Learn new words very rapidly and are able to use them in communicating about matters which interest them.
Points to and names simple pictures.
Uses 'me' to refer to self.
Asks simple questions using speech with a quizzical face.
Talks aloud when playing with others.
Says "Please" and "Thank you" with prompts.
Uses words to alert adults to needs, for example, when hungry, thirsty or tired.
Understands 'who', 'what', 'where' in simple questions.
Understands more complex sentences such as "Put your toys away and we'll read a book".
Responds appropriately to simple two-part instructions or requests such as "Get your shoes and put on your coat" or "Pick up the ball and give it to me".
Identifies action words by pointing to the right picture, for example, "Who's jumping?".
Shows understanding of prepositions 'in', and 'on', for example, by carrying out action "Put dolly in the box" or selecting correct picture.
Will point to smaller parts of the body (such as chin, elbow or eyebrow) when asked to do so.
Rapid growth in spoken vocabulary from at least 50 words rising steadily to over 200 words.
Begins to make little 'sentences' by joining two words together such as "Daddy gone" and then making short phrases such as "Me got one".
Later, makes longer sentences of three to four words such as "Mummy go shops now".
Uses words to ask and find out about things.
Uses words during play and almost all activities.
Uses words to ask for help, for example, when washing hands or going to the toilet.
Answers simple questions, for example "Where's Mum?".
Uses several pronouns correctly, such as 'I', 'me' and 'you'.
Indicates 'no' through gestures or speech.
Uses between ten and 15 action words such as 'eat', 'drink', 'sleep', 'wash', 'play' and 'finish'.
Uses words to describe things such as "It's wet" or "It's too hot".
Uses appropriate intonation to ask questions.
Talks aloud to self when playing alone.
How children begin to use words to question and negotiate.
Features of adult/child interaction, remembering these are culturally determined, and that conventions for interaction vary, both within and across speech communities.
How children show they understand more complex sentences and instruction.
The different ways in which children begin to combine words into short phrases and sentences.
Ways in which children use language to ask for help.
How children vary their intonation and stress patterns to ask questions or express surprise.
Talk about things which interest young children and listen and respond to their ideas and questions. For children learning English as an additional language, value non-verbal communications and those offered in home languages. Respond by adding to words, gesture, objects and other visual cues to support two-way understanding.
Talk about what you're going to do, where you're going and what you have just done.
Talk through TV programmes, videos or DVDs you've watched together. Children will not always understand what they have seen.
Carry on recasting (repeating) what children say. This makes it clear you are listening and value what they say but also allows them to hear and see a more 'grown up' version.
Help children begin to negotiate with one another using language. For example, if they want to join in a game or if another child has a toy they want to play with, talk about what they could say and model it for them.
Display pictures and photographs showing familiar events, objects and activities and talk about them with the children.
Provide activities which help children to learn to distinguish differences in sounds, word patterns and rhythms.
Language for Thinking
Use action, sometimes with limited talk, that is largely concerned with the 'here and now'.
Use language as a powerful means of widening contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and thoughts.
Situations where children use actions and some talk to support and think about what they are doing.
How children show what they understand, by what they do and say, for example, actions, questions, new words and the rhythms and intonations they use.
Use talk to describe what children are doing by providing a running commentary: "Oh, I can see what you are doing, you have to put the milk in the cup first".
Provide opportunities for children to talk with other children and adults about what they see, hear, think and feel.
Encourage children to learn one another's names and to pronounce them correctly. Ensure all staff can pronounce the names of children, parents and other staff members.
Include things which excite young children's curiosity, such as hats, bubbles, shells, story books, seeds and snails.
Provide activities, such as cooking, where talk is used to anticipate or initiate what children will be doing, for example, "We need some eggs. Let's see if we can find some in here".
Plan to encourage correct use of language by telling repetitive stories, and playing games which involve repetition of words or phrases.
Linking Sounds and Letters
Distinguish one sound from another.
Show interest in play with sounds, songs and rhymes.
Repeat words or phrases from familiar stories.
Picks out a familiar sound even when there is background noise, for example, "Dinner time", "No!" or "Stop now".
Listens to and carries out simple directions.
Recognises and joins in with songs and actions, such as 'The Wheels on the Bus'.
Frequently repeats words or signs that they hear or see with one or more key words repeated.
Listens with interest to the noises adults make when they read stories.
Recognises and responds to many familiar sounds, for example, responding to a knock on the door by turning, looking at or going to the door.
Listens to music and responds when it is turned off, for example, stops singing or dancing or turns to look at the stereo.
Fills in the missing word or phrase in a known rhyme, story or game, for example, 'Humpty Dumpty sat on a... '.
Notices a deliberate mistake in story telling or a rhyme.
Builds vocabulary rapidly, understands more words than are in active vocabulary.
Shows sustained interest in picture books.
Recognises own name when written.
Majority of words are intelligible to people the child does not know well.
Produces six to eight consonant sounds in words, for example, 'p', 'b', 't', 'd', 'k', 'g', 'm', 'n', 'w'.
Produces a wide range of vowels more accurately in words, for example, 'ou' as in bout, 'ea' as in bear, 'ou' as in bought, 'oa' as in boat.
Tries to repeat many things adults say either saying the actual word or making a close match, such as "Um-beya" for umbrella.
Adults who know the child understand what they are saying when words are joined into sentences.
The words, phrases and sounds children like to say or sing.
The languages they understand and use.
How the words and phrases used by a child become easier to understand as time goes by.
Efforts by children to imitate words, even though they may only be able to manage an approximation of how adults and older children would say them, at first.
Children's responses to music and how they signal they know that music has stopped.
How children react when you make a deliberate mistake or miss out words or phrases in a familiar rhyme or storyline. Can they fill in the missing words?
Ways in which children respond to familiar sounds, for example, by looking at the door when the doorbell rings or looking towards the food preparation area when the microwave pings.
How the range of recognisable vowel and consonant sounds used by a child increases with time.
Encourage repetition, rhythm and rhyme by using tone and intonation as you tell, recite or sing stories, poems and rhymes from books.
Use rhymes from a variety of cultures and ask parents to share their favourites from their home languages.
Be aware of the needs of children learning English as an additional language.
Keep background noise to a minimum.
Share favourite books over and over again, particularly ones with repeated, rhythmical words that children can join in with.
Repeat familiar tunes and words relating to people, objects and actions with which the children are familiar. Make these more interesting to listen to by using a strong beat, rhythm and lots of repetition.
Use puppets and other props to encourage listening and responding when singing a familiar song or reading from a story book.
Reading
Have some favourite stories, rhymes, songs, poems or jingles.
Children's favourite stories, rhymes, songs, poems or jingles.
Find opportunities to tell and read stories to children, using puppets, soft toys, or real objects as props.
Provide stories, pictures and puppets which allow children to experience and talk about how characters feel.
Provide dual language books to raise awareness of different scripts. Try to match dual language books to languages spoken by families in the setting. Remember not all languages have written forms and not all families are literate either in English, or in a different home language.
Writing
Distinguish between the different marks they make.
What children tell you about the marks they make.
Draw attention to marks, signs and symbols in the environment and talk about what they represent. Ensure this involves recognition of English and other relevant scripts.
Provide materials which reflect a cultural spread, so that children see symbols and marks with which they are familiar, for example, Chinese script on a fabric shopping bag.
Handwriting
Begin to show some control in their use of tools and equipment.
Ways in which children begin to develop fine motor skills, for example, the way they use their fingers when trying to do up buttons, pull up a zip, pour a drink or use a watering can.
Encourage children to handle and manipulate a variety of media and implements, for example, clay, finger-paint, spoons, brushes and shells.
Working with clay - In a nursery class, a child spends some time independently exploring clay. [transcript]
You can watch the video, via modem or slow / fast / superfast broadband connections. If you are behind a network firewall, why not click here to view a flash file of the video. You do need to have the flash plugin.
Vary the range of tools and equipment located with familiar activities, for example, put small scoops, rakes or sticks with the sand.
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer
00012-2007CDO-EN