A wide vocabulary provides children with the means to describe what they see, show their
knowledge, make comparisons and start to understand they have a part to play in looking after
the world. Even very young children are curious about the world around them and can experience
it through different media as they start to show an interest beyond their immediate first-hand
experience.
The outdoor environment offers so much for children, in terms of learning about the world,
about understanding the world. So, could we sort of think about that? Can you give me
some examples of where children learning outside has been particularly powerful and where you
can relate it to widening vocabulary?
I think we recognise that the outdoor is such a special place for children, it’s full
of excitement, full of unknowns. So, children will run outside, they’ll go and investigate
the areas and they’ll want to find out and do more. So, as a practitioner in the setting
it’s important that these areas are carefully set up, for areas of exploration and areas
of interest for the children. And often, we find children will go to these special areas
and engage with their friends in activities and then as an adult you can introduce a vocabulary:
What can you see? What do you notice? How has this happened? And really drive that learning
forward.
We’ve talked a lot about how we widen children’s vocabulary to support their understanding
of the world and another place to go is to books and stories, rhymes, songs. So, I’m
very interested in hearing more about how you achieve this in your setting.
We have a lot of books on offer in the setting, both fiction and non-fiction. And I think
they are a great go-to resource in terms of learning about the wider world, for adults
and children. I think it’s really good for the adults within the setting to model that
concept of being a reader, and I think that’s something that we’re really trying to build
in young children, and we really want them to have a confidence in themselves as a reader,
behaving as a reader. Even in those very early stages of holding a book and turning the pages
and beginning to understand how to use a book and treasure it as a really useful resource.
It’s so important for the children, in this digital age that we live in, that they are
confident with the uses of technology to extend their learning.
Being in the story area actually that is something we had done, in terms of rather than a tablet,
we had CD players with some popular stories and some headsets, so children could really
listen in. And that’s all about building vocabulary in stories, but it was a different
private moment, they could go in, pop on the headphones and it’s also about learning
how to use the technology when the story has ended, and how do you replay it or rewind.
So that was quite an interesting one.
In terms of technological diversity and the use of vocabulary find out what the child
already knows and harness all the technological opportunities in the setting. Ecological diversity
supports the child to describe and understand the natural world and the made built world
they live in and which they then learn to care for.
Playing outside can help children to find their voice. Some children’s most developed
language emerges when playing outside. The adult plays a key role in developing oracy
and communication skills and offering a model of vocabulary to build children’s confidence
and understanding.
Exploring the world in which we live is greatly supported and enhanced through the use of
books. Books provide an inspiring resource for furthering children’s vocabulary and
nourishing children’s fascination with the world, as well as developing children’s
view of themselves as they begin to see themselves as readers.