Reading To Your Kids #3: Make Predictions and Inferences

Hi.  It's me.  Sorry for the delay.  We have been having a summer full of fun and excitement!  For example, we found out we are adding another boy to our family in November!  I'm so happy and blessed to be a mom.  I get so much joy from watching my children learn and grow - nothing compares!  Even being a speech therapist - as much as I love it - doesn't quite bring the same amount of satisfaction.  I'm lucky I get to do both!

Now this series on reading to your kids is for all you fellow moms out there.  My next suggestion is technically two - but they go so well together that I wanted to talk about them at the same time.  In general terms, here are the definitions:

Predictions and Inferences have to do with using context clues (from pictures or from words) in order to make a guess about the story.  Predicting is guessing what will happen; inferencing is guessing what already happened.

1) A great example of teaching 'predicting' is something that you will see most lower elementary teachers do every time they grab a book.  They will show the cover to their class, read the title, and ask, "What do you think this story is about?"  Try doing this with your kids every time you pick up a book.  They will start out by making guesses based on the picture on the front.  That's great!  Encourage every guess.  It's important to teach your child that there is no wrong answer.  Then read the title.  Sometimes the title of the book doesn't match the picture exactly...this provides a good opportunity for discussion.  For example, in many copies of "The Mitten" by Jan Brett, the cover shows the mitten but it also shows a lot of other animals that will make an appearance.

 Talk about how the mitten is probably the main part of the story since it is the title.  Then make predictions about the mitten.  Whose is it?  Why is it on the ground?  What do you think happened next?  What are the animals going to do with it?  See how you have already had some great discussion and you haven't even opened up the book yet?

2)  Make predictions as you go throughout the book about what might happen next.  You will need to talk about why you think something will happen next.  For example, in one of my favorite books for preschoolers, "Good Night Gorilla", there are hardly any words which can allow for some great conversation.  There is a page where the gorilla is stealing the keys from the zookeeper.

 You can ask, "What is the gorilla going to do next?"  Talk about how the gorilla is reaching for the keys, so he is probably trying to take them and unlock his cage and escape.  (That was actually using clues to make an inference which then helps you make a prediction.  They go together very well.  But you can see how it can get quite complex and children may need it explained step by step).

3)  Many picture books have plenty of opportunities to teach inferencing, because the illustrator can't very well draw every single thing that happens in the story.  Oftentimes you have to use your imagination and clues from the story to fill in the blanks.  Returning to my "Good Night Gorilla" example, the page after the gorilla is sneaking the keys is a picture of the gorilla following the zookeeper and they are now at the elephant's cage.

 Clearly some things have happened since the last picture, namely, the gorilla opened his own cage with the keys that he stole.  Many children have a difficult time grasping these events when they didn't actually see them occur.  Explain to the child that something happened and we didn't see the picture of it, but we know it happened because of the clues the pictures gave us.  So....what do you think will happen next?  See - another predicting opportunity.  This particular book is great because there are a TON of opportunities for inferencing and predicting.  I think that once you start paying attention you will notice how often we apply these skills in books without even realizing it!  If your child learns how to do this with pictures then it will be a great foundation for them to start applying it when they learn how to read on their own, then when there are no pictures at all.

I hope you find this helpful and that you have fun reading books with your kids!

Reading To Your Kids #2: Try Avoiding the Text

Sometimes it's fun to deviate a little bit from the exact printed words on the page and tell a story your own way.  It's good for a child to hear the same story told in different ways.  They learn the skill of re-telling which is crucial for academic and social success.  Besides, when you read the same book OVER and OVER and OVER again, we parents sometimes require a little change of pace.  It's essential to our sanity!  My son is a little obsessed with Berenstain Bears books right now.  They are fun and they teach great morals - but sheesh - sometimes they seem way too long!  So sometimes I shorten it up.  I'm modeling how to summarize stories for him - so it's a win-win!

Did you know there is research that shows that wordless picture books help readers "understand the elements of story structure, develop visual literacy, think and write creatively, and cultivate language and narrative abilities"? (Masters Program in Library and Information Sciences).  This <----- about="" articles="" books.="" great="" has="" link="" other="" p="" picture="" related="" research="" some="" to="" wordless="">
There are lots of great wordless picture books out there.  My friend Lynn did a post about some of them last month.  Check it out here.

One of my favorite books isn't technically wordless per se, but it has very limited words and the pictures are so much fun!  It can create so much great discussion!  The book is Good Night Gorilla and it's a favorite among all the kids I work with.  It'll probably come up again in this series when we talk about inferencing.

Reading To Your Kids #1: Take Your Time

I have promised a few friends and a few parents that I would do this series and I think it's time!  Summer Break is approaching and that's a great time to establish a reading routine with your kids.  I'll just be posting a new concept each time and I don't know exactly how many posts I will end up doing....we shall see!  My first tip is a short and simple one, but a very powerful one at the same time.

Reading Tip #1: Take Your Time

We all have nights where we are home late from a baseball game or something, we just want the kids to go to bed so we read a quick book and get it over with.  That's OK!  But hopefully most of the time you are able to sit down, relax, and let your child take the lead.  Let them turn the pages, ask questions, talk about the pictures, etc.  There's no need to rush to get through it.  Many children need a long time to absorb what was just read and apply it to the pictures on the page.  Especially if it's a first-time read-through.  You might find that after you read the text and give your child a few minutes to let it sink in, they suddenly start asking questions.  Those are the times when you can catch a glimpse into your child's amazing mind.  Let me know how it goes!

5 Ways to Provide a good language foundation for your baby

1) Sit down and have a conversation. -  Our lives have become so busy and so full of gadgets and to-do lists and errands to run.  I'm afraid that it has caused us to reduce the attention we give to our babies.  They have no choice but to lay where we lay them and to look at whatever is in the direction their head is facing.  My advice is to put down the ipad or the TV remote or the laptop and put your baby on your lap.  Look at each other in the eyes.  Practice eye contact.  Try to get your baby's attention by making noises and having her turn her head.  Then smile.  This is also establishing turn-taking skills.  Did you know that when you are making noises at your baby that you are teaching them the skill of turn-taking?  They make a noise - then you make a noise, then they make a noise, then you make a noise.  It should sound just like a conversation with different noises and different intonation, except that it's just gibberish.  Gibberish or not - it's still very important!
2) Respond to their vocalizations - More specifically, if you and your baby are in the same room but you're cooking dinner or working on the computer and your baby makes a loud noise, you can probably tell that they are trying to get your attention.  Reward it!  You want to reinforce the concept that they can initiate conversation and that by making noise they are causing you to turn your head and give them attention.  Just take a few second to turn your head towards them.  Smile.  Make a noise back.  Then go back to what you were doing.  Not only is it good for language - it reminds the child that you are there for them and that they are the more important than whatever else you're doing at that moment.
3) Tell them what you're going to do, then do it - Talk to your baby all the time.  Don't worry if they don't understand everything you say.  There is no need to simplify your language at all.  Most of what babies learn is 'incidental' meaning as it happens around them and in an unstructured setting.  You want your child to be able to associate what you are saying with what is going on.  So if you pick up your child and say, "It's time for your bath!" then you get distracted and start folding laundry, they won't learn the association between what you say and what you do.  A great example of this is when parents say, "Night-night" as part of the bedtime routine.  The baby has learned to associate sleep with the words 'Night Night'.  These are the babies who might get very upset if you say 'night-night' to them and they're not tired! :)
4) Nursery Rhymes and Finger Plays - There's a good reason why nursery rhymes have been around for so long.  They are a great way to establish language basics in babies.  Some of the skills you are reinforcing include: turn-taking, joint attention, eye contact, intonation, and vocabulary. It doesn't even matter what you're singing.  Pick a song and sing it to your child.  Help them do actions such as clapping hands and raising them high into the air.  They'll soak it up.  
5) Read to your baby -  It's never too soon to start reading to your baby!  I've mentioned before some of the great benefits of reading.  Big thick board books are great for those chubby little hands to hold and feel.  They will associate reading a book with you and the physical closeness and comfort which will help them enjoy reading as they get older.  Check out this video of my 3 month old niece!  Her daddy is reading to her in Spanish and she is just soaking it up.  

Summer Activities and Language Suggestions

Hello!  Are you having a fun summer?  Are you taking it easy or are you starting off with a bang, trying to pack in as much fun as you can?  I am having a blast hanging out with my 2 boys.  We are trying to find a good balance between taking it easy together and also doing lots of fun stuff.  I thought I would share with you my list of summer fun activities!  And it wouldn't be a good speech/language blog if I didn't give you some language-enhancing tips!  So here are 5 language skills that can be targeted while enjoying these activities:

1) Vocabulary - Most any activity comes with new vocabulary for a child to learn!  Pick two or three words that may be unfamiliar to them and make a point to use them over and over in different contexts.  Never underestimate the words your child can learn.  For example, on your family hike, point out some plant names.  Discuss trees vs. bushes, talk about the parts of a flower.
2) Sequencing - Most structured activities require that you follow certain steps in a certain order.  Teach your child the words "first, second, then, next, and last" while you make cookies or write letters.  If you're into apps and really want to focus on this concept - check out the Pictello app.
3) Descriptions - I've worked with lots of kids who know plenty of nouns but when it comes to describing them, they would rather not.  :) Discuss words like: sticky, rough, smooth, clean, wet, hot, cold, spicy, sweet, loud, etc.  Make a contest to see how many words you can think of to describe something.
4)  Predicting - An important skill for social language as well as reading.  Ask your child questions about what will happen next: "What is going to happen when I mix these two colors?" or  "What do you think might happen if we didn't put a letter on this stamp?"  or "What if our boat gets really wet?" or "Those two ducks are going for the same piece of bread...what are they going to do?"  Encourage guessing and see if they can start asking you questions in return.
5) Developing Schema - A less-known concept but a very important one for all parents.  'Schema' refers to the child's own database of personal experiences.  It is crucial for reading comprehension, as children need to learn to make personal connections to events or places in books.  If a child encounters a book about fishing, and they just recently went fishing, they will have a much better understanding of what you need to take with you, how to use a fishing pole, and how you have to sit and wait.  Much of those things are not specifically mentioned in books and must then be inferred by the reader.  So basically any activity you do with your child this summer is theoretically helping your child's future reading comprehension abilities.  Good to know, right? :)

So here's my list: I tried to credit the ideas back to the original blogger/website so be sure to check out the links!

-          Swimming

-          Bowling

-          Watergun Fight

-          Water Balloons

-          ScavengerHunt

-           Fishing

-          Fly a Kite

-          Make cookies

-          Read books

-           Go on a picnic

-          Makeplaydough

-          Fingerpainting

-          Go to the zoo

-          Rainbow Volcanoes

-          BalloonTennis

-          Puppet Show for Dad

-          Watercoloring

-          Fun Things with Crayons

-          Write Letters to Family with lots of stickers

-          Geocaching

- Wash the car

-          PopsicleStick Puzzles

-          Giant Bubbles

-          Homemadelava lamps

-          Marshmallows and Toothpicks

-          Bug Hunt (magnifying glass and tube found at Dollar Store)

-          Pillow Fights

-          Run through the sprinklers

-          Paperboats down the river (or even the gutter when it’s full)

-          Archeology Dig (plastic dinosaurs in dirt/sand)

-          MagneticPuzzles

-          CraftStick Letters with Velcro

-          Visit a farm

-          Makeslime

-          Family Hike

- Paper Airplanes

-          FrozenFigures 

-          Learn some new songs with actions

-          Mini Golf

-          Make a Spotting Scope or binoculars

- Edible Bird Nests (and read "Are You My Mother" just because it's so cute)

-          Go to a local splash pad

-          Feed the ducks

-          Play date at the park

-          Get snow cones

-          Cut out pictures from Sunday ads and make a collage

-          Storytime at the library

-  Salt Dough Footprints

- Bike Ride

- Picnic

- Learn some new jokes and teach them to Dad

- Popcorn and Pajama Night

Learning Language Through Literature

One of the things I love about being a speech-language pathologist is that I get to teach language.  Lots of people think I just teach kids how to say their /r/ sound.  Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy that!  But I also love finding a child with language needs, figuring out what their core difficulties are, and then finding out how I can help them with those challenges.  It's a fun process and each child always presents with unique weaknesses.  On the other hand, I have noticed that many of my kids do struggle in similar areas, namely: synonyms/antonyms, multiple meaning words, describing and defining words, and predicting/inferring.  If you're one of my fellow speechies you are probably picturing some specific kiddos right now.  And if you're a fellow mom, I think you will like using this post to help strengthen those skills in your child, regardless of their language abilities.  I have begun a project I like to call, "Learning Language Through Literature" which I have found really helps these kids with broad language needs. Language is best learned in context.  Granted, there are times when it is appropriate to drill with flashcards.  But I also really like to emphasize the importance of learning and using these skills in the context of a book.   Reading comprehension is one of our greatest goals, right?  So I have selected some books on which to focus for each month of the school year (I'm only up to February).  It is a time in speech when the kids get to relax with me, read a book, look at pictures, ask questions without feeling scared, and show me what they know.  It's more relaxed, natural, and they don't feel the 'pressure' to give me the right answers.  Little do they know that they're still learning a lot! :)  I created a type of data sheet with the questions to ask in a pre and post test fashion.  The questions vary in difficulty, and probably are mostly targeted towards kids from 2nd through 6th grade but of course you can adapt it as you need to.  Here they are!  Enjoy!

September - Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London

October - Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

November - One is a Feast for mouse by Judy Cox

December/January - The Mitten by Jan Brett

February - Love, Splat by Rob Scotton

Book Review

BOOKS!  I can't emphasize the importance of reading books to your kids.  It teaches them so much, and they pick up on more things than we even realize.  Here are some essential skills that are strengthened when you read to your kids:

- Text/Print Awareness
- Vocabulary
- Narrative Skills  (sequencing and telling stories)
- Story Grammar (the essentials of story-telling: character, setting, problem, feeling, ending)
- Rhyming
- Letter Knowledge
- Inference
- Prediction
- Listening Skills
- Attention Skills (Yes! It can be taught!)
- Plus it's bonding and it helps your child relax and feel safe.

And it's never too early to start reading to your child.  In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting by 6 months!  

Anyway.

Here's a great book.  It's called "Roadwork" by Sally Sutton.  It's great for kids ages 1-3.  And boys would especially like all the trucks and machinery in it.  I like it because it's slightly repetitive, which kids enjoy and it helps aid learning.  It teaches rhyming.  It experiments with sounds and rhyming which adds an element of fun.  The words are nice and big.  And overall it teaches that building a road involves lots of steps and they happen in a certain order.  Kids need to start learning how to sequence things and how to describe steps in different processes; such as building a road, making a peanut butter sandwich, or how to build a snowman.

All that in one little book?  You bet.  So go to your local library today and find a new gem.

Great Website

I recently discovered this AWESOME website called Reading is Fundamental - Leading to Reading. It's a great resource if you have kids from a newborn up to age 5 or so. They split it up into a section for kids from 0-2 and one for kids from 3-5. The 0-2 one is great because it has links to many nursery rhymes, lullabies, and fingerplays. Don't underestimate their importance! There's a reason they've been around for so long! They help teach turn-taking, proper intonation, rhyming, story-telling, and so many other important foundational skills for communication. Plus they're just fun! Each age also has a reading section where it brings up popular books for you and your child to read along with. The words are highlighted as they go so it helps introduce the concept of reading and early literacy skills such as going from left to right and turning pages. Check it out!