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Parents and caregivers of school-aged children are all too familiar with the after-school conversation that sounds a little something like:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was school?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conversations between children of\u00a0all ages<\/a>\u00a0and attentive, caring adults\u00a0offer strong benefits<\/a>\u00a0in all domains of children\u2019s\u00a0well-being<\/a>.<\/p>\n When these conversations are purposeful and strategic, they can even strengthen skills that contribute to\u00a0stronger literacy and language development<\/a>.<\/p>\n When we engage in quality conversations with children, we are doing more than finding out how their day was at school.<\/p>\n Talking with children\u00a0teaches them about their world<\/a>,\u00a0enhances their vocabulary<\/a>,\u00a0strengthens trust and relationships<\/a>\u00a0and models formal\u00a0language structures<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 how an arrangement and order of\u00a0words in the context of specific sentences yields meaning<\/a>.<\/p>\n The power of conversations between children and adults even has the potential to affect connectivity in select regions of the brain.<\/p>\n In a recent study in the\u00a0Journal of Neuroscience<\/em>, conversational \u201cturns\u201d \u2014 where there is a back-and-forth conversational exchange between children and attentive adults \u2014 were linked to increased strength of white matter connections between regions of the brain\u00a0related to speech and comprehension of written and spoken language.<\/a><\/p>\n The list below details some ways parents or caregivers can spark language-building conversations that accelerate children\u2019s literacy and family relationships:<\/p>\n Actively listen.<\/strong>\u00a0Active listening<\/a>\u00a0involves showing an authentic interest in what children have to say. Active listening looks like minimizing distractions, making eye contact, stopping other things you are doing, lowering yourself to their physical level (by sitting or bending down, for instance) and reflecting or repeating back what they are saying and what they may be feeling to make sure you understand.<\/p>\n Ask open-ended questions.<\/strong>\u00a0Open-ended questions encourage children to\u00a0pause, think and reflect<\/a>\u00a0instead of simply responding \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d or \u201cnothing.\u201d Open-ended questions typically begin with the following words and phrases:<\/p>\n Open-ended questions can also be used as follow-ups to other questions.<\/p>\n Try the \u201cStrive-for-Five\u201d framework.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cStrive-for-Five\u201d is a conversational framework pioneered by educators David Dickinson and Ann B. Morse and\u00a0recently adapted by<\/a>\u00a0educational researchers Sonia Q. Cabell and Tricia A. Zucker. This\u00a0framework is intended<\/a>\u00a0to enhance conversations by encouraging parents, caregivers and educators to strive for\u00a0five<\/em>\u00a0conversational turns with children instead of the typical three in order to foster foundational language skill development. To try this, respond to children in a way that challenges their thinking and encourages using language. Rather than stopping short at the third conversational point, attempt to continue the conversation by asking fun,\u00a0open-ended follow-up questions<\/a>\u00a0or share another thought to try to extend the exchange.<\/p>\n Embed conversations in everyday routines.<\/strong>\u00a0If you find it difficult to actively listen and engage in purposeful conversations during certain times of the day, try to schedule time where active listening may be more feasible, like during\u00a0everyday routines<\/a>\u00a0or when\u00a0reading aloud<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scaffold the conversation.<\/strong>\u00a0Scaffolding is a strategy used to support learning by building on skills children already have and gradually reducing the support provided. Scaffolding conversations with children might include:<\/p>\nMore than information exchange<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sparking language-building conversations<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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