Junior Infants to 1^st Class

• Listen to what your child is saying/trying to say and respond to contributions
• Make and maintain eye contact while talking with your child
• Explain the meaning of words
• Talk through activities
• Talk through everyday experiences
• Involve your child in discussions/plans
• Ask/answer questions
• Teach your child nursery rhymes/songs/poems/raps
• Develop your child’s receptive language by asking him/her to follow simple instructions
• Assist your child to express ideas in an orderly fluent way
• Read to your child each night

2^nd Class to 4^th Class

• Set aside 10-15 minutes to discuss the day’s happenings
• Encourage your child to express and justify opinions
• Involve your child in adult conversation when appropriate
• Talk about your child’s favourite TV programme
• Play language games which focus on words i.e. Scrabble/Crosswords
• Encourage your child to talk about experiences with a wide range of people; peers/relations/other adults
• Listen carefully and clarify meaning ‘Do you mean/Is this what you mean?’
• Encourage your child to give reasons for decisions
• Encourage your child to listen courteously to the opinions of others
• Talk about school topics and assignments

5^th Class to 6^th Class

• Encourage your child to develop a positive attitude to speaking/listening
• Discuss your child’s school work – successes/concerns/interests
• Respect your child’s opinions and feelings
• Involve your child in adult conversations, when appropriate
• Help your child to extend his/her range of words in specialised subjects
• Encourage your child to listen and respond courteously to others
• Watch and discuss TV news/current affairs programmes together
• Assist your child to locate information in local library/internet
• Talk about school topics and assignments
• Play commercial games that focus on word building