WHAT ARE LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE STORIES “Just be quiet for five minutes. I can’t hear myself think.” Every parent has said that to his or her elementary school-age child. Although your child’s excessive talking maybe distracting, young children love to chatter. The chatter can actually help your child master grammar and vocabulary. In fact, it can help them learn to read. By using a technique called “language experience stories,” you can capitalize on your child’s chatty tendency. Ask some open-ended questions to get things started. “Who did you play with at school today? What did you play?” or “Why is ----- your best friend?” Tell your child that you’re going to write down what they say so that they can read it to you later, like a story. As your child begins to speak, write the words down verbatim. Let your child watch you write down the words. Repeat each word as you write it so that there is a clear connection between the spoken word and its written symbol. If your child makes a grammatical error in speaking, don’t make a big deal about it. Simply say things properly when you repeat the sentence. If your child says, “There is five boys in my class,” repeat the statement correctly—“There are five boys in my class.” You want your child to know the correct grammar without judging them. Once your child is finished sharing, read the story aloud. Be sure to track the words with your finger or a pointer as you read. This will reinforce the sound/symbol correspondence. Now encourage your child to read the story aloud with you. Continue to track the words as you read. After several readings together, your child may feel comfortable with reading his or her story independently. To further enhance the reading experience, you may draw attention to frequently occurring words such as “the,” “it” or “and.” You can circle or highlight these words. You can also draw attention to rhyming words (cat, mat, sat). If your child is just learning to write, have them re-write the story into a notepad so that they can re-read it whenever they want. For beginning readers and writers, using language experience stories can help them organize their thoughts and teach them basic English grammar. By Sharon Jackson