We’re going to explore all of the ways you can use POINTING, to help children with different ages and communication needs.
Bessie is a 1 year old child who isn’t talking yet.
John is a 2-year-old who is new to learning English.
Bethany is a 2 1/2 year old who is finding it tricky to understand what people are saying to her.
Valerie is a 3 year old whose pronunciation is often unclear to people who don’t know her.
Lori is a 4 year old who often moves away from group conversations.
Yes, pointing can help all of these children. Let’s see why…
Pointing is great for more than just helping children follow instructions
Often pointing is the go-to when a child hasn’t understood an instruction… it works, doesn’t it?!
You point, the child makes the connection between the words you say and what they mean.
Perfect!
Well, when this powerful little gesture, ‘pointing’, is used to its full potential… it works to help children:
- understand what’s happening in their world
- learn new words
- see a way they can share their ideas.
That’s a lot of impact for one little strategy…
Today I really want to empower you to look beyond just using pointing to help children follow instructions, and see how pointing can actually support children to grow their language, understand conversations and be heard.
Pointing to extend children’s language skills…
See how these educators use pointing to extend these children’s language skills…
For a child who has English as second language
2 year old John is learning English as a second language. At mealtimes, his educator Fatima, talks with him and his friends about what they are eating, pointing and saying “Mmm, I see some carrot, corn, peas’. She points to another child and then their food as she says “Vera has carrots too”. This helps John link the children’s names with who they are, and pointing to the carrot helps him learn what ‘carrot’ means.
For a four year old learning more complex words
4 year old kinder teacher, Bethany, is reading with a small group and read a line that says the ‘people were trailing behind’.
She points to people in the picture that are ‘trailing’ to help the children make the connection between the word ‘trailing’ and what it means.
Using pointing to help children be heard…
Children mirror the communication they see. When YOU use more pointing they will point more too. This can help…
When children aren’t talking yet
Scenario: Lily is one and she has a comforter which is kept in her bag out of reach in a high box when she is playing. Familiar educators know if she’s standing near her bag and grizzling, she likely wants her comforter. There are often casual educators in room and it can take them some time to realise why Lily is upset.
Add pointing: Her familiar team start pointing to her bag before they get the comforter to show Lily a way to ask more directly for her dummy while she is still learning to talk. Over time Lily begins pointing and this helps her get what she needs faster. It also helps her communicate with educators who are less familiar with her.
When a child’s pronunciation is not clear yet
Scenario: Valerie has a new educator who finds it tricky to understand what she is saying. This can be frustrating and Valerie often walks away when asked to repeat.
Add pointing: Her educator begins to point as she is talking to Valerie, and Valerie starts doing this more as well. When Valerie says ‘I not wike dat tat’, and points to the picture of the cat in the book, her educator works out that she is saying ‘ not like that cat’.
Children learn the words they want to know
When Artie points to the truck passing by, his educators talk to him about the truck because they can clearly tell what he is interested in. So Artie hears the words that he wants to know.
Pointing to help children understand conversations
You can quickly see how children benefit from pointing when you are giving them an instruction e.g. “Go inside please” + point to inside.
Here are some examples of educators using more pointing to help children understand conversations.
Understand conversations about social interactions
When children are feeling more emotional, they won’t process the spoken words as well as when they are feeling calm. It’s the same for most adults really!
So you can help them process what you are saying by pointing as you have a conversation with them
Scenario: Two year old Bethany wants the block and is trying to take it from Vincent’s hand. Vincent expresses that he wants to keep it by saying mine and raises his hand to push Bethany away.
Add pointing: Educator, Farah bobs down and says. “I can see you (points to Bethany) want the block (point to block). Vincent (point to Vincent) is playing with the block (point to the block). When Vincent’s (point to Vincent) finished he will give it to you (point to Georgie).”
Understand conversations in group discussions
You can use pointing to help children understand more complex group discussions. When they understand what is happening, they are more likely to stay and participate in the conversation. When you point as you go, it will also slow you down and making it easier for children to process what you say.
Scenario: Lori enjoys joining group times with music and dancing, but often moves away when the group begins discussing something. For example, when her educator is explaining the rules to a game, they are having a discussion about a book they’ve just read, or discussing the weather in the morning meeting.
Add pointing: Today the group are making playdough and having a discussion about the steps involved before they start making it. Usually Lori would move away and just come back for the playdough.
Today her educator points to all of the ingredients as she labels what they are, points to the children and the bowl as she talks about everyone having something to pour in or add. Lori stays, listening and following the conversation and then participates in making the playgroup.
By her staying with the group it’s given her a chance to hear a narrative (the steps to making the playdough). And she WANTED to stay with the group, because she could follow what was happening in the conversation.
How much do you point?
We all naturally use a different amount of gesture and pointing in our conversation. After seeing all of the different ways that pointing can support children, take a couple of minutes to reflect on your interactions with children.
- How much do you feel like you point when you are speaking with children?
- Do you mostly point when giving instructions, or do you also point during conversations?
- Are there any opportunities where you could use more pointing to help children thrive?