Using Books to Support Speech and Language Development

Has your child ever fought a fire-breathing dragon? Saved an elf kingdom or played hide-and-seek with a talking dog? Imagination is one of the best tools to encourage speech and language, and what better way to support imagination than to explore the vast world of books!

As speech pathologists, we often get asked whether a child is ready to engage in books and our answer is always - absolutely! From simply describing the pictures to climbing the first steps to reading words, there is never a scenario where books cannot facilitate learning.

Just in case you are wondering how, here are 5 ideas on how to use books to stimulate speech, language and learning. Enjoy!

Idea #1 - Reinforcing Learning with Fun

A great way to reinforce a child's understanding of new, learnt vocabulary is to use it in play with toys similar to the themes found in the book. Children can then begin to build connections between what they know and what they have just learnt, and how to implement this in real life - all whilst playing!

Idea #2 - Build Sentence Structure

Expand your child's sentence structure by modelling language. For example, if your child describes an illustration with "the dog is running," we can chime in and say, "the dog is running fast!" or "the black dog is running!".

Idea #3 - Support Early Literacy Skills

If your child is learning to read and write, one of the most important skills is understanding how to recognise and manipulate sounds (this is what we call 'phonological awareness')! Books with lots of rhyming words such as 'Hop and Pop' by Dr. Seuss are great books to visually demonstrate how manipulating sounds can create a new word.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you'll go" – Dr. Seuss

Idea #4 - Encourage Text-to-Self Connections

A book's plot isn't just limited to what is on the page. Try creating alternative endings by linking the story to learnt experiences or taking a guess into what might happen next. Visually represent this by recreating the story with toys or drawing pictures for added fun!

Idea #5 - Promote Speech Clarity

Alongside themed books, many books are wonderfully packed with repetitive sounds that make speech sound practice fun and engaging with lots of trials. Try grabbing a magnifying glass, toy telescope or even an empty toilet paper roll and seeing who can find the most words with your target sound.

BONUS Visual - Reading Prompt Ideas for 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle

Books have no limit in their benefits to promote our children's speech, language and social development. Just as our imaginations are limitless, so are the play ideas that books can be used to facilitate.

If your family has a go-to book and play routine or a fan-favourite book to read at night time, we would love to hear it! Drop a comment below or share your ideas with us.

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x Speechie Jessie