LA 1.01Conversation and Enrichment of Vocabulary
Daily one-to-one and small-group conversations where the adult listens, responds, and models full sentences and exact words.
Presentation
- 1
Choose a calm moment when the child is free and sit at the child's eye level.
- 2
Open with something the child is doing or has brought: "Tell me about your shoes."
- 3
Wait at least five seconds after the child speaks before responding, so the child has time to add more.
- 4
Repeat back what the child said in a full sentence using one new precise word: "You have red boots with buckles."
- 5
Ask one open question (how, why, what happened) rather than a yes/no question.
- 6
Share one short, true detail from your own life on the same topic to model turn-taking.
- 7
Close the conversation warmly and let the child return to work.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Small-group conversation at snack or lunch with two or three children taking turns
- Conversation about a picture or artwork the child chooses
- Show-and-share at group time, with the child describing an object to the group
- Conversation about a past event (weekend, a trip) that requires past-tense sequencing
Control of error
The adult. The guide notices misunderstanding and restates or asks a clarifying question; there is no material-based control.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Starts conversations with adults and peers without prompting
- Speaks in complete sentences of five or more words
- Waits for a turn and responds on topic
- Uses new vocabulary heard in the classroom in their own speech
Guide note
For dual-language learners, speak slowly, use gestures and real objects, and accept answers in the home language; restate in English without correcting. Do not correct grammar directly; restate the sentence correctly instead.