BrainSTARS: Receptive Language

Use everyday activities to build skills:

• Enrich your child’s language environment by:
  • describing your actions
  • describing his actions.
  • labeling things
  • reading aloud together.
  • identifying and talking about feelings.
  • providing books on tape
• If your child has difficulty following a conversation and/or or following directions try:
  • leaving more time between your statement and his response
  • experiment with shortening the length of your sentences
  • reduce the level of your vocabulary
  • ask your child to repeat what you said in his own words to check for understanding

Change the environment:

• Adult language needs to be specific and clear.  Avoid using questions as commands.  When you want your child to complete a task, give a clear direction.

• Get your student’s attention before beginning to speak:
  • Call his name.
  • Use a physical direction such as turning your child toward you.
  • Be sure that your student is looking at you.
• When the language in textbooks is difficult to understand, help your child change it into a more easily understood form such as diagrams, charts, and illustrations.
• Remember that familiar material is much easier to follow and learn than unfamiliar material.  Create a context for learning new information by:
  • watching a video
  • previewing vocabulary
  • taking a field trip
  • communicating with parents about upcoming school topics
  • creating a poster
• Eliminate distractions, such as a radio, TV, or other conversations when you talk with your child.
• Use cues to help your child understand what you are saying, such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and a tone of voice that matches your message.

Teach new skills:

• Teach your student to read the chapter summary and chapter questions prior to reading an assignment.  Identify the key points you expect him to look for in a passage.
• Teach your child to read his book while listening to the same book on tape.
• Find a more concrete or visual version of complex written material.  For example, if studying volcanoes, use a junior book that has pictures and contains key information in highlighted format. View a movie or play of  lengthy or complex literature.  Provide visual and multi-sensory information about new academic topics by:
  • going on a field trip
  • showing a film
  • doing a hands-on experiment
• Teach your child to “picture” academic concepts in a visual image, rather than memorizing verbal explanations.  For example, instead of memorizing the definition of photosynthesis, “the process by which chlorophyll – containing cells in green plants convert light to chemical energy,” have the child visualize a representative picture.
• Supplement verbal explanations for games with visual demonstrations.  Have the child show you how the game will run with a “trial round” before the official start of the game.