Language and Communication

In the new school year, your child will be learning many new things in their language and communications classes. Students in kindergarten will be learning about Helen Keller and her struggle to learn a language. Your child will learn how to overcome many things to gain the ability to communicate with others. “Language is the principal means by which humans communicate, but not the only one. Communication is the activity of a sender conveying a message, usually with meaning­ful information, to a recipient, and the communication may occur across space and time (Piper, 2012).” Kindergarten students should already be able to say their abc's and will learn the different sounds each letter makes and how they are used in words. “The content of teaching, may be designed to encourage learning processes (memory, attention, observation) and cognitive skills (reasoning, comparing and contrasting, classification), as well as the acquisition of specific information, such as the names of the letters of the alphabet (Press, 2001).” They will learn to read and write their own names as well as classmates and other individuals.

In communication skills, students will learn that animals can communicate using noises, similar to humans. The class will have their own set of vocabulary words that students will read and learn to spell. Students will further learn that some animals can communicate with noises, while others will communicate with movements or body