It’s time to take a book off of the shelf and enjoy a new story (or an old favorite) with your child. While reading can be a fun way to engage with your little one, it’s also a great tool for supporting their speech and language development! Taking time to read together supports vocabulary development, early literacy skills, comprehension of language concepts, story-telling, and conversational skills. All of these are important skills for school-readiness and emergent literacy. Not to mention, it requires little preparation and uses something that we already have in our homes. With a little extra intention, we can use this beloved bed-time routine to help our children grow and learn.
The CROWD Strategy:
We can use the CROWD strategy to make reading together into a beneficial opportunity for promoting speech and language skills. CROWD stands for:
Completion:
Recall:
Open Ended Question:
WH question:
Distancing Question:
Let’s Practice with
The Little Blue Truck
by Alice Schertle:
Completion: “Wow! I see a blue ____”
Recall: “What animals did the truck already see?”
Open Ended Question/Statement: Tell me about this picture.
WH Question: “What is the weather?” or “Where is the pig?”
Distance Question: “Do you remember what car Mom/Dad drives?” or “Can you think of someone that drives a truck?”
Supporting your child’s speech and language skills, and vocabulary development can be easy to integrate into your day by actively taking time for shared reading. Below are a few practical tips.
If you have concerns for your child’s speech and language development, or want to learn more about strategies to use at home to help your child with their communication skills, please consult with a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist for further guidance and support. Thank you to Ms. Erin Cook, speech language pathologist and member of PMC's pediatric speech therapy team, for sharing her knowledge of reading with your children! Your tips are also so helpful!
Research was taken from:
Noble, C., Cameron-Faulkner, T., Jessop, A., Coates, A., Sawyer, H., Taylor-Ims, R., & Rowland, C. F. (2020). The impact of interactive shared book reading on children's language skills: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(6), 1878–1897. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00288
PMC Frederick
4640 Wedgewood Blvd, Suites 101 - 105, Frederick, MD 21703
240-457-9558 tel | 301-739-7453 fax
PMC Hagerstown
1045 Maryland Ave, Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-739-5437 tel | 301-739-7453 fax
PMC Aquatics at Hagerstown
1105 Maryland Ave, Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-739-5437 tel | 301-739-7453 fax