There are so many things that can be talked about and discussed within this picture. If you look closely you will see that there are boys, girls, men and women present. The sun in shining but yet people have on what appears to be sweatshirts and coats, so the weather could be anything. It is always a good idea to have a picture or some contextual referent in which you can utilize to help with understanding words and word usage.
You will notice in week one the people world selected was "He" rather than a specific person such as "mom" or "dad' or even a more generic term such as "man". Let me explain my reasoning for this. He can be used to describe any male, it is much more of a generic term that is more likely to show up in print or literature than the others. It can promote literacy development. In addition it also promotes that there are a large number of words that have large generalization, meaning that what they represent can vary greatly (dog, fruit, it, they, etc.). Therefore, if you teach your child "he" there are many people which he or she can talk about without having to know specific names.
This brings me to the words that will be on Wright's Word Wall for week 2. I am including a photo of their representation for your convenience. Please feel free to print copy and use as you wish. I am using SymbolStix icons, as I find they are more versatile and good representations. In addition you can get an online of SymbolStix for $49/year, a great buy! Here are the vocabulary words and parts of speech that will be targeted during week 2:
yellow: she
green: throw
orange: coat
blue: big
purple: home
pink: Ahhhh! (as in frustration or disappointment)
These words were selected for their frequency and relevance to the theme of football. If you feel that your child has a good grasp of the vocabulary, I would like to give you a language challenge.
LANGUAGE LESSON:
Incorporate the understanding of "he" or "she" into as many everyday situations as possible. This may mean that you need to reinforce the understanding of the difference between "boy" versus "girl". When you feel that your child has the concept of "boy" versus "girl" then start providing a choice instead of asking "Is he a boy or girl?" and getting a one-word response, start letting your child be creative and see if they can make up silly sentence about what boys or girls are doing by starting their sentences with "He" or "She" based on what would be appropriate. Don't get caught up if the rest of the sentence is grammatically correct. Enjoy that your child is playing with language. If your child is not ready to independently generate silly sentences on his or her own. Then take the 12 words provided from Wright's Word Wall and have your child arrange 3 or 4 of the words to make silly sentence like "He throw big coat", the say the sentence to your child with all of the missing words "He throws a big coat"..."He must have been hot!" This provides more meaning and makes language powerful!
One last thing to try to implement, try these language techniques during pretend play. See if your child can shift his or her perspective. If a new toy teddy bear is introduced can your child shift his or her imagination that in one play activity the bear is a he, and in another it is a she. This flexibility of an imagination has been shown to be a very strong predictor of good social interaction. See if your child can show you what the teddy bear would do at "home" and then what the bear would do at a "field". Utilize the Wright Word Wall words in as many contextually fun situations as possible. Make sure that you are using all forms of the action words (past, present future, etc.). As adults, we must present an example to children that language is flexible and changing based on how it is used.
I hope you find these strategies and suggestions helpful! Please feel free to email me any questions or concerns: wrightpathwaystherapy@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Sandra
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