Where does language fit in?

When children are involved in life activities, language skills have a basis for emerging. Vocabulary is developed through exposure and usage within context. Sequences are learned. Cause and effect is understood. Experiences are encoded to be shared.

Simply put, if the child is not involved in life, the child has nothing to talk about! If the child is not involved in life with someone, the child has no one to talk to! On the other hand, if the child is involved in life, he has something to talk about — i.e., what he is or had been doing — and someone to talk to, i.e. the person with whom he is interacting!

So — use patterned activities to give even your most challenged students an opportunity to engage in life, as it can lead to talking.