Oral language and Cultural Knowledge Teacher Information Oral language includes speaking and listening. These skills are important to learning to read and write in the early school years. Everyday experiences in early childhood should provide children with opportunities for lots of conversation and time to talk and time to listen. Fostering oral language will help children to: Build their vocabulary Develop concepts and ideas to convey meaning Learn the structure and order of language Culturally appropriate ways to communicate with others Develop their first and second languages Caregivers can help young children develop their oral language abilities through various approaches, which include modeling language for children, creating a rich oral language environment, providing natural learning opportunities for children to explore language, and using deliberate strategies that engage children in oral language learning. Oral language is an important part of Aboriginal cultural traditions. Children experience Aboriginal oral tradition through storytelling, singing and drumming and Aboriginal languages. Important cultural information is shared through oral tradition. These experiences also focus on listening. Oral language is used differently among cultures. For many Aboriginal/First Nations groups there are behaviors and values around language that children learn. For example, many First Nations children learn through family and community experiences that language is purposeful and we speak when we have something to share that is relevant or important to a social situation. As a result, children who learn this value and behavior may seem quieter. In your community v What are the values that impact on how oral language is used in the family and community? v Learn the cultural ways people in your community communicate and how that shaped children s speaking and listening behaviors.

Suggested Ideas and Activities Wordless Picture Books Wordless picture books that rely on pictures to tell a story are a great way to begin orientating children towards reading and helping them become familiar with books, such as how to hold a book, turn the page, tell their own story. They help develop oral language as children listen to and create their own story versions of these books. These books help children to: Develop oral language Build vocabulary Make meaning from pictures Stimulate creativity Wordless picture books are great for children and parents to share together since they require no reading on the part of either parent or child. Parents with low literacy skills will feel comfortable sharing these books with their children. Six Wordless Picture Books: 1) Good Dog, Carl A baby s best friend, a black and brown dog, helps look after baby in the house. 2) A Boy, a Dog, a Frog and a Friend Watch all the fun when a boy, a dog and a frog head to the pond and meet a friend. 3) Pancakes for Breakfast An old woman looks for ingredients to make pancakes. 4) Changes, Changes A wooden couple build a block house, until it catches fire. Watch as they transform the house into a fire truck then a boat. 5) My friend Rabbit Rabbit creates havoc with his plans. Follow the silliness. 6) Wave A young girl enjoys her time at the beach playing with the waves. Watch as the waves play back.

How to use wordless picture books with children: Model for children how to hold the book and create a story to accompany the book. Share these books with children, first telling the story and then again, flipping through and letting children retell the story. Display these picture books on a table or at a book area. Let children explore these books on their own during play. Talk to children about what they see happening in the pages. Point things out and name things for them. Aboriginal/First Nations language speakers can retell the story in their own language. Activity: Make your own wordless picture books. Using a digital camera, take pictures of an event or community activity where there is cultural knowledge being shared. Take printed pictures and sequence them in a booklet. Children can look through your wordless picture book telling the story about that event. Here is an example. A Photo Story for Making Jam

Other photo story ideas: Take pictures of people doing traditional skills or activities. You can write about what they are doing and tell why it is important. Or you can put the series of pictures together in a wordless picture book. Take photos of members of your family doing something together. Take photos of significant places in your community. You can write about these places or put them together in a wordless picture book. Take the children on a trip and take photos of the trip. (Photo story ideas adapted from Building Aboriginal Language Skills through Family Literacy. By Northwest Territory Literacy Council. www.nwt.literacy.ca) Using Oral Tradition and Storytelling to Promote Oral Language Each Aboriginal/First Nations group has its own stories that are shared orally and passed on from one generation to the next. There are different kinds of stories. Stories are used to teach about how to behave, family, community and land responsibilities, teach a lesson or moral. Family or personal stories, speeches and songs are also forms of oral tradition. Storytelling is a favorite among young children. a) Using Local Stories Find out what stories are significant to the Aboriginal/First Nations group on whose territory your program is located. If you are not sure, ask the local band office or a cultural resource person who may have this knowledge. Be aware that there are protocols to oral storytelling. For example: - some stories are owned by families, clan or individual and you may need permission to tell the story. - some stories are only told at certain times of the year or season. b) Asking Someone to Visit Your Program

Invite an Elder, community member, parent or family member and others to share traditional stories, stories about growing up or to tell their own story to the children in your program. When asking someone to come in to share a story it might be appropriate to make an offering as part of your invitation. You should ask someone in your program or community or a cultural resource person what kind of offering would be appropriate. For example, a more traditional people might appreciate a tobacco offering. Others might appreciate some tea, baked goods, jam or a card. Sharing oral stories with young children can be challenging for a storyteller who has not worked with young ones. Don t expect a lot of their time and prepare children for the storyteller. Tell children how they should behave, including listening and sitting still. Always give thanks to your speaker with a small gift, honorarium, token of appreciation, or a card. These are just a few ideas. c) Recording Stories You may want to audio record a story or video record your storyteller so that you can share the story again with children in your program. Always ask permission ahead of time to audio or video record the story. Listening to Recorded Stories

There are some CDs of Aboriginal oral stories that accompany books. This allows readers to hear and see the story on a computer or on a CD player. Share this Dene story with children in your program. The story is told in English and Dene both in the book and on the CD. It is a good example of how stories told by community members can be made into tapes, CDs and books. Read or Play for Children: The Old Man with the Otter Medicine This is a Dene story of a medicine man who helps the people who are starving. This story is an important part of the history and culture of the Dene people and has been passed down from generation to generation. Activity Ask Elders and community members to share a story. Ask permission to tape record the story so that you can use it in your program. The story can be shared in your local Aboriginal/First Nations language and English/French. These stories can be played for children at your program. You may want to write the story down or type it out on a computer to make a book of that story. Make your own illustrations or take pictures to accompany that story. Children can use the book and tape at a listening center. Ideas for Stories: Ask Elders to talk about what it was like growing up. Tell about a traditional activity, such as a hunting trip or berry picking. Have an Elder or community member tell a story about an old photo. A family activity or trip on the land. Playing with Puppets Puppets are a fun way to promote oral language as children retell stories or make up their own stories and share these stories out loud. These are props that can be used during storytelling and also allows children explore on their own. Very young children must learn to be an audience and learn to use puppets. Tips When Using Puppets:

When the puppet is on your hand or finger, look at the puppet when it talks. Children will look at what you are looking at. Create voices for the puppets you are using, changing your tone, pitch and rhythm of speech. Use repetition with puppets. Sing the same songs and read books using the same puppets. Create a space for children to use puppets. Use a box to create a puppet theatre. (Source: These strategies were adapted from How to Teach Using Puppets. Available at: http://www.ehow.com/how_2154403_teach-using-puppets.html) Activities 1) Read: Zoe and the Fawn. Materials are found in the Zoe and the Fawn story bag. Introduce Zoe and Fawn puppets to children sitting in a circle. During the reading of the story use the Zoe puppet to act out and speak parts of the story. Pick up the Fawn puppet and do the same. 2) Read: Bear Snores On Materials are found in Bear Snores On story bag. Introduce Bear and all the finger puppets. Use the puppets in the retelling of the story. Again, let children play with and explore these puppets. Retell the story, this time letting children in the circle take turns to play Zoe or the Fawn using the puppets.

3) Make Your Own Puppets Brown Paper Bag Puppets: At an arts and crafts table, place brown paper bags and materials to glue onto puppets, such as eyes, fabric, scraps of paper, yarn or string. Also place crayons or markers so that children can draw on their brown paper bag puppets. Make sure to put some examples that you have made at the table. Stick Puppets: Place popsicle sticks, tongue depressors or paint stir sticks and paper and glue at a table. Children can cut paper pieces or draw pictures and help cut them out to glue on the popsicle stick. Wooden Spoon Puppets: The dollar store is a great place to find cheap wooden spoons. Let children draw faces onto the spoons that they can use at a puppet theatre. They can also glue scraps of fabric onto the spoons. Promoting Oral Language through Conversation 1) Respond to Children Rather than respond with yes or no comments, expand your answer or rephrase what the child has said or asked. Talk with children about what you are doing with them. Talk beyond the here-and-now. Talk about things that happened today, tomorrow or yesterday. 2) Ask Open-Ended Questions

Avoid asking children questions that require a yes or no or one word response. Ask questions that require children to explain or expand their conversation. For example, say, Can you tell me about.? 3) Explain to them what you want them to do When you are managing children by telling them what to do also explain why they are doing what you have requested. 4) Sing and chant with children Use your circle time or music time to sing and chant with children. Use other times, such as clean up, lunch, or outside to bring in music and chanting. (Source: Strategies adapted from Literacy and the Youngest Learner. Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five. By Susan Benett-Armistead, Nell K. Duke, & Annie M. Moses. New York: Scholastic Press.)