What your child will discover
Help the child understand communication as a process involving a sender, message, channel, receiver, interpretation, context, and feedback.
Lesson 232 of 300
What Is Communication?
Understand communication as sending, receiving, interpreting, and responding to messages through speech, sign, writing, images, movement, touch, sound, and technology.
4–5 yearsEarth, Society & How Things WorkAdult guided
Earth, Society & How Things Work · KnowledgeForKids.com
Listen together · adult controls the audio
The spoken lesson
"Communication happens when a message is expressed, carried, received, interpreted, and answered. A sender creates the message. A channel may be speech, sign, gesture, writing, picture, sound, touch, or technology. A receiver interprets the message, and feedback helps check understanding. Noise, missing information, different languages, emotions, or device problems can create misunderstandings. We can say, 'Please show me again,' or 'Do you mean this?' People communicate in different ways, and eye contact is not required for listening. Communication works when messages are expressed, received, checked, and understood." DESIGN REQUIREMENTS: Represent varied communication methods equally. Avoid speech-only scoring, eye-contact requirements, communication hierarchy, secret chat, or recording features.
Words to notice together
COMMUNICATIONSENDERMESSAGECHANNELRECEIVERFEEDBACKCONTEXTLISTEN
Make it real
Pause, point, name what you notice, and connect the idea to something familiar in your child's day. Repetition, a calm voice, shared attention and dependable care matter more than finishing quickly.