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Provide Opportunities to Talk about Past and Future Events

	Standard: IV.C.1 - Shows an understanding of words and their meanings Standard: IV.C.2 - Uses an expanded vocabulary to describe many objects, actions, and events

It is also important for children to talk about experiences that happened in the past or will happen in the future. Knowing how to talk about these events is critical to early literacy development. Talking about things that are not happening in the moment requires children to use more extensive language to accurately describe what happened or will happen because the people, places, and events associated with the occasion are not present to clarify meaning. Similar to the language used in written texts, the language used to describe or explain past or future events is called decontextualized language. Opportunities to describe and explain past or future events prepare children to better understand the language of stories, or narrative language.

There are many ways to encourage children to describe or explain past or future experiences during the preschool day. First, ask children to talk about something that happened to them in the past, or something that will happen, and encourage them to tell you more about the event (remember, the “past” for a four-year-old could be yesterday). You can do this when sitting one-on-one with children during the day, by using sharing time as an opportunity for children to talk about something they have done or will be doing, by using photos of past events to encourage explanations and descriptions of the event, or by using picture storybooks to stimulate children to describe their own experiences in the same way events are depicted or described in the book.

It is also helpful if children can hear you describe past or future events. Model how to recall what happened in the past by telling a story about what you did the day before. Try to use new or unique words while you tell your story to stimulate children’s use of such words when they tell their stories. You can also encourage children to create and tell made-up stories. Making up and telling stories encourages children to use narrative language.

Shared writing and interactive writing, instructional approaches described in the section on emergent writing, are more strategies you can use to promote the use of decontextualized and narrative language.