Articles
Michael is a regular contributor to educational publications. Here are a selection. Some are about Every Child a Talker, some are specifically about communication in Early Years and others are of general interest.
For more articles about a range of educational issues please look at my publications section.
| Date | Magazine/Newspaper | Article Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | |||
| November | Special Children | Here’s one you’ve heard before | How rehearsing stories in small groups helps children with additional needs to access storytime. |
| 2005 | |||
| March | Special Children | Record and Play | Linking stories, small world play and stories recorded onto audiotape to develop children’s language and literacy. |
| 2008 | |||
| January | Special Children | Rules of Engagement | Setting ‘golden rules’ for ADULTS can be an effective way of promoting positive behaviour and communication in children. |
| 2009 | |||
| Feb/March | Special Children | Cue Response | A general description of how ECaT was set up in Luton, for the benefit of ALL young children. |
| June | Nursery World | Talk Back | Engaging children and parents through a ‘Chatterbox’ loan scheme. |
| June/July | Special Children | Signing Success | How using sign language with hearing children in Early Years settings can promote language and communication. |
| Aug/Sept | Special Children | Look at Me! | Understanding attention seeking behaviour in children, and helping them overcome it. |
| October | Early Years Educator | Make every child a talker | How ECaT was set up in Luton, and how practitioners have developed successful projects to meet the needs of the children and families they work with. |
| 2010 | |||
| January | Nursery World | Attention Seeking | Sustaining children’s attention and involvement. |
| February | Child Care | Every Child a Talker | Supporting Childminders to develop children’s language and communication. |
| May | Early Years Educator | Interesting Vocabulary | How young children can learn new ideas and vocabulary very quickly. |
| June | Nursery World | Marking Time | Linking mark making, construction and role play outdoors. |
| July | Early Years Educator | Pack away the daytime | Meeting the challenge of working in a ‘pack away’ setting. |
| August | Nursery World | Sign Posting | How using sign language with hearing children can help their vocabulary development and storytelling skills. |
| September | Nursery Education Plus | Reading, writing and ‘children’s culture’ | Developing children’s language and early writing through comics. |
| September | Nursery World | Time To Chat | An approach to building the confidence of quiet children in early years settings. |
| November | Nursery World | It’s Fantastic | A description of an innovative project to develop children’s imaginative play and language using small fantasy figurines. |
| November | Nursery World | Our world, our story | A highly imaginative approach to developing children’s language, role-play and storytelling. |
| December | Nursery World | Back to front | How to involve children in stories by sharing related activities first. |
| 2011 | |||
| March | Nursery World | Come on in! | How to give your book area a ‘makeover’ so that children and adults can have the best space to share books and conversation. |
| April | Child Care | The great sock challenge | Childminders having fun with socks, to develop language and communication. |
| 2012 | |||
| February | Early Years Educator | Baby Room Brilliance | Supporting staff in baby rooms to provide the best care |
| 2013 | |||
| July | Early Years Educator | Building conversations | Using wooden blocks and natural materials to develop children’s narrative development, conversation and social skills. |
| September | Early Years Educator | Effective Talk With Babies | How ‘being in the moment’ is the key foundation of language development. |
| November | Early Years Educator | How a Child Learns to Talk | Exploring the main theories of language development, and their practical applications |
| December | Early Years Educator | Are You Looking at Me? | The importance of non-verbal communication for language development. |
| 2014 | |||
| January | Early Years Educator | Dances of Conversation | How early interactions between adults and babies using ‘Parentese’ lay the foundations for children’s social use of language |
| February | Early Years Educator | Universal baby sounds | How important is cooing and babbling for later language development, and how big a role to adult interactions play? |
| March | Early Years Educator | The power of pointing | The reasons why babies and toddlers point and the role this plays in moving them towards using first words. |
| March | Nursery World | In the Moment | How to engage young children in meaningful talk in busy settings |
| April | Early Years Educator | Getting to First Words | How we can help toddlers establish their first words |
| May | Early Years Educator | When Words Combine | Supporting children with using two word phrases |
| September | Early Years Educator | Play, gender and talk | Are boys and girls different in the ways they learn to talk? |
| October | Early Years Educator | Conversation starters | How to have a rewarding conversation with young children and those with speech and language delay |
| 2016 | |||
| June | Teach Early Years | Up for discussion | Sharing ideas with young children. |