Wiley Wednesday
Teaching and Learning
A Wealth of Words
Research suggests that kids with a broad vocabulary are able to understand more of what they read and hear. Readers use knowledge about words to help them make sense of what they're reading. The more words a reader knows, the more they are able to comprehend what they're reading or listening to. A BIG vocabulary = BIG learning! Exploring new words on a regular basis at home is one of the best ways parents can support vocabulary acquisition!
Tips for Boosting Your Child's Vocabulary Knowledge
2. Talk about what to do when we discover unknown words. (Hint: Don’t just skip them.) Try using context clues or use another resource to find the meaning. Model this process for your child. When you come across a word that you don’t know, point it out to your child. Describe to him/her how you were able to determine its meaning.
3. Ditch the dictionary! When defining a new words for your child, focus on providing kid-friendly definitions and examples of the new words rather than complicated dictionary-style definitions. Better yet, work with your child to come up with his/her own examples.
4. Provide concrete examples of new words. As you are teaching your child new words, it is important to help visualize them. For nouns, show your child a picture of it by searching online, or showing a picture in a book or magazine. If it is an adjective, find things that can be described using the word.
5. Interact with the words. Have your child draw their meaning, act them out, or tell a story using the new words. If you make the new words come alive, your child is more likely to remember them.
6. Plan for repeated exposure to new vocabulary words. Typically, a child needs to hear a new word 4 to 12 times before it is added to his/her vocabulary. When you introduce your child to new words, keep a running list. Then over the next few days and weeks, take advantage of opportunities to use the new vocabulary words in conversation. It is also important to also use words in a variety of different contexts if applicable.
7. Focus on learning the right kinds of words. Pick words that are more complex or descriptive versions of common words that kids already know. (For example, descriptive adjectives and verbs.) Also, focus on technical words kids need in order to understand a concept or a task that they are currently learning about.
8. SUPER SIZE vocabulary knowledge. Learn common roots, prefixes and suffixes to increase your child's vocabulary. When you learn one word part, you’ll begin to easily recognize many more words with the same word parts.
ex.) learn, learner, learning, learned
care, careful, caregiver, careless