Extends Children’s Language (E4.2.6)

Sub Category: Language and Communication: Listening, Speaking, and Vocabulary Observable Competencies
Credential Level: Level 1 • Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Pre-K

COMPETENCY STATEMENT

Extends children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences (child gestures and says “ball” and adult says “you see the red ball.”)

DEFINITIONS

Teacher listens and expands on topics children show an interest in. Teachers can verbalize more information and demonstrate how to word a complete idea or sentence a child is expressing.

EXAMPLES

Extends Children’s Knowledge
Age Group: Pre-K

In this exemplar video, a teacher works with a child to braid a doll’s hair and says, ‘Let’s do the braids together.’ Notice how the teacher adds words and asks questions to build on the child’s ideas—an example of using interest areas to support and extend language development through play.

Extends Children’s Language
Age Group: Pre-K

In this exemplar video, the teacher talks with the child about what they like to do at Grandma’s house and repeats the child’s words using full sentences. Notice how the teacher helps the child build longer ideas—an example of using playtime to support language development.

Where Is DaDa
Age Group: Toddler

In this exemplar video, a teacher is having a conversation with toddlers during lunch time. Notice how the teacher extends what a young toddler says during lunch time, creating a more complete sentence from a child’s utterance and adds more information about the same topic–an example of extending children’s language and/or modeling for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

WAYS TO PRACTICE

Feeding Time
Age Group: Infant

In this Circle Activity, children experience comforting, responsive interactions during feeding times in order to support their social, emotional, language and communication development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to extend children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

Fun with Farm Animals
Age Group: Infant

In this Circle Activity, children explore different animals while talking about and imitating animal names, sounds, and body parts in order to support their language, communication and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide an opportunity to extend children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

Fun with Farm Animals
Age Group: Toddler

In this Circle Activity, children explore different animals while talking about and imitating animal names, sounds, and body parts in order to support their language, communication and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to extend children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

Gone Fishing
Age Group: Infant, Toddler

In this Circle Activity, children explore the concept of fishing and learn new vocabulary in order to support their language, communication and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to extend children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

Nature Sensory Bin
Age Group: Infant, Toddler

In this Circle Activity, children explore nature items of different types and textures and learn names and descriptive words for these items in order to support their language, communication and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to extend children’s language and/or models for children how to express complete ideas or sentences.

Nature Sensory Bin
Age Group: Infant, Toddler