Fun Ideas for Improving Language Comprehension

Children begin working on their language skills as soon as they’re born. By the time they reach pre-kindergarten age, at about four years of age, children are getting ready to learn how to read. At this stage, pre-k teachers in Pembroke Pines focus on improving their students’ verbal language comprehension, which is crucial for early literacy. Talk to your child’s teacher about the language comprehension activities being used in the classroom, and ask about the activities you can do at home with your child.

Act out scenes in books.

If you aren’t already reading to your child daily, you should start right away. Pre-k students need intensive and ongoing exposure to reading materials, as this early exposure sets a foundation for literacy. In addition to reading aloud to your child every day, you can encourage him or her to dramatize the stories. Use hand puppets, dolls, or stuffed animals to act out scenes with the various characters. Children tend to ask for their favorite book to be read to them over and over again. Use your child’s intimate knowledge of his or her favorite story. Ask your child to tell you the story, using a puppet or doll as a prop. He or she probably won’t recite it line-for-line, but getting the gist of the story right is a sign of comprehension.

Relate ideas in books to real-life encounters.

Pre-kindergarten teachers recommend discussing books and asking questions as you read them with your child. One approach you can use is to compare items or characters in the book to your child’s own experiences. For instance, you could say, “Look at that giraffe. Didn’t we see one like that at the zoo?” or “ Frances sure does like bread and jam . What’s your favorite thing to spread on toast?”

Play Simon Says.

Not all language comprehension activities start with a good book. Children in pre-kindergarten classes can start learning how to handle two-step directions. You can help your child work on his or her comprehension of multi-step directions by playing Simon Says. Start with easier directions such as, “Take two steps forward and then one step backward.” Then, progress to directions with more complex vocabulary words, such as “Touch your elbow and make a joyful face.”