Language Around the World

Ages 6 to 8, Grades 1 to 3

Discover fascinating facts about communication in all its forms, from around the world and over time

Engaging factual writing introduces young readers to the most interesting aspects of languages, how they evolve and change over time.

Humans’ use of language is one of our distinguishing features. Language allows us to communicate what we think, what we want, what we feel, and what we have learned. Some 100,000 years ago, humans began speaking. Since then, we have developed nearly 7000 languages. Languages are living things; they evolve and change over time. They even travel! People carry their language with them and spread it. Large language families even have their own family trees, such as Spanish, French, English. Different languages can be mixed and combined to create new languages with similar words, pronunciation, and grammar rules. Languages can even become extinct if they are not shared and learned by each new generation. Spoken languages are not the only way we communicate. Sign language, Morse code, semaphore, smoke signals, computer codes - humans have invented numerous ways of communicating. Sharing feelings, thoughts, and ideas through the power of language is an essential part of being human.

About the Author

EL Education is a national non-profit partnering with K-12 educators to transform public schools and districts into hubs of opportunity for all students to achieve excellent equitable outcomes and apply their unique genius to the world. We are guided by a vision of education equity and student potential, by a reimagined definition of student achievement, and offers research-proven resources and practices, including the acclaimed EL Education K-8 Language Arts curriculum, Core Practices, and aligned professional learning. EL Education was founded in 1991 and currently serves 440,000 students in

diverse communities across the country.