Transcript

When you have an opportunity in the classroom to ask a child a question what you want to see is that they give you a longer response. And if a child gives you a one word response, the first prompt is say, "Tell me more". And most of the time, children will be able to give you more in terms of giving you a sentence. However, if children have difficulty with that, then what you need to do is help them. You need to expand whatever they give you. So let's say that a child comes in to the classroom and says "Late". The teacher asks, "Where were you?" and they said "Late". "Well tell me more" and the child says, "Late, missed the bus". 

Okay, now you have a little bit more information so what you can do is actually take the child's words, build them in to a sentence. You were late because you missed the bus. Now you turn it back to the child so that he or she has the opportunity to practice saying that sentence.

"So what happened? Why were you late?" The child has the chance to say, "I was late" and if that's all they give you, give them the word because. "Because I missed the bus."

So that what you're doing is you're helping them to put their ideas into sentences but to also connect those sentences with those meaningful words that are really critical to verbal reasoning.