Beadbar
Menu

Curriculum

Classroom

Language

Spoken language from birth: talking during care, taking turns, songs and books, then real objects, pictures, and conversation.

22 works · 3 strands

See on the map

Why this area comes where it does

Children learn language from people who talk with them, not from recordings. From birth the adult speaks in full sentences with real words, names what the infant sees, and answers the infant's sounds. Toddler works follow the step from the real thing to its picture: real objects first, then matching objects to pictures, then picture cards in groups. Books show real things the child knows.

It prepares the child for

  • conversation and vocabulary in the 3–6 room
  • classified cards and storytelling
  • sound games and, later, reading
  • naming feelings and asking for help

Language with Infants

5 works

Spoken language from birth: the adult talks to the infant during care, answers the infant's sounds, sings rhymes, looks at realistic picture books with them, and names the people and things the infant is looking at.

Why this order

An infant learns language from a person who talks to them face to face and answers them; recordings and screens do neither. The strand starts with the two things the adult does from the first day, talking during care and taking turns with sounds, because they need nothing but the adult. Rhymes and finger plays are added at about 3 months, when the infant is awake and alert for longer stretches. Books follow at about 4 months, when the infant holds their head up and can look at a page for a short time. Deliberate naming comes last, at about 6 months, when the infant begins to reach for objects and look where the adult looks, so the adult can name the thing both of them are looking at.

  1. LA T1.01Talking During CareThe adult tells the infant what is happening during feeding, diapering, dressing, and bathing, in full sentences with real words, face to face.Birth
  2. LA T1.02Taking Turns with SoundsThe adult talks face to face with the infant, pauses for the infant's sounds and movements, and answers them, so the infant learns the back-and-forth of conversation.Birth
  3. LA T1.03Rhymes and Finger PlaysThe adult says or sings short rhymes, songs, and finger plays to one child or a small group, repeating the same few until the child joins in.3 mo
  4. LA T1.04First Books with Realistic PicturesThe adult looks at sturdy books with realistic pictures of familiar things with the infant and names what is on each page.4 mo
  5. LA T1.05Naming People and ThingsThe adult names the people, body parts, objects, and events the infant is looking at or touching, at the moment they are looking.6 mo

Vocabulary: Objects and Pictures

9 works

The toddler learns the names of real objects, matches objects and pictures in steps from identical to similar, and then learns names from picture cards in groups.

Why this order

Toddlers learn names first from real objects they can hold. Pictures are harder: a picture is flat, often smaller than the object, and shows only one side. The sequence therefore moves one step at a time: real objects named, object to identical object, object to identical picture, object to similar picture, picture to picture, and then picture cards in groups with no object present. Replicas sit beside the picture steps because they bring in things that cannot be in the room, such as farm animals. Names are taught with the first two periods of the three-period lesson only (naming and "Show me"); the third period ("What is this?") waits until the child is talking freely. Action Words and Sorting Pictures come last because they use the same cards and naming and ask the child to think about what things do and which group they belong to.

  1. LA T2.01Basket of Real ObjectsThe adult names three to five real objects from a basket, one at a time, then asks the child to show or give each one.12 mo
  2. LA T2.02Matching Identical ObjectsThe child places each object beside the identical object to make pairs, while the adult names each pair.15 mo
  3. LA T2.03Matching Objects to Identical PicturesThe child places each real object on a photograph of that exact object.18 mo
  4. LA T2.04Matching Objects to Similar PicturesThe child matches a real object to a picture of the same kind of object that looks different in color, size, or design.20 mo
  5. LA T2.05Matching PicturesThe child matches pairs of identical picture cards, with no objects present, while the adult names each picture.22 mo
  6. LA T2.06Animal Replicas and PicturesThe child learns the names of animals that cannot be in the room from realistic replicas, then matches each replica to its picture.2
  7. LA T2.07Vocabulary Cards in CategoriesThe adult names realistic picture cards from one group, three at a time, and the child shows each named card.2
  8. LA T2.08Action WordsThe adult names actions as the child and others do them, then with objects, then with photographs of people doing familiar actions.2
  9. LA T2.09Sorting Pictures into Two GroupsThe child sorts mixed picture cards from two familiar groups into two columns under a header card for each group.2

Books, Stories, and Conversation

8 works

The toddler reads books with an adult, learns to choose and return a book, looks at a book about themselves and their family, talks with an adult about real events, learns words for feelings, answers and asks simple questions, recalls the day from photographs, and plays a first sound game.

Why this order

Once a child walks and says first words, language grows most through talk with an adult who listens and answers. Reading together comes first because the child can take part by pointing before they can talk. Book care follows once the child can carry an object with two hands. My Book About Me comes next, at about 15 months: it uses the same book handling and adds the words a toddler first uses about themselves and others (their own name, "me", body parts, and the people and things in their life). Conversation, words for feelings, questions, and recalling the day need more spoken words and memory of past events, so they begin between 18 and 24 months. Words for Feelings sits right after conversation because the adult names feelings in the same everyday talk, and a toddler can point to a named feeling on a photograph before they can say the word. First I Spy comes last because hearing the first sound of a word depends on the child already knowing many object names and saying them clearly; many children are not ready for it until after age 3, and it continues in the 3–6 room. My Book About Me and Words for Feelings were added to the planned list so that the curriculum has a work for naming traits of self and others (ELOF IT-SE 11) and for showing and naming feelings (IT-SE 6, IT-SE 7).

  1. LA T3.01Reading a Book TogetherThe adult reads a short book with realistic pictures to one or two children, following the child's pace and talking about the pictures.12 mo
  2. LA T3.02Choosing and Returning a BookThe child learns to choose a book from a low shelf, carry it with two hands, turn the pages, and put it back.15 mo
  3. LA T3.03My Book About MeAt the mirror and with a small photo book of the child, their family, and their things, the adult names the child's body parts and what the child and other people look like and can do, and the child points, names, and says "me".15 mo
  4. LA T3.04Conversation About Real ExperiencesThe adult has short, one-to-one conversations with the child about what the child is doing, has done, or is interested in, listening and adding to what the child says.18 mo
  5. LA T3.05Words for FeelingsThe adult names feelings as they happen, the child's, the adult's, and other children's, and at calm times shows realistic photographs of faces so the child learns to point to, show, and name happy, sad, angry, and scared.18 mo
  6. LA T3.06The Question GameThe adult asks simple "where" and "what" questions about pictures, objects, and events, and answers the child's own questions, so the child learns to answer and ask.2
  7. LA T3.07Recalling the Day with PhotosThe adult and child look at printed photographs of the child's own activities and talk about what happened, in order.2
  8. LA T3.08First I Spy with ObjectsA first game with two or three familiar objects: the adult names an object for the child to find, then gives only its first sound.2½

Try “pink tower”, “tummy”, “diaper”, “grace and courtesy”, or “October”.