A language centered classroom schedule
As teachers develop
a classroom
schedule
and plans for their teaching, they should make sure they include
activities and practices which help develop a strong language centered
learning environment. Research has shown that when the following
practices and activities are scheduled regularly, children's language
development is significantly enhanced.
- Quick paced A snappy, vibrant discussion or presentation is much more apt to keep children focused than slow methodical pacing. Direct teaching of new skills is very important, but it should take only a few minutes.
- Grouping The classroom schedule should include a variety of groupings of children for teaching. Besides whole group presentations the teacher should plan for regular small group work and for individual time with each child. If you are homeschooling, grouping is still very important. This can be accomplished by multi-age grouping with siblings, periodic activities with a co-op or an outside class.
- Interactive play These should be teacher directed activities so that the children can practice language and skills they are learning. These could include activities such as dramatic play, building with blocks, playing store etc. By playing with the children, the teacher can help the children to practice and expand their language by asking questions, and modeling vocabulary.
- Read alouds You can read to the children, or they can listen to recorded stories. Children need to hear more formal book language regularly. Use this as a time to expand vocabulary. As you read a book, choose one word to focus on. Practice the word and make up a few sentence examples. Try to use the word through-out the day.
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