321 DEVELOPING VOCABULARY THROUGH PURPOSEFUL, STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS Barbara A. Wasik ■ Charlene Iannone-Campbell

Talking with children and purposefully integrating new words in daily conversations can help build children’s vocabulary. Suggestions for incorporating vocabulary from read-alouds throughout daily activities are presented.

ocabulary development plays a critical role classrooms can increase children’s use of language, in young children’s learning to read and, we suggest that to develop children’s vocabulary, as a result, their overall success in school teachers need to engage children in purposeful, (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Whitehurst strategic conversations that focus on the explicit &V Lonigan, 1998). However, vocabulary remains development of vocabulary words and help children one of the most difficult skills to teach (Dickinson, Freiberg, & Barnes, 2011; Neuman & Dwyer, 2009). Research suggests that providing opportunities for Barbara A. Wasik is a professor and PNC chair in Early Childhood children to talk and use language in meaningful Education at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; e-mail [email protected]. contexts can promote vocabulary development in Charlene Iannone-Campbell is the director of early learning for Baltimore preschoolers (Dickinson, Golinkoff, & Hirsch- City Schools, Maryland, USA; e-mail [email protected]. Pasek, 2010). Although promoting conversations in

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construct the meaning of words through multiple activities and experiences. Purposeful, strategic conversations are very different from the majority of conversations that adults have with children. As we discuss in this article, although all opportunities for conversations with children have value, purposeful, strategic conversations can be designed to explicitly develop children’s understanding and use of vocabulary to develop young children’s word knowledge. This article begins with a brief review of the research on the important role that vocabulary development plays in young children’s learning and a discussion of the nature of vocabulary instruction in preschool programs. need to acquire to be successful in Lopez, Gallimore, Garnier, & Reese, Then, a description of the distinction learning to read and in school. In most 2007). between conversations versus cases, young children acquire well- The problem still remains that purposeful, strategic conversations developed vocabulary from experiences many children do not have access to will be presented, along with specific with linguistically competent adults linguistically rich experiences that examples to clarify the differences. who scaffold children’s language promote vocabulary development. Finally, opportunities to implement using rich and varied language. This is especially true for our most purposeful, strategic conversations Specifically, research has also shown vulnerable children living in poverty. during specific classroom activities such that the preschool years are a critical Hart and Risely’s (1995) seminal work as book reading are discussed. time for oral language and vocabulary underscored that many households in development. poverty expose children to a limited The Importance A recent meta-analysis found a number of vocabulary words and of Vocabulary Development high correlation between preschool conversations that allow them to use the Vocabulary development is one of the language skills and reading competence language that they hear. They found that most important skills young children at the end of first and second grade middle-class families engaged in about (National Early Literacy Panel [NELP], five times as many conversations with 2009). Other studies have shown that their children and used more extensive language in the preschool years predicts vocabulary in these conversations reading in the later elementary grades compared with experiences in high- (e.g., fourth grade) and middle school poverty homes. Pause and Ponder (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; National As a result, the middle-class children Institute of Child Health and Human were adding to their vocabularies at a ■ Who is doing the talking in your Development Early Child Care Research higher rate than children from high- classroom? Network, 2005; Storch & Whitehurst, poverty homes. Studies of nationally ■ How do you keep vocabulary from read- 2002; Walker, Greenwood, Hart, & representative data sets such as Family alouds as part of your daily conversations Carta, 1994). Moreover, early vocabulary and Children Experiences Study and and activities? and later reading fluency are both the Early Childhood Longitudinal centrally implicated in children’s math Study–Kindergarten also show that ■ How much wait time do you give children and science performance (Hindman, children in poverty enter preschool to respond? Skibbe, Miller, & Zimmerman, 2010; and kindergarten with language and

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vocabulary skills nearly a full standard Similarly, deviation below the national average, observations of placing them at a high risk for academic kindergarten difficulty or even failure (Administration and first-grade for Children and Families, 2011; Lee & classrooms Burkam, 2002). during literacy The hope that preschool experiences instruction will compensate for the lack of rich found that home language experiences is not although 60 unrealistic; however, current practices minutes was do not appear to be designed to foster spent engaging exposure to rich vocabulary. In a recent children in review of preschool curricula, Neuman activities and Dwyer (2009) concluded that that promote vocabulary instruction was virtually decoding nonexistent and that “strategies that skills, only 5 minutes of instructional conversations that can promote introduce young children to new time per day was devoted to engaging vocabulary development. words and entice them to engage children in activities that develop The fact that low-income children in meaningful contexts through oral language skills (Cunningham, tend to have limited exposure to semantically related activities are much Zibulsky, Stanovich, & Stanovich, vocabulary-enhancing activities at needed” (p. 384). 2009). In addition, most of the teacher home or in educational settings has Similarly, descriptive classroom talk was teacher-directed, particularly led a number of researchers to develop studies show that teachers do much of a managerial nature (e.g., “Clean various kinds of home-based or center- of the talking in preschool classrooms up” or “Keep your hands to yourself”), based interventions. Unfortunately, with little opportunities for children and offered few open-ended questions meta-analyses of the results of such to engage in meaningful dialogue. that model and promote language interventions suggest that it has not been Dickinson and colleagues (Dickinson development (Dickinson & Porche, easy to increase the size of low-income et al., 2011; Dickinson & Tabors, 2001; 2011; Dickinson & Smith, 1994; Gest, children’s vocabulary. Dickinson, Watson, & Farran, 2008) Holland-Coviello, Welsh, Eicher-Catt, For example, the Preschool observed early childhood classrooms & Gill, 2006). Curriculum Evaluation Research (PCER) to determine the amount of teacher Research has also shown that evaluation examined 11 curricula that and child talk. Their findings indicate early childhood teachers spend an focused on language development that teachers produced, on average, average of only five minutes per day and found that only one of these 80% of all of the talking across various explicitly developing oral language and programs yielded significant gains for activities, including book reading. vocabulary skills (Beck & McKeown, language and reading readiness skills Of the limited amount of talk that 2007; Biemiller, 2001; Cunningham in randomized controlled trials (PCER, children produced, less than 2% et al., 2009; Juel, Biancarosa, Coker, 2008). Similarly, reviews of other large- constituted children expressing their & Deffes, 2003). This leaves little scale interventions funded by programs ideas. opportunity to engage children in such as Early Reading First, Head Start, and NELP concluded that most of these interventions also have not had much success in improving children’s vocabulary (Jackson et al., 2007; NELP, “Teachers produced, on average, 80% of 2009; Zill & Resnick, 2006). These null effects likely reflect the all of the talking across various activities, fact that (as noted earlier) vocabulary learning is not generally automatic, but including book reading.” rather requires more than increasing the

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provide meaningful feedback on their remarks that scaffolds linguistic and cognitive development (Hirsh-Pasek & Burchinal, 2006; Landry et al., 2009). For example, in a longitudinal study examining teacher–child conversations, high-quality conversations during free play and book reading were linked to gains in children’s language production and comprehension (Dickinson, 2011; Dickinson & Tabors, 2001). Fourth, children learn vocabulary best when words are presented in a meaningful context or theme (Harris, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2011; Neuman & Dywer, 2009). This finding is consistent with memory research suggesting that information is best talking in classrooms through everyday know to construct the meaning of a learned when integrated around a story conversations. Instead, what is required word and be able to use the word in a or concept, as opposed to delivered is a carefully prepared environment and meaningful way. as a set of isolated facts (Bransford & strategic instruction that early childhood Second, children are more likely Johnson, 1972). teachers do not often provide. to learn unfamiliar words if they are For example, Christie and Roskos embedded in the context of more (2006) found that children better recalled What We Know About familiar words, making the unfamiliar and used vocabulary related to building Developing Vocabulary word more salient to them (Dickinson, materials (e.g., hammer, hard hat, tool belt) The research on vocabulary Flushman, & Freiberg, 2009; Hoff & when they were presented in the context development provides helpful insight Naigles, 2002; Huttenlocher et al., 1991; of a theme on building, rather than into how young children learn words Pan et al., 2005). It is difficult for children when they were presented in isolation. (Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986). First, research to learn new words if the majority of the Similarly, Wasik and Bond (2001) found on vocabulary development suggests words they hear are unfamiliar to them. that when preschool teachers presented that with relatively rare exception, For example, children are more likely to vocabulary in the context of a theme, children need repeated, meaningful learn the new word hippopotamus if it is highlighting words in storybooks and exposures to words to learn them presented in the context of more familiar then in a variety of theme-related (Biemeller & Boote, 2006; Hoff, 2003). words such as horse, dog, and sheep learning activities, children were more However, simply hearing new words (Huttenlocher et al., 2002). likely to learn the vocabulary. over and over—like repeating words Third, children learn vocabulary Fifth, explicit definitions of words can in isolation in lists—is not likely to best from conversations with adults, increase vocabulary learning (Biemiller, be sufficient, as certain contexts for who encourage them to talk and then 2006; Biemiller & Boote, 2006; Weizman exposure are optimally effective. Children need to have opportunities to hear words several times in meaningful context so they can begin to “Children learn vocabulary best from solidify the association between a word conversations with adults, who encourage and its meaning and how the word can be used in communicating with others. them to talk and then provide meaningful That is, children need to be able to relate unfamiliar words to what they already feedback on their remarks.”

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& Snow, 2001), especially for children with weaker language skills (Penno, Wilkinson, & Moore, 2002). These might include explanations of the function of an object (Booth, 2009), as well as pictures and props (Han, Moore, Vukelich, & Buell, 2010; Wasik & Bond, 2001). However, explicit definitions need to be provided more than once to build children’s word knowledge. In sum, children learn vocabulary through multiple, meaningful exposures to words, nested within meaningful and integrative contexts, supported by high-quality definitions, and embedded within rich linguistic interactions with adults. How then can this information be translated into effective classroom instruction that can build children’s Specifically, an open-ended question is children with more opportunities to vocabulary skills? defined as a question that requires more talk and use language. In addition, the than a one-word answer, or a “yes” or influential research on dialogic reading Using Conversations “no” response. (Whitehurst et al., 1994) demonstrated to Develop Vocabulary For example, the question “Did the important role that asking open- The language that teachers use in their you like the story?” allows for a very ended questions plays during book classrooms determines the amount different response than saying, “Tell reading in providing opportunities for and quality of the conversations that me two things that you liked about the children to use extended language to can support children’s language and story.” Both are questions asking about discuss book concepts. However, the vocabulary development. One way to children’s reaction to a story, but the findings from research on professional create meaningful context for children second question promotes a response development and book reading (Wasik to learn words is to create conversations that requires children to use more & Hindman, 2011a) has caused us that support children’s use of unfamiliar language and vocabulary to answer to look more closely at the role that words. As suggested, young children the question. Open-ended questions questions potentially play in children’s will not likely learn new vocabulary provide children with the needed language development. words if the words are presented as opportunities to talk. Equally important, Several interesting findings emerged an exercise of learning words from open-ended questions provide adults from our qualitative analysis of a list, an experience that is devoid with the opportunity to scaffold teachers’ use of open-ended questions of a meaningful context. Instead, children’s language by providing during book reading. It appears that creating a setting in which children thoughtful feedback to extend children’s teachers do ask open-ended questions, have purposeful conversations using language. yet often do not allow children the words and exploring the meaning of Much research has explored the time to respond to the questions. these words in the context of related important role that asking opened- Observations of teachers asking open- experiences can support and build ended questions plays in children’s ended questions shows that teachers children’s word knowledge. vocabulary and language development frequently (a) do not wait for children Much attention has focused on (Páez, Bock, & Pizzo, 2011; Snow, Burns, to respond and (b) often follow up an the use of open-ended questions as a & Griffin, 1998; Whitehurst & Lonigan, open-ended question with a closed means of stimulating conversations and 1998). Early work by Dickinson and question, with the focus on children facilitating language and vocabulary Smith (1994) showed that asking open- producing “an answer” without development in young children. ended questions resulted in providing attention to allowing them to talk and

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share ideas (Wasik & Hindman, 2011a). responses to scaffold children’s In addition, teachers rarely follow up language and vocabulary. The an open-ended question with another outcome of a purposeful, strategic question that would allow children to conversation is not only to share expand on their language. information, but also to build Even though teachers were asking vocabulary and knowledge. open-ended questions, they were not The concept of purposeful, engaging children in conversations that strategic conversation has its increased opportunities for the children roots in the research of the to use language and vocabulary and first author and her colleagues talk about ideas. Teachers’ questions (Wasik & Bond, 2001; Wasik, did not appear to allow children to Bond & Hindman, 2006; Wasik discuss concepts and information that & Hindman, 2011b), in which would expand children’s knowledge teachers were trained to introduce or help support comprehension of the vocabulary words during a book- book. Also, the questions asked did reading experience and then not require children to think about or systematically and thoughtfully use a vocabulary word that related to continue to provide opportunities the book or a recent classroom activity. for children to use those words Although open-ended questions, in in meaningful contexts in other theory, can promote children’s talking, activities over time. the specific information asked in Teachers engaged children open-ended questions influences the in conversations that resulted quality and the content of the language in children using the specific of children’s responses. In sum, not vocabulary words identified all open-ended questions are equal during the book reading. Teachers and are not enough to help develop were trained to explicitly use children’s language and vocabulary the vocabulary words and have skills. To develop children’s language the children also use the words and vocabulary skills, children need to during multiple, related activities. children to hear and use new vocabulary engage in more purposeful, strategic The results from a series of randomized words in meaningful contexts, the conversations. controlled studies show significant back-and-forth exchange inherent increases in children’s vocabulary, in a conversation is also critical in Purposeful, Strategic suggesting that these strategies were developing children’s oral language Conversations effective in increasing children’s word skills. In addition, the teacher feedback The goal of purposeful, strategic learning. on children’s comments helps scaffold conversations is to develop children’s Purposeful, strategic conversations children’s word meaning and concept vocabulary and knowledge. Purposeful, also intend to help redirect the attention development. strategic conversations create from a narrow focus of having teachers The Table shows examples of opportunities for a dialogue that intends ask open-ended questions as a means teachers’ responses that promote to specifically develop vocabulary words of promoting language to a more purposeful, strategic conversations. and concepts by making definitions broad approach of having teachers In the first column, these prompts are explicit and supporting connections promote conversation through various examples of statements that would between new vocabulary words and prompts that invite children’s responses provide opportunities for young children familiar words and ideas. Purposeful, and provide meaningful feedback to talk and use language. In the second strategic conversations include (a) asking to children’s comments. Although column are examples of prompts that open-ended prompts and (b) providing purposeful, strategic conversations focus promote more extended conversations. meaningful feedback to children’s explicitly on creating opportunities for The difference, however, is in the

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potential content of the conversation. In the prompts that foster purposeful, “A critical part of purposeful, strategic strategic conversations, children are conversations is the feedback teachers provide provided with opportunities to both hear and use richer vocabulary words. to the children’s comments.” As the Table shows, children hear the words turtle, casing, chrysalis, and transforms—words that are probably unfamiliar to young children. In addition, children have the opportunity designed to support children’s explicit more specific, in scaffolding “Tell me what to connect the vocabulary words to use of vocabulary in meaningful ways the chrysalis looks like.” These open- concepts that they are learning about along with developing their conceptual ended questions and statements allow for in school, therefore building both knowledge. Teachers also encourage richer conversations than asking, “Tell vocabulary and conceptual knowledge children to explicitly use the vocabulary me if it is hard or soft” or “What color is at the same time. words when responding. it?” Some prompts that teachers can use In purposeful, strategic conversations, A critical part of purposeful, strategic to help scaffold children’s language are as children are provided with opportunities conversations is the feedback teachers follows: to use vocabulary words that they provide to the children’s comments. ■ Can you tell me more about…? are learning and talk explicitly about Teachers often engage children with ■ Explain why….; Describe what…. concepts that are being taught. These a question or statement, and after ■ opportunities come in many forms, a child provides a response, they I wonder why…? including open-ended questions, open- either move onto the next child and ■ Can you tell me why you think or ended statements and statements that ask the same question or proceed to feel that way? include the unfamiliar vocabulary words, ask another question. In purposeful, ■ What else can you say about …? all allowing for children to provide more strategic conversations, teachers provide than one word responses. opportunities to scaffold children’s In providing meaningful feedback Statements such as “We read language and their responses. that encourages children to use the that the chrysalis transforms into a After the child responds, the teacher vocabulary words, it allows children to butterfly. Describe what that looks like” follows up with another prompt that think about their responses, build on allow children to hear an unfamiliar allows the child to expand on what he their knowledge, and continue to use vocabulary word and then talk about said. If the child says in response to the vocabulary in purposeful, meaningful that word. It also allows them to statement “Describe what the chrysalis is” ways. respond using another new word, that “It covers the butterfly” or “It covers pupa. Questions or statements that the pupa,” the teacher can ask the child to Suggestions for Integrating allow children to respond like this are “Tell me more about the chrysalis” or be Purposeful, Strategic Conversations in Classrooms Table Teacher Responses That Promote Purposeful, Strategic Conversations In early childhood classrooms, there Promoting talking Promoting purposeful, strategic conversations are multiple opportunities to integrate What did you do last night? From what we read, tell me what you know about the turtle’s purposeful, strategic conversations shell. in activities throughout the day. By focusing on similar vocabulary and Tell me about your red shoes. What did we learn about the seed and the seed casing? concepts in each of these activities, What makes you happy? The character, Finn, was thrilled about getting a hot dog. children have multiple, meaningful What does thrilled feel like? exposures to words and concepts that we want them to learn. Conversations Tell me about your pet dog. We read that the chrysalis transforms into a butterfly. Describe what chrysalis is. can occur during any activity, including during transitions, on the playground,

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are learning and use language in “Book reading can play a critical part meaningful ways. in implementing purposeful, strategic Center Time conversations.” Given the research on word learning, we know that children need to use words in multiple contexts over time to ensure that they will actu- ally incorporate new words into their and during mealtime. Suggested ways provide a meaningful definition of everyday vocabulary. Center activi- to implement purposeful, strategic a word and ask questions that help ties provide great opportunities for conversations during three central children understand the word within purposeful, strategic conversations that activities—read-aloud, center time, and the context of the story. Returning to can prompt vocabulary. One advan- morning message—follow. the butterfly example, when children tage of center time is that it affords are introduced to the word chrysalis, small-group experiences, where Read-Alouds the teacher can promote a dialogue children have a greater chance for Book reading can play a critical part during book reading that support opportunities to talk and listen to both in implementing purposeful, strate- children’s development of the definition their teachers and peers. gic conversations. Books provide great of chrysalis so In small groups, teachers have more opportunities to introduce children to children can opportunities to decontextualized vocabulary, which understand focus on individual is vocabulary that they may not have its meaning children’s comments the chance to encounter in their every- by making and also provide day lives. For example, children who connections meaningful feedback may never see or hear about a kanga- to what they to children’s roo in their daily experiences learn the already know. responses, which word kangaroo and information about For example, promotes dialogue this animal through a book-reading the teacher that can build experience. invites a vocabulary. Often To select vocabulary words to discussion by times, focusing on explicitly use during purposeful, asking, “How one child’s responses strategic conversations, teachers are are a coat and in a large group is encouraged to select vocabulary words a chrysalis difficult because from books that (a) help support the similar,” of the demands of current unit theme, (b) are unfamiliar “Describe what whole-group settings. to the children, and (c) are critical to the chrysalis Center time creates the comprehension of the story. These does for the a welcoming context carefully chosen vocabulary words butterfly,” for teachers to have can play a pivotal role in purposeful, and “Describe more extended strategic conversations if the words the covering conversations during are strategically integrated into the of the pupa which the teacher conversations and questions and, as and use a new word you just learned.” can scaffold children’s responses and a result, are also a part of children’s Throughout the book, teachers provide feedback that also can promote responses. can initiate purposeful, strategic the explicit use of vocabulary words. Vocabulary words that are conversations to guide children’s In addition, teachers can reinforce introduced during book reading should learning of new vocabulary and theme- and book-related concepts be directly taught when encountered concepts and provide opportunities again during center time by inviting in the story. Teachers can explicitly for children to talk about what they purposeful, strategic conversations.

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Instead of teachers circulating from contexts. For example, in planning the scaffold children’s responses by asking center to center and asking children, morning message as a shared reading additional questions such as “Tell “What are you doing?” (which is an and modeled writing activity, teachers me more about what you know” to open-ended prompt, but does not should use new vocabulary. The mes- encourage them to reflect on what they accomplish what purposeful, strategic sage could read: “Our butterfly has said and to add more information. In conversations can), teachers should developed a chrysalis that covers her doing this, children learn to be active engage children in discussions that body.” participants engaging in purposeful, facilitate language and vocabulary In engaging children in purposeful, strategic conversations. development. strategic conversations during morning For example, continuing with the message, teachers use both new Creating an Environment butterfly theme: (a) teachers can ask concepts and new vocabulary in context. for Purposeful, Strategic children in the dramatic play area to Students then have a dual focus: to Conversations to Work pretend that they are butterflies coming practice print concepts and phonemic There are critical factors that must be out of their chrysalis, (b) children in awareness skills while engaging in addressed for purposeful, strategic the science center can be engaged in rich opportunities for purposeful, conversations to be effectively lively conversation as they “think like strategic conversations. Teachers can implemented in early childhood lepidopterists” and use their magnifying ask questions such as, “Chrysalis is a classrooms. These three factors are glasses to track metamorphosis to word we have heard before; can anyone planning, implementing wait time, chrysalis (inexpensive kits are available recall what we read about chrysalis in and developing active listeners. on the web), and (c) children in the our book yesterday?” and “What does These factors need to be in place to writing center can work together to the chrysalis do for the butterfly as it create an environment for purposeful discuss butterfly gardens, describe what is growing? Let’s think and talk about conversation to occur. If in place, the they look like, and, with the teacher’s that.” This allows children to talk about classroom environment can support encouragement, use words such as the vocabulary in a meaningful way vocabulary development through chrysalis, pupa, and butterflies. and to continue to make connections purposeful, strategic conversations. They compose and record their between the new vocabulary and text, allowing for invented spelling, familiar experiences. Planning peer tutoring, and shared writing, and The morning message activity Planning for purposeful, strategic then illustrate their butterfly garden. creates great opportunities to support conversations is critical for these The teacher can circulate from center vocabulary and language development conversations to occur. We are not to center talking with children about as well as making connections between suggesting that teachers script these explicit contexts that support their developing theme concepts and conversations, because this will use of specific vocabulary. The more new vocabulary words. In providing detract from the spontaneous nature opportunities children have to talk questions and comments that invite of conversations being cultivated in about concepts and purposefully use children to talk, children have classrooms to support the building new vocabulary words, the more these opportunities to practice using new of context-based language. However, words and concepts will become a part words, interacting with them as they are without planning for a few questions of their everyday knowledge. written by the teacher, and to inquire to generate meaningful discussion, about new concepts in the context of purposeful, strategic conversations may Morning Message meaningful dialogue. Teachers should not occur. Morning message time also offers great opportunities for teachers to engage children in purposeful, strategic conver- sations. Incorporating vocabulary words “Planning for purposeful, strategic from the books being read in the class- room or from the current unit theme conversations is critical for these into the morning message promotes multiple exposures to words in different conversations to occur.”

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When planning book reading, “When I tell you to ‘think big,’ I want to learn to attend to what is being asked. center time, and morning message you to take some time and think about Some strategies that support teaching activities, write a few questions to initiate your answer. Then, touch your nose children to become active listeners purposeful, strategic conversations. when you are ready.” The phrase “think include asking them to (a) keep their These questions should focus on having big” reinforces the positive aspect of eyes on the speaker—even if it means children use or hear the vocabulary from wait time and encourages children to they must turn around, and (b) do not the books read in a take some time talk while the speaker is talking. To help theme. Having these and think before students keep their eyes and attention questions on sticky responding. on the speaker, teachers can cue them notes as reminders Giving children by gesturing with their hands in the on applicable pages permission to direction of the speaker. within the read- think about their These simple suggestions help aloud book, as well answers first and increase children’s focus on the speaker as in centers, will then respond can and what the speaker is communicating. ensure that teachers be very helpful The goal of purposeful, strategic ask questions that in scaffolding conversations is to engage children in require children to language conversations that build vocabulary and think about their development content knowledge. Children cannot answers and use through be effectively engaged in a purposeful, their vocabulary purposeful, strategic conversation if they are neither knowledge in strategic actively listening to the teacher’s answering. conversations. questions nor attending to the follow-up Encourage children Providing a child their teachers are providing (as they to say the vocabulary with a 15-second scaffold their students’ language). words and talk about wait time allows From what we know, vocabulary and the meaning of the the child time to language learning play a critical role word. Planning for respond and also in young children’s development, yet explicit prompts that include the use of allows the teacher time to think of a they are the most difficult skills to teach vocabulary words, supporting children’s scaffolding question to encourage the (Dickinson et al., 2011). Research on responses, and requiring children to child’s response without the silence of vocabulary development has helped us answer using more than one word waiting becoming overwhelming. understand that teachers can support responses helps us to create opportunities children’s vocabulary growth in the to develop vocabulary and language daily. Developing Active Listeners following ways: For young children to benefit from the Implementing Wait Time rich language opportunities presented in As teachers, we tend to jump in to purposeful, strategic conversations, chil- answer our own questions when a dren must be actively listening to what child does not respond immediately. others are saying. Unfortunately, young Providing wait time for children to children live in a world surrounded by answer a question allows them to gather a considerable amount of adult talk, their ideas and then communicate them. and it is challenging for them to actively “Encourage However, because our typical wait time listen and process what the adults are is usually about three seconds, teachers saying. An important part in develop- children to say the must understand the importance of wait ing purposeful, strategic conversations is vocabulary words and time and how it can be used to support teaching young children how to actively young children’s thinking and learning. listen to what the speaker is saying. talk about the meaning To help children understand the As a teacher talks with and engages concept of wait time, teachers can say, children in conversation, children need of the word.”

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