A few weeks ago, I saw a post shared on social media that said, “Everyone who had ‘talks too much’ on their report card, what do you do for a living?” It made me laugh because this was something my teachers constantly reported to my parents every time report cards were rolled out. Well, what am I doing now? I’m a teacher, and one who will never frame talking too much as a negative behavior. All of that talking too much is building foundational literacy skills. For real.
In my classroom, I like to start my mornings with my notebook and coffee mug. I want to observe first thing in the morning, noting how children come in and who or what the first thing they go to is. Some of the best conversations happen first thing in the morning, and the gossip in me loves to eavesdrop. A few weeks ago, I was reviewing my notes from the day before, making a plan for what lessons I would give first. Two chatty children were standing across from me, jumping up and down. I counted it as silliness and walked over to invite one to a lesson, hoping the other would move along and find something to do on her own. As I got closer, I began listening to the conversation. One child would sing a line from Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer, and the other would narrate with background information. “All of the other reindeer,” one said. “Those are his brothers and sisters,” the other replied. They went through every line of the song, going back and forth, not missing a lyric. I walked myself back to my stool and sat listening. I almost classified what was happening as silly and broke it up so these children could move onto more meaningful work. But this experience was valuable for these two children, and everyone around them went about their business. When their conversation ended, they each went on their way and choose something to do. I started to think about all the times I interrupt children when I think they are “just talking.” It turns out, all of that talking is valuable to the development of literacy skills. Let’s break down all the skills in that Christmas carol exchange and put some research behind them.