Integral to speech discrimination and phonological awareness is the basic ability to listen carefully.

Activities

Teachers can have children listen to books on tape in small groups or one at a time. Teachers can organize play activities, songs, and dances that involve listening to directions. Simon Says is an old favorite and can include sequences of directions at one time, once the children learn the basic game.

Through interesting conversations with teachers and peers, children learn vocabulary and language structures that will later help with reading. The key is to prepare for content that is rich and important to the children.

Activities

Make time each day for individual conversations with children. Give each child your full attention during the discussion and be