Category Archives: Inference

Dr. Marion Blank’s Language Levels

Posted on 17/04/2020 by languageisheartosay

I was bowled over the day I came upon this work and it underpinned my practice in speech and language therapy thereafter. I have written before about it and I think all the links still work. For background information and … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, ESL / EFL / EAL, Helping children understand, Inference, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, Home schooling, language development, Marion Blank, new vocabulary, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

Black Sheep Press

Posted on 09/08/2017 by languageisheartosay

Black Sheep Press has a new website with lots of exciting changes and improved features. You can visit it here. I used many of the resources from Black Sheep Press while I was working with young children. The company publishes … Continue reading →

Posted in Association, Child language, Competence level, Education at home, ESL / EFL / EAL, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching | Tagged Black Sheep Press, Getting meaning from pictures, Learning to mean, Making it easier, Mr Goodguess | Comments Off

Pronouns

Posted on 08/10/2015 by languageisheartosay

Further to a query on a forum on TES, I have picked out some of my resources which are particularly aimed at working on pronouns. Hope you find this helpful. See the Pronouns listing in the sidebar. Have also made … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Education at home, ESL / EFL / EAL, Grammar, Helping children understand, Helping language skills at home, Home schooling, Inference, Promoting language development, Speech and Language Pathology, Speech and Language Therapy, Teaching | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, Learning to mean, Pronouns | Comments Off

The Lady and the Lion

Posted on 25/11/2014 by languageisheartosay

I am proud to announce (with sound of trumpets) that Pip Harrison and I have got to the end of The Year of the Fairy Tale. The last set of resources based on two similar stories by the Brothers Grimm … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, Pip Harrison, S&LT, SLP, The Lady and the Lion | Comments Off

The Magic Horse

Posted on 20/10/2014 by languageisheartosay

Read Aloud version contributed by NZ writer/teacher ©Pip Harrison …“Guards! Seize this man!” ordered the King. “Take him to prison until my son comes safely home. Fancy bringing me such a dangerous thing!” … Early Reading version …“Look at that!” … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching | Comments Off

Cinderella

Posted on 07/09/2014 by languageisheartosay

Pip Harrison, New Zealand writer, has rewritten the well-known tale from the Fairy Godmother’s point of view. The RA is approx. 11y for older children, or to be read aloud. ‘…Amidst it all, the prince and Cinderella gazed at each … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, PSHE / Virtues Programme, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

The Twelve Brothers

Posted on 13/08/2014 by languageisheartosay

“…As the young men pushed open the gate, she picked the twelve flowers. With each snip one young man after the other rose up from the garden, arms turning to great black wings, noses to beaks, legs to claws – … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching | Tagged language development, Learning to mean, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

Little Red Riding Hood

Posted on 04/05/2014 by languageisheartosay

“Shall I walk with you?” said the wolf. “Oh, no, sir, thank you. I can quite well walk by myself and I expect you have wolf things to be getting on with.” “Well, there is one wolf thing I could … Continue reading →

The real princess AKA The princess and the pea

Posted on 16/04/2014 by languageisheartosay

“Pea of destiny, pea of delight, We need your help, we seek insight. Is this princess the real deal? Will she sleep or will she feel Your bumpy presence in her bed, Making her toss and turn instead?…” Find the … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

Blondine, Bonne-Biche & Beau-Minon

Posted on 11/03/2014 by languageisheartosay

Another Traditional Tale has been uploaded to TES. If you do not get your resources from TES, you can find the ‘long and short of it’ versions (as above) here. The original story – from a book of Old French … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, PSHE / Virtues Programme, Share stories, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

The Frog Princess

Posted on 20/02/2014 by languageisheartosay

The first TRADITIONAL TALE is complete! See the link in the sidebar on the right. I hope people find it fun. If you do not get your resources from TES, you can find the ‘long and short of it’ versions … Continue reading →

Go find (this wonderful book)

Posted on 21/01/2013 by languageisheartosay

Just finished ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue (Picador, 2011), a book I found hard to put down but did not wish to finish. Even read some bits twice. Don’t look at a description of it or you may suspect it will … Continue reading →

Posted in Association, Child language, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy | Comments Off

Can you see what I mean?

Posted on 06/11/2012 by languageisheartosay

This post is to highlight a published resource I designed but cannot put on TES (although I have a section of free resources there which you can find described on the page Read for Meaning/Inference in the list on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Teaching | Tagged Getting meaning from pictures, language development, Learning to mean, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off

Choose your martyrdom

Posted on 30/04/2012 by languageisheartosay

Would you rather be pressed like St. Margaret Clitherow or hanged like St. Anne Line? How does your school inform small children of their fate? Will the Head tell a 6 year old he is going to be put in … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Competence level, Helping children understand, Inference | Tagged Idiom & metaphor, language development, Learning to mean, What kids say | Comments Off

Good listening?

Posted on 13/04/2012 by languageisheartosay

Teachers constantly exhort children to do ‘good listening’. And of course it is an excellent idea. But those who work specifically with children who have problems with attention, language delay, learning difficulties or a combination of all of these also … Continue reading →

Posted in Association, Child language, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Teaching | Comments Off

A real there there

Posted on 19/01/2012 by languageisheartosay

My grammar check immediately spots I have repeated a word, but never mind! As soon as I heard this wonderful new noun (a ‘there-there’), I found it captivating. How much more immediate than solace or consolation. Other recent activity has … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, Helping children understand, Inference, Promoting language development, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged Analogy, Idiom & metaphor, Learning to mean, US English versus UK English | Comments Off

A Marmite relationship

Posted on 23/06/2011 by languageisheartosay

Watch one of the men in charge of a display of birds of prey! He strides around the ring, talking non-stop in an informative but colloquial style about the birds, while his colleague gets the birds to fly. As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Association, Child language, Inference | Tagged Analogy, Idiom & metaphor | Comments Off

The cobbler’s children go unshod!

Posted on 06/05/2011 by languageisheartosay

Don’t you love earwigging? Not in an unpleasant way – just overhearing because you can’t help it.

Posted in Association, Inference | Tagged Analogy, Idiom & metaphor | Comments Off

Look, mummy, look!

Posted on 02/05/2011 by languageisheartosay

Many of the children who fall behind with language development have immense problems with drawing inferences: from events, from pictures, from conversation and especially from text when they get to that stage. It is delightful to observe children who do … Continue reading →

Posted in Child language, Inference | Tagged Object recognition | Comments Off

Keep speech simple too

Posted on 20/02/2011 by languageisheartosay

It’s not just print that needs adapting – even talk can be confusing! The words we use, the speed we go, the in-between time – all these will influence how much a child understands. Especially the child with delayed or … Continue reading →

Posted in Association, Child language, Competence level, Inference, Promoting language development, Speech & Language Pathology, Speech & Language Therapy, Teaching | Tagged Analogy, Making it easier, S&LT, SLP | Comments Off