Oral Language Comprehension: Activities for Your Pre-K Child

Pre-K children are actively absorbing spoken language and experiences to make sense of the world around them. Engaging in rich conversations about everyday things and reading lots of stories are two terrific ways to help young children strengthen oral language skills and comprehension. 

Try these comprehension activities at home:

1. Walk and talk – When you take a walk through your neighborhood, encourage your child to point out things she sees and to talk about them. React to her observations, ask open-ended questions (who, what, why, where, when, how), and add your own observations to encourage a lively conversation. During the walk you might want to stop and say, “Listen, what can you hear?” Or if you hear a familiar sound, stop and say, “Do you hear that knocking sound? What do you think that could be? Maybe it’s a woodpecker —​ let’s look up and see if we can spot the bird.”
2. Act it out – Read stories such as The Three Bears or Three Billy Goats Gruff. Act out the stories using different-sized stuffed animals. This is a great opportunity to talk about the concepts of “small, medium, and large.” Go on a scavenger hunt in your home to find other objects of different sizes (shoes, socks, cups, etc.) and ask your child to classify the items by size. You might also ask your child if he knows another word for small and large.
3. Sing it – Create or learn songs to expand your child’s vocabulary. One idea: make up songs to describe your daily routines, periodically adding new verses that include new vocabulary words.
4. Listening games – Play “I Spy” with your child using words that describe an object’s position. (“I spy something on the carpet, in front of the couch, next to the dog.”) Play games such as “Red-Light Green-Light,” “Mama, Puedo,” and “Simon Says” that require talking, listening, following directions, and giving directions.
5. Grocery store literacy – Position words are used every day at home and in preschool. Use the items on the grocery shelf to give your child practice finding something above their belly button, below their nose, on the bottom shelf, and between other items on a shelf. Opportunities to use superlatives, those little endings that help describe size, are all around the grocery store. Have your child find a big fruit, a bigger fruit and the biggest fruit in the produce section. What’s the smallest item in the cart? The largest item?
6. Kitchen conversations – Take advantage of daily activities. For example, while in the kitchen, encourage your child to name the utensils needed. Discuss the food you’ll be eating, their color, texture, and taste. Where does the food come from? Which foods do you like? Which do you dislike? Who will clean up? Emphasize the use of prepositions by asking him or her to put the napkin on the table, in your lap, or under the spoon. Identify who the napkin belongs to: “It is my napkin.” “It is Daddy’s.” “It is John’s.”
7. We’re going on an adventure – Ask your child to draw a map of an imaginary place he would like to explore. Have him tell you a little bit about the setting and who might live there. If you like, you can dress up (sometimes a hat or cardboard tube spyglass is all you need) and set out on your adventure. Encourage your child to  tell you all about the journey and what he’s experiencing. Your child will love it if you are “all in” for this imaginary journey.
8. Active reading – Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what’s happening as you’re reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Help your child make pictures of the story in his mind. Ask your child, “What just happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?” Not only will this develop your child’s comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.
9. Tell me about it – After a read aloud, one of the best and easiest ways to check for understanding is to ask your child to summarize what the book was about in their own words. You can ask a question or two to help your child clarify her thinking or to add more detail.
10. Family stories – This is a wonderful activity for a family picnic or for a rainy day when you’re snuggled together on the couch. Share a favorite story about your childhood or a family story that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Use vivid language and details about people, places, and things. Funny or scary will really get your child’s attention! Your child will probably have lots of questions, which keeps the storytelling alive. You could also ask your child if she has a favorite family story of her own.

Work Cited

“Oral Language Comprehension: Activities for Your Pre-K Child.” Reading Rockets, https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home/reading-101-guide-parents/your-pre-kindergarten-child/oral-language-comprehension. Accessed 17 September 2024.