In this and
the next post I will summarize Resnick and Snow’s introduction to the “Habits” of talking.
“Habits”
includes 4 goals:
Talking a lot
Talking to one’s self
Conversing at length on a topic
Discussing books
The authors
begin with a general discussion addressing all of the 3 age groups (Preschool,
K-1, 2-3). As parents, grandparents, and
teachers, some of us might think that our young children already talk a lot, by
themselves, to themselves and to others. And that is certainly true for some
children. Other children need the
context and opportunity to grow in their language/conversation skills. The
Introduction to this topic offers too many ideas to cover adequately (thus the
need to buy the book), but here are several ideas that might be offered a
starting point in paying increasingly more attention to the amount and kind of
talking young children do.
*Children
learn most of what they know by hearing other people talk…and expanding their own language
skills—“learning words (semantics), putting sentences together(syntax), and
practicing the “rules of talk” (pragmatics) such as taking turns in a
conversation.” (p. 3)
*Children “learn from the back and forth of
conversation—even when they are on the receiving or listening end. They learn by observing how other people react
to what they say…. The best talk comes when children listen attentively to what
other people say and then connect their responses to what they have heard.”
(p. 4)
*Children learn by listening to other
people’s knowledge, insights and different points of view. Purposeful talk about a topic can occur only if children listen to one another. Listening during a book talk, for example
teaches children the important lesson that readers react to books in different
ways….(and) Suppose a child hears a new
word—insect, for example—when the teacher reads aloud a book in class….if the
word insect pops up over and over in carefully planned classroom talks, the
word becomes familiar…. When children
hear insect again and again and have a chance to use the word themselves, they
are more likely to remember it. The word
becomes part of their working vocabulary….”
(pp. 4-5)
Before
addressing the 4 topics of this section specifically, Resnick and Snow offer
several considerations:
Meaningful
Differences and Implications for Schools and Teachers addresses the 30 million
word gap between advantaged and “disadvantaged” children.
Different
Culture, Different Rules addresses the idea that “different social groups share
different rules for talk….”
Settings
That Get Children Talking. “Talk happens in many places and social situations,
and each setting changes the possibilities for the conversation. Every setting
is different, depending on the following:
*Who gets to
talk?
*What are
the rules?
*What is
going on, and where?
Talking a Lot—An Introduction
“Research shows that certain kinds of
talk—discussing, collaborating, and problem solving with peers—help children
learn academic subjects. These kinds of
talk put children in situations where they can
*Observe how other people react to
what they say
*Hear and respond to other people who
ask them to clarify what they say
*Hear their own ideas reflected in
other people’s comments
*Hear children and adults repeat,
revised, or improve on what they say
*Learn the rules of speaking and listening,
such as taking turns.
“Children need both “air
time”—opportunities to talk—and “ear time”—the attention to fluent, response
adults—to develop language skills. Even
the best schools do not give students enough opportunities and attention to
engage in interactive conversation…” (p. 5)
One way
teachers can take note of children’s “talks
a lot” skills is by noting when,
about what and to whom children talk.
The authors suggest that preschoolers “need to feel comfortable talking
in small group…to expand their conversations from one-on-one exchanges to small
groups.”
By
kindergarten and first grade, the expectation is that “children also should be able to talk about their own writings and
drawings, present an event or object to the class, play and learn with others,
each and learn new techniques from others, read aloud, and listen and respond
to questions and comments about books they have read or books that have been
read aloud to them. Second and third
grade children should be able to speak in front of larger groups, such as the
whole class or a parent audience. They
can recite poems, perform in plays, give a book talk, and present a science
project.” (pp. 5-6)
Specifying
the growth of a variety of language skills at different ages highlights the
importance of keeping pace with language skill development.
