Whole Language Intervention Approach
Whole Language Materials:
Can use a variety of materials; no set guidelines! Books Toys Puppets Pictures/drawings
Who benefits from whole language? When is whole language used? In-class instructional activities Where is whole language used?
Children generally around the kindergarten to first grade age range Play, Peer groups, One-on-one , Solo Schools
Emergence in group settings Whole Language
Cognitive -----Knowledge that children bring when engaged in reading situations to connect oral and written language Linguistic and Nonlinguistic -----Allows child to conceptualize word meaning and express that meaning to clinician Social -----Group settings bring about social interaction and learning from the experiences of others in the group
Unique Features Whole Language
Communication oriented therapy Focuses on the interactive nature of communication
Activities Whole Language
Individual and small group reading and writing Story writing Student made books Story telling ---Making up stories ---Talking about your day
Whole Language Environment:
Naturalistic & child directed Interactive: Play-like environment Often seen in schools Frequently done in groups rather than individually
history of Whole Language
Noam Chomsky 1960's ----Children learn language from an innate structure Kenneth and Yetta Goodman 1970's -----Introduced the concept of Whole Language in the U.S. Emergence in group settings 1980's-1990's (other card)
typical targets Whole Language
Personal pronouns Question Forms Final consonant deletion
pros and cons of Whole Language
Pros -Creative approach -Exposure to better literature -No set order of sounds to learn Cons -Difficulty with spelling -Inability to sound out words -Misinterpretation of words
The Three Basic Steps of Intervention Whole Language
Provide an appropriate communicative environment & stimulus materials Provide opportunities for communication that provide support to the child Provide consequences and feedback
Later Language Development (Storytelling) Whole Language
Understand complex concepts of storytelling Describe how events affect each other Describe the feelings behind the events Understand sequence of two events and their timing relative to each other
Early Language Development Whole Language
Use Physical Objects Mainly play scenarios Goal- Child goes from only labeling objects to describing in more detail Child will go from egocentric play to cooperative play with other children
Whole Language Approach is
an informal, discovery-based method of integrating curricular goals, cognitive skills, and language skills.
