Vocabulary


Vocabulary: The ability to name, understand, and describe words.

Ideas to facilitate vocabulary development at home are as follows:

All Ages:

  • Practice describing things! Use your five senses and conceptual categories to label things in the environment.
  • Read books or watch videos about unfamiliar topics. Pause when you encounter a new word. Start by asking yourself, “Does this word seem positive (good) or negative (bad)?” Then try to find smaller, more familiar words inside the bigger, unfamiliar word and use context clues to figure out what the word means. If you still don’t know, practice using a resource like an online dictionary to find out the definition, then use the word in a sentence!
  • Check out your google classroom to see what new vocabulary has been posted!

Preschool Age:

  • Play “I spy….” during meal times, bath time, play time, getting dressed, etc.. “I spy something in the bathroom that I use to wash my hair.” The environment gives a natural “location” cue and you can practice naming the function. Ask the child, “What does it do?”
  • Play a game. Alias Jr. is a great game to practice naming and describing. Help the child learn how to categorize by providing cues...Where can I find it? What does it do? What can I do with it? How does it feel? Does it have parts?
  • Find things by their description as you do your daily activities. For example, while getting dressed: find something you wear on your feet. Find something you wear over your legs. Describe them. They are so soft, black, comfortable, etc...

Elementary Age (K-4):

  • Describe things that you can see (or, for an extra challenge, things you can’t see). Identify the features (What does it look like? Where can you find it? What is it made of?), function (What does it do?), and category (Is it an animal? Food? Transportation?). Can someone else guess what you’re describing, based on your clues?
  • Hold a scavenger hunt in your house - see how quickly you can find things, and talk about how categories can help you know where to look. (If you’re looking for a toothbrush, does that belong in the bathroom or the kitchen? How about a spoon?)
  • During snack or lunch time, sample different types of food and describe them using words related to your five senses - especially taste! Is it sweet, salty, or sour? Crunchy or mushy? Rough or smooth?
  • How many colors can you name in 1 minute? What about breakfast foods? Pets? Zoo animals? Sports? Pick a category and make a list!
  • Use words that mean the same thing (synonyms) or words that mean the opposite (antonyms). How many different words can you think of that mean “big”? What’s the opposite of “difficult”?
  • Use curriculum-related vocabulary words in a sentence. Pretend to be the teacher - explain science ideas or teach vocabulary words to a family member or some toys!

Middle School Age: (5-8):

  • Look on your Google Classroom pages to find all the new vocabulary that has been posted! Try to define each term and use it in a sentence.
  • A word a day! When you are reading a book and can’t figure out the meaning of the word, take the time to look it up! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary.

High School Age: (9-12):

  • Watch a clip of a documentary or news (https://www.cnn.com/cnn10) has a great daily news clip) and pause intermittently when a new or less familiar word is said. Look up the definition, use the word in a new sentence and/or find a more common synonym.