LSL Strategies

Help Me But Don't Tell Me means you'll provide clues to give your child the opportunity to think and use their reasoning to grow their listening and language skills.

Sometimes the best way to learn is by doing. Instead of telling them all the answers, give them clues to help them think and problem solve to discover the answer on their own.

For this strategy you could provide different kinds of clues or information like:

  • Label the category
  • Provide a rhyming word
  • Suggest an opposite
  • Use a describing word

The goal is to promote your child's listening and thinking skills to help them connect pieces of information they know, which expands and enhances their knowledge of language.

What It Looks Like

  • Label by category, provide information, and ask for an answer.
    • "This is an animal that lives on the farm. It gives us milk. And it has horns. Do you know what it is?"
    • If your child doesn't guess correctly, try again and use a different clue based on what they know. "It says moooooo."
  • Use rhyming words or opposites to help your child guess.
    • "Oh, this is a little animal that rhymes with house and starts with an /m/. Do you know what it is?"
  • Give examples from the same category.
    • "Listen, apple, banana, orange. What group do they belong to?"
    • If they can't guess, help them by providing choices: "Are they animals or fruits?"
Icon for Help Me But Don't Tell Me LSL Strategy

When you use Help Me But Don't Tell Me, you're building your child's confidence in their listening and language skills and stimulating independent thinking.

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