dough"
Parent:
"push dough"
Changing
the pronoun in the sentence
Child:
"I walk"
Parent:
"You walk"
Replacing
a general word with a specific word
Child:
"want that"
Parent:
"you want car"
Adding
word endings
Child:
"he jump"
Parent:
"he jumped"
Child:
"we swim"
Parent:
"we are swimming"
Child:
"three bear"
Parent:
"three bears"
