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As educators, we know that a strong early education experience promotes learning across many subject areas. According to an article in Young Children by Lucia I. Mendez,
Tammy D. Lee, Archana V. Hegde,
Valerie Jarvis McMillan,
Jocelyn B. Dixon, L. Suzanne Goodell, and Virginia C. Stage, learning that focuses on practicing science can facilitate language development. When children are encouraged to discuss their experiences and observations, such as noticing and questioning why leaves are changing colors, their language skills grow.
“Science talk” is a conversation that occurs when children take part in science activities. It can occur between children, with educators, or with family members. The authors share strategies that encourage and help with science talk, all of which have proven to be effective. “Incorporating words and concepts in a variety of contexts while doing science-for example, charting observable attributes or objects, engaging in sensory explorations, or using science instruments and tools-can supplement verbal explanations,” say the authors. This helps children develop new knowledge. Four evidence-informed language learning strategies the authors recommend are as follows:
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Modeling descriptive words. When educators model the best ways to use descriptive words, they help children with their observational skills and how they describe what is happening with their senses. For example, when describing a tree, an educator might say, “This tree is rough, hard, and tall.”
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Activation of prior knowledge. Educators should connect new science words or concepts to children’s prior knowledge. For example, when looking at pink flowers, the educator might ask children where else they have seen the same pink flowers.
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Asking why, what, when, and how (WH), and open-ended questions. Educators should first decide what most interests children. Then they can ask questions that stem from the children’s interests. For example, if a child is observing a bucket of water and rocks, the educator might say, “I wonder how the rocks ended up on the bottom of that bucket?”
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Using child-friendly definitions. When helping children to understand a science word with a complicated definition, an educator might say, “When we make an observation, we carefully look at the details of an object. We use our senses to explore the object.”
Science talk is flexible and promotes additional exploration and conversation. According to the authors, it affords children multimodal engagement to learn science and language skills. Using the aforementioned strategies will “widen the purpose and scope of science talk while engaging all children as they learn and grow.”
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