Using Television To Help Your Child Develop Language Skills

Teachers and parents feel like children now days watch too much television, BUT television time can be turned in to a learning and teaching activity!!

Listening skills, Vocabulary, and Important Thinking Skills can be developed when your child is watching his or her favorite program.

Sit down with your child when he/she is watching a cartoon or an "action packed" television show and encourage thinking by doing the following:

Labeling	Ask questions about the story characters and the context where the story action occurred. “Who was in the cartoon?” and “Where were they?”
Describing	Ask your child to tell you everything that happened in the story. Present prompts, such as, “tell me more about that” or "what happened next?".
Asking Questions	Ask questions about the television program.  Ask Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions.
Make Comparisons	Compare two characters in the story. *How are they different? *How are they the same?
Giving Explanations	Ask your child to explain why specific actions occurred during the television program. “Why did that happen?” stimulates thinking skills.
Expressing Opinions	Ask your child how he/she felt about the behavior of the character in the story. Find out if he/she would behave in a similar manner.
Telling a Story	Ask your child to pretend that he/she is a character in the story. Then have him/her make up a story. Pretend that you are both on television and act out the story with your child.

 You will be surprised at how you will get to know your child's way of thinking if you do this simple interaction during watching a movie or a cartoon. Parents must make an intentional and purposeful effort to do this.

After a while, the door to having conversations with your child will be natural and effortless and above all.... a daily teaching opportunity!!!