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Vocabulary

Why is vocabulary important?

The size of a young child’s vocabulary (how many words they know) can show how well they will be able to read as an adult. It has also been linked to learning success at school and even earning potential. 

Helping children to build their vocabulary is really important. Reading is an excellent way of helping a child to develop a broader vocabulary and increase their general knowledge.  Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words which helps them to build their store of vocabulary.  

The more times a child hears a word, the more likely they are to learn it.

Ideas to try when reading books: 

Encourage the child to be a ‘word detective’:

  • Encourage the child to ask what a word means. Praise them if they ask. Explain the meaning of the word and say the word a few times in a few different sentences so they can hear how the word can be used. 
  • Look out for tricky words they may not understand and if they don’t ask about them,  ask them if they know what it means. Look up meanings of words together online.
  • Ask what a ‘word’ might do (action) e.g. aeroplane ’flies’.
  • Ask where (what location) you might find the word i.e. in the zoo/ garden/ sea/ library  etc. “Where would we see a monkey?” in the zoo, “where would we see a daffodil?” in the garden, “where could you find an atlas?” in the library.
  • Look at what category/group a new word may belong to. E.g. ‘what sort of group does a submarine belong to?’ : ‘Food? Transport? Clothing?’. Try to think of other things that belong to the same group or that are similar things (e.g. aeroplane, helicopter, hover craft, jet ski)

 Reading is not the only way to build vocabulary

Listen and look out for new or interesting words on TV, when out and about, or just when people are chatting. E.g. “the doctor said you need a ‘prescription’. That’s a new word, I  wonder what it means...do you know?” and discuss. Use the new word in different sentences, several times and come back to the word again the next day to help the word ‘stick’ in your child’s head. 

Talk about words with more than one meaning : E.g. “a bank is where you keep money but I   know another type of ‘bank’, do you?”

Odd one out game: Collect 3-4 objects/pictures with one of the items being from a different category. The child must identify the “odd one out” and discuss why. E.g. bus/car/dog = dog is the odd one out because its an animal and the others are transport. If this is too easy, use items from the same category e.g. bus/car/plane =  plane is the odd one out as it goes in the sky and the others go on the road.

Silly Stories / songs:  Making up songs (or a rap) about words is a fun way to get words into a child’s memory. Repeat the new word(s) several times in the story/song. Emphasise the new word and relate it to different things within the song e.g. “I heard the loud, loud drum, above the loud, loud stamping feet but the loud, loud talking disappeared”. 

Clap out words : Words with more than one beat/syllable can often be misheard. This makes it hard for a child to learn the sound pattern of the word and consequently hard to learn the word. Clap out the syllables and emphasise the sounds at the beginning of each syllable as you say them. E.g. “e-va-po-rate” = 4 syllables, “trans-port” = 2 syllables.

Make silly words : How many words, even nonsense (not real) words, can you sound out to go with the new words you come across? E.g. ‘Blossom’ - flossom, clossum, possum. Help the child decide if they are real or nonsense.

Introduce a ‘Word of the Day’ : Use the word as many times as you can during the day. Use new words in lots of sentences, go over it again and again the next day.  We want the words to stick!

Guessing game : Using lots of pictures laid out face down, take turns to pick one up to describe. Players get to keep pictures if they guess what they are from the description being given by the other player. Make it fun by ensuring the ‘describer’ is not allowed to name the thing they are trying to describe. Try to use clues like ‘what it does’, ‘where you find it’, ‘how it feels when you touch it’ (E.g. hard, soft, bumpy, squidgy)  as well as ‘what it looks like’, ‘what parts does it have’ etc.

Create a word wall (or scrapbook): Write each new word the child  learns on a piece of  paper and stick them somewhere visible (on the fridge, wall in their bedroom or scrapbook). Talk about words regularly to help them sink in and consolidate your child’s understanding of them.

Use the word as many times as you can : Whilst chatting with your child, pick up on a word that has come up recently and try to use it as many times as you can in the conversation. ‘Look at those ducks, aren’t they fascinating.  That one is standing on one leg.  Flamingoes do that, they’re fascinating too, they’re so tall and elegant and such an unusual colour, really fascinating animals’.