If you have a 5-year-old, you probably already know how much they love to talk, ask questions, and share their big ideas. At this age, kids are like little sponges, soaking up new words and learning how to express themselves in exciting ways. But how do you know if your child’s speech and language skills are on track? Don’t worry—Use this speech and language checklist to understand how your 5-year-old is growing their speech and language skills!
This simple speech and language checklist for 5-year-olds will guide you in spotting key milestones, knowing when extra support might help and what you can do at home. Every child develops at their own pace, but if you have any concerns, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) can assess your child and provide guidance to support their progress.
Understanding Words & Commands for a 5-year-old
Receptive language is children understand words and what people say to us. It helps children follow directions, learn new things, and have conversations with others. Without it, talking and learning could be much harder!
Receptive language checklist for 5-year-old
- Follows three-step directions (e.g., “Pick up your shoes, put them by the door.”)
- Understand directions with before/after (e.g., “Before you brush your teeth, put on your pajamas.”)
- Answers who, what, where, and why questions with more abstract meaning (e.g., “Why do we wear a coat?”)
- Sorts objects into categories (e.g., “Which ones are animals?”)
- Understands basic opposites (e.g., big/small, fast/slow, hot/cold)
- Recognizes and names colors and shapes
- Understand spatial concepts (e.g., next to, between, behind)
- Understands more advanced time concepts like today, yesterday, and tomorrow
- Listens to and understands short stories
- Identifies basic emotions in others (e.g., happy, sad, angry)
- Detects absurdities (e.g., “A cat says woof!” → They recognize this as wrong.)
Receptive language activities with your 5-year-old
- Give increasingly complex multi-step instructions day to day – Start with two-step and increase to three-step directions (e.g., “Pick up your toy, put it in the box, and clap your hands.”)
- Set up an obstacle course around the house or yard, and give instructions on how to navigate it (e.g., “Hop over the pillow, crawl under the table, then jump to the next room.”).
- Play “Simon Says” – Focus on following multi-step commands (e.g., “Touch your nose, then jump!”)
- Sort and categorize objects by specific attributes (e.g., category, size, color, or shape) – “Find all the animals” or “Which ones can we eat?”
- Read books together – Ask descriptive questions about the images (e.g., “Can you point to the dog wearing a hat?”).
- Use a family calendar – Help the child understand time concepts like today, yesterday, and tomorrow
💡Parent Pro Tip: Some children who struggle with multi-step instructions may not have an issue understanding the steps but more so with executing multiple steps. This may be due to difficulties with auditory processing, attention deficit or other. It’s always best to check with a professional if you have concerns about your child.
Speaking & Using Words for a 5-year-old
Expressive language is how children use words to share our thoughts, feelings, and ideas with others. It helps children tell stories, ask for what we need, and connect with people. Without it, it would be hard to express themselves and be understood!
Expressive language checklist for 5-year-old
- Uses longer, more complex sentences including adverbs (e.g., “I went to the park and played with my friends.”)
- Uses conjunctions like “and,” “but,” “because” (e.g., “I like cookies because they taste good.”)
- Uses pronouns correctly (e.g., “She is my friend.” instead of “Her is my friend.”)
- Asks a variety of questions (e.g., “What are we having for dinner?”)
- Asks for clarification if something is unclear (e.g., “What does that mean?”)
- Uses “wh-” questions (who, what, where, etc) more frequently and accurately
- Can retell familiar stories or events in their own words
- Describes events in sequence (e.g., “First we went to the beach, then we played in the sand, and last we went home.”)
- Understands the concept of time in storytelling (e.g., using past and future tenses)
Expressive language activities with your 5-year-old
- Encourage storytelling – Ask your child to tell you what happened during the day or make up a story together
- Dress-Up and Role Play: Set up a pretend play scenario (e.g., grocery store, doctor’s office, or restaurant), and encourage your child to take on different roles, such as cashier, customer, or doctor.
- Do Rhyming Games: Play a game where your child has to come up with words that rhyme with a given word (e.g., “cat”—“hat,” “bat,” “rat”).
- Play 20 Questions: Play a game where your child has to think of an object, and you can ask up to 20 yes/no questions to guess what it is.
- Play Imagination Games: Encourage your child to use their imagination to come up with stories or ideas, such as “What would you do if you could fly?” or “If you had a pet dinosaur, what would it eat?”
- Read books together –
- Ask open ended questions (e.g. “What happened first?” or “Who was in the story?”) and help them add details
- Ask comprehension questions about the story: “Who was in the story?” “What happened first?” “Where did the story take place?”
- Feelings Talk: Ask your child how they feel about different situations or events (e.g., “How did you feel when we went to the park today?”).
Speech Clarity & Social Interaction for a 5-year-old
A child can speak but speaking with clarity means others can understand them easily. Good speech helps in making friends, answering questions, and sharing ideas. It’s important because when a child speaks clearly, they can connect better with people and feel more confident in social situations.
Speech clarity checklist for 5-year-old
- Speech is mostly clear, 90-95% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners with minimal need for repetition
- Common substitutions like w for r or l for y should be largely absent.
- Produces most sounds correctly but may still struggle with r and th
- Speaks with a natural rhythm and intonation with minimal stuttering
💡Parent Pro Tip: Since most children should be highly intelligible at 5 years old, if you have concerns, it is best to speak to a speech and language pathologist to understand if there are issues that a need to be addressed and ensure there are no educational impacts due to your child’s speech impediments. Note down any observations to share with the clinician and help during an assessment.
Speech clarity activities with your 5-year-old
- Give plenty of time to respond – Avoid rushing or finishing their sentences (this includes having older siblings avoid doing this too!), even when they hesitate or stutter.
- Read stories loaded with words that are more difficult – Target sound loaded stories help children to get used to hearing specific sounds over and over again and makes it easier for their brain to recognize the sounds.
- Model correct pronunciation naturally – If the child says, “tat” instead of “cat,” say, “Yes, it’s a cat!”
- Leverage articulation apps – although adult speech modelling is best, sometimes you need a break and can leverage articulation apps
- Practice difficult sounds and words with play – Find items in your household with the target word with “I Spy” or leverage everyday items to play articulation games for more difficult words
- Use a mirror for mouth movements – Help the child see how their mouth moves for different sounds
- Robot Talk – Break words into syllables (e.g., “but-ter-fly”), clap each syllable and say them in a robotic voice to help your child hear and say all the parts.
- Rhyming Words – Play rhyming games where your child has to say words that rhyme with a given word (e.g., “cat—bat—hat”).
- Echo Game – Say a word or phrase clearly and have your child echo it back exactly as you said it.
- Praise effort, not just accuracy – “Great job trying that word!” instead of just correcting mistakes
Social interaction and Conversational checklist for 5-year-old
- Engages in back-and-forth conversations by answering questions, asking relevant follow-up questions, and expressing ideas, without dominating the conversation
- Takes turns talking and stays on topic in group activities
- Enjoys pretend play and role-playing
- Tells jokes and enjoys and understands wordplay, like puns or playful teasing.
- Recognizes basic social cues (e.g., tone of voice, body language) and adjusts speech accordingly (e.g., uses a quieter voice in a library).
- Identifies emotions and responds to others’ feelings appropriately (e.g., “I think you are sad because you lost your toy.”, saying “sorry” when they hurt someone’s feelings).
- Uses greetings and farewells and uses language appropriately for different social situations (e.g., “Excuse me” when interrupting, “Hello, how are you?” and “Goodbye, see you later!”)
Social Interaction and Conversational Activities with your 5-year-old
- “Would You Rather?” : Ask fun questions like:
- “Would you rather fly like a bird or swim like a fish?”
- “Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet unicorn?”
- Story Chain : One person starts a story with a sentence, and the next person adds to it. Example:
- You: “Once upon a time, a little cat found a magic hat.”
- Child: “The hat made him fly into the clouds!”
- “My favorite food is…”
- “I like to play…”
- “Something funny that happened today was…”
- Play board games – Board games and interactive activities teach waiting and responding
- Pass the Ball : Sit in a circle and pass a ball while taking turns to talk. The rule: Only the person holding the ball can speak! You can use prompts like:
- “What Would You Do?” : Present social dilemmas and ask, “What would you do?”
- Pretend Store : Set up a small pretend shop where your child has to ask for items, negotiate prices, and say “thank you!”
- You: “What’s your favorite animal?”
- Child: “My favorite animal is a tiger!”
- Simon Says Conversations : Before your child can answer, they must listen to your question and repeat part of it.
- Build Together : Work on a puzzle or build a tower together while taking turns.
- Team Treasure Hunt : Hide objects and give clues, encouraging teamwork and problem-solving.
- Leverage educational social skill apps – it’s best for parents to set an example, sometimes though you need a break and can wisely use social skills apps to help
In conclusion, tracking your 5-year-old’s speech and language with a checklist is an important step in ensuring they’re on the right path to clear communication and social success.
Most kids develop at their own pace, but if you notice your child is struggling with many of the things on this list, it might be a good idea to talk to a speech-language pathologist. They can help figure out if your child needs a little extra support.
Remember, the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy this special time with your 5-year-old. They’re growing so fast, and every day is a new adventure in learning and talking!
Keep chatting, playing, and exploring together—you’re doing an amazing job helping your child grow! 🌟
