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.