Student Resource Area for: Guiding Children's Social ...



Student Resource Area for: Guiding Children's Social Development: Theory to Practice, 6E

Chapter 4 - Promoting Children's Developing Sense of Self Through Verbal Communication

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Key Points

I. Create a positive verbal environment.

• Greet children when they arrive.

• Address children by name.

• Extend invitations to children to interact with you.

• Speak politely to children.

• Listen attentively to what children have to say; use active listening.

• Invite children to elaborate on what they are saying.

• Think of some conversation openers in advance.

• Use silence to invite conversation.

• Take advantage of spontaneous opportunities to converse with children; engage children in conversation frequently.

• Refrain from speaking when talk would destroy the mood of the interaction.

• Provide verbal encouragement to children as they refine and expand their skills.

• Choose your language carefully; listen carefully to what you say and how you say it.

II. Formulate behavior reflections.

• Describe some aspect of the child's person or behavior in a statement to the child.

• Phrase behavior reflections as statements.

• Address behavior reflections directly to children.

• Use descriptive vocabulary as part of your reflection.

• Use nonjudgmental vocabulary and tone when reflecting children's behavior.

III. Formulate questions.

• Ask open-ended questions.

• Monitor the questions you ask.

• Ask questions when you are truly perplexed.

• Carefully choose when to ask open-ended questions.

• Emphasize quality over quantity when using questions in conversations with children.

• Give children time to think about and answer questions.

IV. Formulate paraphrase reflections.

• Listen actively to the child's words.

• Restate in your own words what the child has said.

• Rephrase erroneous reflections.

• Match your reflection to each child's ability to understand language.

• Use a conversational tone when reflecting.

• Summarize children's actions and words rather than reflect each individual behavior or idea expressed.

• Select one idea at a time to paraphrase.

• Add interest to your reflections by periodically phrasing them in a form opposite from what the child used.

• Reflect first when children ask you a question.

V. Formulate effective praise statements.

• Use behavior reflections to acknowledge children's efforts and accomplishments.

• Note positive changes you've observed in children's abilities over time.

• Point out to children the positive effects their actions have on others.

• Focus on some positive aspect of children's efforts to do something, not simply the product they achieve.

• Be honest in your praise and offer children authentic feedback.

VI. Support linguistically diverse children.

• Evaluate your sensitivity to children's use of their home language.

• Learn relevant words in the home languages of the children in your group.

• If you are fluent in children's home language, monitor how you interact with children using that language.

• Familiarize yourself with ways in which the formal group setting can be better designed to support children's linguistic diversity.

VII. Communicate with children's families.

• Apply the principles of a positive verbal environment in your interactions with family members.

• Use paraphrase reflections and open-ended questions while interacting with family members.

• Use honest praise and authentic feedback to acknowledge family participation in the program.

• Collaborate with family members in supporting linguistically diverse children.

VIII. Avoid the following pitfalls:

• Parroting.

• Reflecting incessantly.

• Perfunctory reflecting.

• Treating children as objects.

• Correcting children's overestimating of their abilities.

• Turning reflections into questions.

• Answering one's own questions rather than allowing children to answer.

• Habitually answering children's questions with your own.

• Using ineffective praise.

• Interrupting children's activities.

• Failing to vary one's responses.

• Hesitating to speak.

• Sounding mechanical and unnatural while using the skills.

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