Do you have any activities that could assist sentence constructions?

Question

this is for a 4 year old who has language development delay. thank you so much.

Answer 1

Singing-lots of singing and rhymes-any time and any place :) eg: Feeding ducks sing "5 Little Ducks" you can sing and use makaton gestures (if you havent heard of Makaton look it up or speak to Speech and Language Therapist).

Role Play-give child instruction eg: give teddy banana and encourage child to follow this-when they have done it say "well done, you gave teddy banana"-this form of modelling supports children in understanding sentence structures and beginning to form their own. (Small simple sentecnes using main words only)

Maths games such as: Building tower of blocks-can as child questions and then lengthen sentence for them---"what colour next?" They say "blue" you say "Blue is next"...then you can always say to child "are you going to ask me what colour?" or your own tower.

Story Time: Ask questions that are NOT yes or no answers or ones that are only one word answers...eg: "whats happening in this picture?"-if child says just one word anyway then ask a follow up questions and form a sentence for them as a model.

Speak to local Speech and Language Therapist, local childrens Centre, local agencies such as Special Educational Coordinators as they could help more!

Answer 2

The more you talk with your child, the more they will talk back to you. Remember to let him/her take a turn to talk, then it's your turn. Match your language to theirs, then do just a little more.  For example, if your child says, 'ball', your response should be, "big ball" or "throw ball" or "red ball" -- just a little more information (Not: "yes, that's a really big, purple basketball that Uncle Jeff gave you last Christmas" -- too much info, too long). If you respond with a lot longer phrase than the child is using, it's probably above their understanding and you will lose his attention.