Vocabulary

Help your child to build their vocabulary! Kids with a large vocabulary understand more of what they read and hear.

So big vocabulary=big learning!

Exploring new words on a regular basis is one of the best ways parents can support learning at home.

Here are some things you can try at home.

1. Notice new words when you’re reading or listening. Talk about the importance of a large vocabulary and make an effort to learn new words.
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. Teach kids to locate words in the dictionary when they are able or use an online resource…
3. But focus on kid-friendly definitions and examples of new words rather than complicated dictionary-style definitions
4. Learn common roots, prefixes and suffixes to SUPER SIZE vocabulary knowledge. When you learn one word part, you’ll begin to easily recognise many more words with the same word parts.
5. Interact with the words in some way. Draw their meaning. Act them out. Make them come alive so you’ll remember them.
6. Relate words to real life experiences. Make them meaningful and make connections with new vocabulary.
7. Read. A lot! Read all sorts of books, signs on the wall, directions, recipes… A wide variety of reading material will expose kids to a wide variety of new words.