Story time is one of the best opportunities to build social communication. When adults and children read together, they practice turn-taking, commenting, and shared attention. These early interaction skills support conversation and connection.

This month’s Book Bingo challenge focuses on using story time to build social language skills.

Books about love, families, and relationships create natural opportunities for interaction and back-and-forth communication.

Download the Book Bingo and start using it with your students this week.

Using Book Bingo to Build Social Language

Reading together naturally encourages interaction.

When adults comment instead of asking questions, children are more likely to participate and stay engaged.

Try practicing the “Make Comments” strategy when reading books this month.

Instead of leading the conversation with questions, “What’s that?” or “Where are they going?”, make a comment instead, “Cute puppy” or “They’re hugging”.

Next, use that skill of wait time to allow your child to initiate a conversation.

Will they make a comment on their own?

Do they ask you questions?

Books provide a great opportunity to practice joint attention and turn-taking, which lead to the development of social skills.

Tip: Read the same book several times this month. There may be more back-and-forth conversations when the pictures and story are familiar.

Simple Ways to Use Book Bingo to Support Home Practice

Encourage families to use these simple interaction strategies during reading:

Highlight relationships by talking about families, friends, and caring moments. If the little boy in the book loves his stuffed teddy bear, parents can include their child’s favorite stuffed animal when reading. Act out the actions throughout the story.

Practice imitation by giving hugs and kisses to family pets for favorite stuffies. Will the child imitate the actions?

Help older kids make their own book of things that they love. Draw or cut and paste pictures of people, foods, toys, or anything of high interest. This counts as a book too, so find a square that fits to check it off.