{"id":2455,"date":"2016-08-18T16:46:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T20:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/?page_id=2455"},"modified":"2026-02-11T03:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T08:12:11","slug":"receptive-language","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/receptive-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Receptive Objects and Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once your child is good at matching, you\u2019re ready to begin working on language skills.\u00a0We will begin with \u201creceptive\u201d language skills. Receptive language refers to the ability to understand what other people say. <\/strong>We call it \u201creceptive language\u201d because the child is receiving the language, rather than producing it. The purpose of this part of the module\u00a0is to teach your child to understand the words you are saying. Your child will learn to show you that he understands words by touching the object or picture that you have named. Or he can point to it or hand it to you. \u00a0So, for example, if your child has a cup, a shoe, and a block in front of him, and you say the word shoe, he will point to the shoe. If you say the word cup, he will point to the cup, and so on.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll begin with single words that refer to objects and animals. Then we\u2019ll add the names of familiar people, actions, body parts, colors and shapes.<\/p>\n

Receptive Objects and Animals<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First, we\u2019re going to work on teaching the child to understand the words for common things. It\u2019s always important to teach skills that are useful and meaningful for your child. You should pick things that will be important, everyday words. Try to start with words for things that fall into the categories of food, clothing, vehicles, furniture and animals. You can also begin with words for common household objects, like toothbrush, comb, spoon, fork, plate, cup, T.V., and stove. Here is a sample list of words to teach, by category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Food\/Drink<\/strong><\/td>\nAnimals<\/strong><\/td>\nClothing<\/strong><\/td>\nVehicles<\/strong><\/td>\nFurniture\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nMiscellaneous<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Apple<\/strong><\/td>\nDog<\/strong><\/td>\nSock<\/strong><\/td>\nCar<\/strong><\/td>\nTable<\/strong><\/td>\nCup<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cheerios<\/strong><\/td>\nCat<\/strong><\/td>\nShirt<\/strong><\/td>\nTruck<\/strong><\/td>\nChair<\/strong><\/td>\nSpoon<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cookie<\/strong><\/td>\nCow<\/strong><\/td>\nShoe(s)<\/strong><\/td>\nAirplane<\/strong><\/td>\nCouch<\/strong><\/td>\nPuzzle<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bread<\/strong><\/td>\nHorse<\/strong><\/td>\nPants<\/strong><\/td>\nTrain<\/strong><\/td>\nBed<\/strong><\/td>\nScissors<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yogurt<\/strong><\/td>\nBird<\/strong><\/td>\nShorts<\/strong><\/td>\nBoat<\/strong><\/td>\nDresser<\/strong><\/td>\nToothbrush<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hamburger<\/strong><\/td>\nElephant<\/strong><\/td>\nDress<\/strong><\/td>\nBus<\/strong><\/td>\nDesk<\/strong><\/td>\nPencil<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Banana<\/strong><\/td>\nGiraffe<\/strong><\/td>\nCoat<\/strong><\/td>\nHelicopter<\/strong><\/td>\nStool<\/strong><\/td>\nCrayon<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cheese<\/strong><\/td>\nPig<\/strong><\/td>\nBoots<\/strong><\/td>\nVan<\/strong><\/td>\nBench<\/strong><\/td>\nPaper<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Milk<\/strong><\/td>\nSheep<\/strong><\/td>\nGloves<\/strong><\/td>\nMotorcycle<\/strong><\/td>\nBookshelf<\/strong><\/td>\nHairbrush<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Juice<\/strong><\/td>\nRabbit<\/strong><\/td>\nHat<\/strong><\/td>\nTractor<\/strong><\/td>\nCabinet<\/strong><\/td>\nComb<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

A Word of Warning About Adding “Toys” as a Category<\/h2>\n

Even though you might think of toys as a great category, it\u2019s best in the beginning to stick with toys that are not used for pretending. So, puzzle and ball, for example might be good. But it would be best to stay away from toy animals, dolls and doll furniture, toy vehicles, etc., These can be used for pretending, and can be confusing. When you say \u201ccar\u201d do you mean the real car or a toy car? Is it a vehicle or a toy? It\u2019s better in the beginning to use pictures of real objects and animals or the objects themselves, and then you can work on the toys that look like them later.<\/p>\n

Finding Pictures<\/h2>\n

You can find these pictures very easily on the Internet using Google or another search engine. Pictures on this module and all the other modules are downloaded from public domain pictures, so feel free to copy or download them and use them for teaching your child. You\u2019ll need these same pictures for other programs later on, such as the \u2018Categories\u2019 Teaching Program, so be sure to save them. If you can laminate them or cover them with plastic sheeting from an office supply store, they\u2019ll last a lot longer!<\/p>\n

Choose Words From Different Categories<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s another important point. When deciding which three words you will start with, you should choose words from different categories. This should help your child learn the words more quickly than he would learn new words from a single category. For example, you could work on Cheerios (or \u201cO\u2019s\u201d), cat, and car together, but not Cheerios, crackers, and cookies. That would be harder because those things are similar. But \u2013 there will be a few exceptions to that rule. The exceptions to this will be colors, shapes, people\u2019s names, and action words, which we\u2019ll talk about soon.<\/p>\n

Choose Words That Will Be Meaningful to Your Child<\/h3>\n

When you teach the words for animals and objects, try to use words that will be most important for your child. For a child who has an interest in vehicles, you would want to include some vehicles, like car, train or airplane. For a child who lives on a farm, has a pet, or just likes animals, you might want to teach the names of some animals early on. The child will learn better using materials in which he is interested. Almost every child has favorite foods and drinks, and all children wear clothes and use furniture. So, a typical starter list of the first ten words to introduce might be like this:<\/p>\n

Begin with:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Cookie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dog\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Car<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Then add the following, one at a time:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Bed<\/li>\n
    • Cup<\/li>\n
    • Shoe<\/li>\n
    • Milk<\/li>\n
    • Spoon<\/li>\n
    • Shirt<\/li>\n
    • Cat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      You Can Use Pictures or Objects for this Teaching Program<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      One good thing about pictures is that your child is less likely to want to play with them. And pictures show real animals, vehicles, furniture, and other large items. Also, pictures are easier to store and handle compared to real objects. If your child is good at matching pictures to objects, this can be a good way for him to learn and understand the names of these things. But use your judgment and try out both pictures and objects to determine which method works best for your child. In this program, we’ll describe the procedure using pictures. You can follow the same steps with objects.<\/p>\n

      Teaching Receptive Objects and Animals<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Start by placing three pictures of different objects on the table in front of your child. As with some of the teaching programs we\u2019ve talked about so far, it\u2019s best simply to use the name of the object as the instruction. For example, say you have placed pictures of a cup, a bed, and a train in front of your child. Label one of the pictures, for example, say, \u201cBed.\u201d Then prompt him to touch the picture of the bed by moving his hand to the picture of the bed. Or you can prompt by pointing to the picture of the bed. And, of course, remember to reward your child with praise and maybe even a little treat if you think he might like that. Later, you can use a little longer instruction like \u201cTouch bed,\u201d or \u201cPoint to bed.\u201d But it\u2019s best to save these longer instructions for after your child has learned the word for object you are teaching.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Place three pictures of different objects on the table in front of your child.<\/li>\n
      • Give a clear and simple instruction. For example, \u201cBed\u201d or \u201cTouch bed\u201d.<\/li>\n
      • Use a prompt you think will work. You will use smaller prompt over time.<\/li>\n
      • Reinforce your child for touching or pointing to the correct picture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n