What?

How?

Why?

Make it your Own!

Engaging young children in substantive conversation is an art. The Conversational Strategies Easy Guide adds three conversation strategies, recommended by Roskos, Tabors & Lenhart(2009), to a family’s communication toolkit. These strategies are: 1) Clarify/extend, 2) Question/tell and 3) Think-Aloud. The Easy Guide provides an explanation of each of these strategies.

Family members can create opportunities to build oral language and deepen knowledge through everyday conversations. One of the most effective strategies for promoting oral language is to engage children in extended, interactive, and informative conversations. The Conversational Strategies Easy Guide provides tips for getting the most out of conversations with children.

Listening and talking are the fundamental aspects of conversation and the basis of relationship forming interactions. Speaking and listening skills learned in the preschool years are essential to future reading and writing achievement and school success. By using the conversational strategies of clarifying, extending, questioning, telling, and thinking-aloud, families can hone the art of engaging children in substantive conversation.

For families

As a parent or family member, use your unique understanding of your child’s interests to form the most successful conversations. If your family speaks more than one language, give your child the gift of conversation in each language.

Oral LanguageCommunication ToolkitConversational Strategies

CommunicationToolkitSimplified StrategiesOral LanguageConversational Strategies

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Adapted from Roskos, Tabors & Lenhart, 2009

Involve the child in what you are doing

Verbalize your thoughts

Model how to think through a task or problemto a conclusion

Think-Aloud

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4

Join the child in an activity

Draw attention to parts and details

Maintain interest with talk contingent on thechild’s efforts

Offer praise and encouragement

Question/Tell

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Listen to what the child says

Pick up an idea from the child’s talk

Add to it, explain further, clarify any confusion

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Clarify/Extend

StrategiesSimplified Strategies,LLC - www.simplifiedstrategies.org