The Way We SpeakActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning helps young children notice and value different ways of speaking because they engage multiple senses and build empathy. Movement, listening, and role-play make abstract ideas like accents and kindness concrete and memorable for Junior Infants.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify different Irish accents and home words spoken by characters in stories.
- 2Compare the use of friendly greetings and polite phrases in various spoken interactions.
- 3Classify examples of language variation based on region or family usage.
- 4Demonstrate friendly communication by using a kind tone and appropriate greetings in role-play scenarios.
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Circle Time: Family Words Share
Gather children in a circle. Each child shares one special family word and what it means, passing a talking stick. Record words on chart paper for a class word wall. Discuss how words connect us to home.
Prepare & details
Have you ever heard someone speak in a different way or use different words from you?
Facilitation Tip: During Family Words Share, start by sharing your own family word to model vulnerability and normalize differences.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Listening Pairs: Accent Hunt
Play short audio clips of Irish accents saying simple phrases like 'Hello, how are you?' Pairs listen, repeat what they hear, and draw a picture of the speaker. Switch clips for Dublin and Cork accents.
Prepare & details
How do we show we are being friendly and kind when we speak to someone?
Facilitation Tip: For Accent Hunt, play short audio clips twice so children focus on sounds, not just repeating words.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Role-Play Stations: Kind Talk
Set up stations with puppets or props. At each, children practice friendly greetings in different voices: happy, gentle, excited. Rotate stations, noting kind words used. Share favorites with group.
Prepare & details
What special words does your family use that other people might not know?
Facilitation Tip: Set up Kind Talk stations with props like toy phones or puppets to make role-play feel safe and playful.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Story Echo: Dialect Read-Aloud
Read a picture book with varied speech, like Irish folktales. Pause for children to echo lines in their own voices or mimic characters. Create a class chant from repeated friendly phrases.
Prepare & details
Have you ever heard someone speak in a different way or use different words from you?
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should approach this topic by first validating children’s home language to build trust. Avoid correcting accents or words directly; instead, model curiosity and comparison. Research shows young children learn social norms through repetition and guided reflection, so revisit kindness and diversity daily in short bursts rather than one long lesson.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like children confidently sharing family words, identifying familiar accents in recordings, and using polite phrases in role-play without prompting. They should demonstrate curiosity about how others speak and show kindness through tone and words during activities.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Family Words Share, watch for children assuming all families use the same words for family members.
What to Teach Instead
Use this circle to highlight differences by asking, 'Does anyone else have a special word for mum or dad?' Encourage children to clap or nod when they hear a word that matches their family, normalizing variation.
Common MisconceptionDuring Accent Hunt, watch for children labeling certain accents as 'silly' or 'wrong'.
What to Teach Instead
Play recordings of accents side by side and ask, 'Which sounds closest to ours?' Then ask, 'Do you think the speaker is happy or sad?' This shifts focus from correctness to tone and context.
Common MisconceptionDuring Kind Talk, watch for children thinking only one way of speaking is polite.
What to Teach Instead
Provide sentence stems like 'May I have a turn?' and 'Thank you' in different accents during role-play. Afterward, ask the group, 'Which phrases felt friendly? Why?' to show politeness is flexible.
Assessment Ideas
After Family Words Share, show pictures of children from Dublin, Kerry, and Donegal. Ask students, 'What special word might this child use for mum?' Record their answers on a chart to see how many recognize regional variations.
During Story Echo, read a short story featuring characters with different accents. Pause after each character speaks to ask, 'How did this character show they were kind?' Encourage students to point to facial expressions or polite words in the text.
After Kind Talk, give each student a card with a picture of a child waving. Ask them to draw one thing they would say to greet a new friend, using a smile or polite phrase from their role-play.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge students who finish early to create a new friendly phrase they could use with a friend from another country.
- Scaffolding: Pair children who struggle with a confident peer during Accent Hunt to reduce anxiety about unfamiliar sounds.
- Deeper exploration: Record children using their family words and play the clips back to discuss how speech changes in different settings like home or school.
Key Vocabulary
| Accent | The way someone pronounces words, which can tell us where they are from, like having a Cork accent or a Dublin accent. |
| Dialect | A variety of a language spoken in a particular region or by a particular group, including different words or grammar, such as using 'wee' for small in some parts of Ireland. |
| Home Words | Special words or phrases that a family uses, which might be different from words other people use, like calling a grandparent 'Nana' instead of 'Grandma'. |
| Friendly Talk | Speaking in a way that is kind and welcoming, using smiles and polite words to make others feel happy and included. |