Communication Milestones: Primary Age (ICAN) Flashcards
What are the milestones for ‘attention, listening and understanding’ for ages 4-5 years? x4
- Knows to look at who’s talking and think about what they’re saying.
- Listens to and understands instructions about what they are doing
- Understands 2/3 part spoken
instructions. - Can answer a ‘How’ or ‘Why’
question.
What are the milestones for ‘vocabulary’ for ages 4-5 years? x3
- Understands a range of related
words to describe concepts:
e.g. soon, early and late. - Knows words can be put into
groups and can give common
examples in them:
e.g. Animals: dog, cat, horse. - Uses words more specifically to
make the meaning clearer:
e.g. “I saw a funny monkey. It was a spider monkey.
What are the milestones for ‘speech sounds, grammar and sentence building’ for ages 4-5 years? x3
- Says words clearly although may struggle with a few complex speech sounds, consonant blends or words with lots of syllables:
e.g. ‘Wabbit’ for ‘rabbit’, ‘sketti’ for ‘spaghetti.’ - Uses well-formed sentences:
e.g. “I played with Zoe in the park.”but with some errors e.g. “I falled down.” - Joins phrases with words e.g. if, because, so, could.
What are the milestones for ‘verbal storytelling and narrative’ for ages 4-5 years? x3
- Lists events with some detail:
e.g. “I went nanny’s. I had fat chips for tea. I played games on the pooter.” - Retells favourite stories - using
some of their own words e.g. “……and she said what a nice
mouth you got and the wolf said, ‘I can eat you!’ Gulp!” - Describes events but not always
joined together or in the right order e.g. “I went on the top of the bus with dad. That big slide is scary. We taked the ball as well.”
What are the milestones for ‘conversations and social interactions’ for ages 4-5 years? x3
- Confidently starts and takes
part in individual and group
conversations. - Joins in and organises co-operative role play with friends and can pretend to be someone else talking.
- Uses language to ask, negotiate,
give opinions and discuss ideas
and feelings:
e.g. Can I take teddy with me? He will be sad by himself.
What are the milestones for ‘attention, listening and understanding’ for ages 5-7 years? x3
- Starts to ignore unimportant information.
- Is aware when a message is unclear and comments or asks for an explanation.
- Understands complex 2/3 part instructions e.g. “Finish your picture from
yesterday then with a partner,
choose one of the topic books.
What are the milestones for ‘vocabulary’ for ages 5-7 years? x3
- Compares words, the way they
look, sound or mean e.g. see and sea - Can guess the word from clues, or give others clues using shape, size, function, etc.
- Uses newly learnt words in a
specific and appropriate way:
e.g. lots of lions together it is called a pride of lions.”
What are the milestones for ‘speech sounds, grammar and sentence building’ for ages 5-7 years? x4
- Speech is clear with occasional
errors, especially with consonant blends. - Good knowledge of sounds in
words. - Asks lots of questions to find out specific information including ‘How’ and ‘Why’.
- Uses different ways to join phrases to help explain or justify an event e.g. “I’m older than you so I will go first.”
What are the milestones for ‘verbal storytelling and narrative’ for ages 5-7 years? x3
- Tells stories that set the scene,
have a basic plot and a sequence of events. - Begins to be aware of what the
listener already knows and checks e.g. “You know where I live, right?Well, in that big house by the
shop…” - Accurately predicts what will
happen in a story.
What are the milestones for ‘conversations and social interactions’ for ages 5-7 years? x4
- Takes turns to talk, listen, and
respond in two-way conversations and groups. - Keeps to a topic but easily
prompted to move on if it takes
over. - Copies others’ language and
begins to be aware of current peer language:
e.g. Copies swear words, says,
‘Cool’, or ‘Yeah right.’ - Uses and experiments with
different styles of talking with
different people.
What are the milestones for ‘attention, listening and understanding’ for ages 7-9 years? x3
- Listens to key information
and makes relevant, related
comments e.g. “So all mammals are warm blooded, have fur or hair and their babies all drink milk.” - Identifies clearly when they
haven’t understood e.g. “What’s maize? - Able to infer meaning, reason and predict: e.g. “It’s getting very hot in here,” means open the window.
What are the milestones for ‘vocabulary’ for ages 7-9 years? x3
- Uses a range of words related to time and measurement e.g. century, calendar, breadth.
- Uses a wide range of verbs to
express their thoughts, or about cause and effect e.g. “I wonder what she’s thinking.” - Joins in discussions about an
activity using topic vocabulary e.g. “I saw some chicken eggs
hatching in the incubator on the
farm last Friday.”
What are the milestones for ‘speech sounds, grammar and sentence building’ for ages 7-9 years? x3
- Speech is clear, uses words with
three sounds together or words
with lots of syllables. - Uses regular and unusual word
endings e.g. walked or fell. - Uses complex grammar and
sentences to clarify, summarise,
explain and plan e.g. “So the bee collects the pollen from the stamen and then flies to another flower and pollinates it.”
What are the milestones for ‘verbal storytelling and narrative’ for ages 7-9 years? x3
- Stories have a good structure with a distinct plot, an exciting event, clear resolution and conclusion e.g. “…and everyone got home safely which was great.”
- Uses intonation to make
storytelling and reports exciting
and interesting. - Adds detail or leaves information out according to how much is already known by the listener.
What are the milestones for ‘conversations and social interaction’ for ages 7-9 years? x4
- Uses formal language when
appropriate in some familiar
situations e.g. Showing a visitor around school. - Understands conversational rules e.g. Looks at listener to judge feedback. Gives more detail if needed.
- Uses tone of voice, stress on words and gestures naturally to add meaning.
- Uses language for full range of
different reasons e.g. complimenting, criticising,
negotiating.
What are the milestones for ‘attention, listening and understanding’ for ages 9-11 years? x4
- Sustains active listening to both
what is said and the way it is said. - Follows longer instructions that
are not familiar e.g. “Put the stripy folder that’s
on top of the cupboard into the
bottom drawer of my desk.” - Understands different question
types e.g. open, closed, rhetorical. - Understands simple jokes and
simple idioms, but can’t really
explain why they are funny or
what they mean: e.g. You can’t have your cake
and eat it.
What are the milestones for ‘vocabulary’ for ages 9-11 years? x3
- Makes choices from a wide and
varied vocabulary:
e.g. ‘Leap’ instead of ‘jump’,
‘terrified’ instead of ‘frightened’. - Uses sophisticated words but the
meaning might not always be
accurate e.g. “My bedroom was meticulous.” - Knows that words can have
two meanings and uses them
appropriately. Can’t always explain
how they are linked:
e.g. ‘Hard’ (rigid object and tough
person).
What are the milestones for ‘speech sounds, grammar and sentence building’ for ages 9-11 years? x4
- Uses long and complex sentence
structures:
e.g. “I will come with you only
because it means you will stop
going on at me.” - Uses questions to help
conversations flow. - Sentences average about 7 to 10
words - longer in stories than in
conversation. - Knows when a sentence is not
grammatically correct and can
explain rules of grammar.
What are the milestones for ‘verbal storytelling and narrative’ for ages 9-11 years? x4
- Tells elaborate entertaining
stories which are full of detailed
descriptions. - Everyday language is detailed and
not always about their immediate
experience. - Incorporates a subplot in telling
stories and recalling events, before
resolving the main storyline. - Uses complex joining words:
e.g. meanwhile, therefore
What are the milestones for ‘conversations and social interactions’ for ages 9-11 years? x3
- Uses different language
depending on where they are, who
they are with and what they are
doing: e.g. Formal style with the
headteacher in school; relaxed and
informal with family at home; and
‘cool’ language with friends in the
park. - Communicates successfully;
shares ideas and information,
gives and receives advice,
and offers and takes notice of
opinions. - Realises when people don’t fully
understand and tries to help them.
