Vocabulary

The Following links and resources are all identified to help grow your child in "Vocabulary".

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"Word Collecting"

Have each family member be on the lookout for interesting words that they heard that day. At dinner or bedtime, have everyone share the word they collected and tell what they think it means. If the child shares an incorrect meaning, guide him/her to the correct meaning. Try to use some of the words in conversation.

"Categories"

Play “categories” with your child. Name a topic such as “farms” and ask your child to think of all the words he/she can related to that topic. This is a great way to build word knowledge!

"Over/Under"

Discuss positional words such as beside, below, under, over, etc. Make it into a game at dinner by asking your child to place his/her fork in different places in relation to his/her plate. Ex: Put your fork above your plate.

"Feelings"

Use a variety of words to describe feelings and emotions. For example, your child says he/she is happy. You can validate that by saying, “I’m so glad you are so joyful today! You sure look happy!”

"Goldilocks Principle"

“Goldilocks Principle”Try not to overdo it. Professor Nell Duke recommends applying the “Goldilocks Principle” when trying to teach your child new words: not too many words at one time and not too few. A rule of thumb is to choose five unfamiliar new words for your child to learn each week. See how often everyone in the family can use those words in everyday conversation.

"Speak with Synonyms"

Speak with Synonyms to your children to introduce new vocabulary: What "enormous" thing can you think of? Can you think of something else that is "really big" that you saw today? That's right that is "huge"! The bulldozer near the park was "enormous"!

Or...

How was recess today? That does sound like "fun". I bet those games were really "entertaining". Recess must have been really "enjoyable". I'm glad you had so much "fun".

"Word of the Week"

“Word of the Week” is a family game-like activity. Each person selects a word taking turns each week. For example, the first week it might be Mother who writes a word on a card and puts it on the refrigerator door. Everyone must use that word as much as possible that week. The next week it’s Dad’s turn, and then the children’s turn, and so on until it is Mother’s turn again. As the words are used, they are posted on a cabinet door to stimulate continued Usage.

"Categorize it!"

For a given word, "Apple" in this example, ask the following questions:

What category is it in? Plant

What do you/does it do? Eat it

How does it look? Red or green, round

What is it made of? A skin on the outside and fruit in the middle

What parts does it have? It has leaves, a stem, fruit, skin and seeds in the middle

Where can you find it? A farm, the store, an apple orchard, the refrigerator

What else do you know? I know that different kinds taste differently and they are really good in pie!

"Ten Questions"

“Ten Questions” is a game that promotes several teaming skills, chief of which is reasoning with words. One family member thinks of something, which the other players must guess with no more than ten questions. The first question always is “Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?” This covers virtually every possible thing the child could think of. Then, question by question, the field is narrowed to likely possibilities. After the first questions, the following questions must be asked so that they can be answered by “yes” or “no.”

For some children, “Ten Questions” might be too demanding, so make it “Twenty Questions. ” One of the values of the extension is that additional reasoning and logic can be expressed. Stretch the game as much as possible. You can show, for example, the process of moving from broad-based questions to more discrete ones. In this way, your child will team to ask questions such as, “Is it located in the Northern Hemisphere?” “Is it in the Western Hemisphere?” “Is it in the United States?” “Is it land based?” and so on. This becomes an exercise not only in vocabulary development but also in geography.

"Sounds the Same"

Sounds the Same Game-Play games with homonyms – words that sound alike but are spelled differently and mean something different, as in “sun” and “son.” Take turns thinking of homonyms. You'll be surprised at how many homonyms you will uncover.

"Mystery Word"

Mystery Word Game- A guessing game can be fun. “I’m thinking of a word that starts with “br” that is something you use to paint a house.” (Brush) “I’m thinking of a word that starts with “tr” that is something we do to the bushes when they get too large.” (Trim)

"Sells Something"

“My Mom/Dad Owns…” Example: “My mom/dad owns a grocery store, and in it he sells something that begins with the letter B. ” If the child does not know the alphabet, letter sounds can be used.

"Revolving Blend Game"

Revolving Blend Game is another family game in which someone gives a common blend-for example, “tr”–and, in sequence around the table or room, everyone must think of a word that begins with that blend-“train, truck, truffle, try, tray, trumpet, truce.” et cetera. When the list is exhausted, the last person begins another blend, such as “st”–“stay, start, stick, stuck, star,” etc.

"Take a Walk"

The “Take a Walk” game is an activity that brings family members together in an enjoyable, relaxing way. It takes at least two people. A walk is taken around the neighborhood or perhaps around a local shopping area. On one trip the focus may be, “Let’s name everything we see that begins with the letter B.” On another walk, it might be naming everything that begins with the letter G. Or everything that is the color purple. You might add an element of fun by saying, “We’ll get one point for every word we name. Let’s see how many points we can get.” (Involves arithmetic as well as vocabulary.)

Activity: "Rhyming Game"

Rhyming Game: A rhyming game is always fun, particularly for young children because they can say any “word,” nonsense or sense. Start with things the child knows, such as parts of his body, and say, “I’m thinking of something on your face that rhymes with (sounds like) rose.” From this point, once your child gets the idea, you can play it just by saying words, such as “what’s a word that rhymes with car?” (jar, bar, star, far, et cetera) “How about a word that rhymes with junk?” (bunk, skunk, trunk-but even runk lunk zunk as nonsense words). Not only does this quick little game build vocabulary, but it also teaches the child some fine-tuning for the sounds of words.

Activity: "Hot Potato Synonyms/Antonyms"

Hot potato (version 1) - Play hot potato with synonyms. Choose a word, and then your child has to think of another word that means the same thing. Take turns until neither player can think of another word. For example, you may say, "Cold," and your child might say, "Freezing." Then you could say, "Chilly," and so on. Try the game again with antonyms (opposites).

Activity: "Above Level Read Alouds"

Read aloud - Continue to read aloud to your child even after he is able to read independently. Choose books above your child's level because they are likely to contain broader vocabulary. This way, you are actually teaching him new words and how they are used in context.

Activity: "Pictionary"

Write down vocabulary words on index cards. Split the family into 2 teams. Take turns choosing words and drawing the word for the other person on your team to guess.

Activity: "Charades"

Write down vocabulary words on index cards. Each family member takes a card and acts it out for the rest of the group.