Core Word: Want

Week 2, April 20: Core vs Fringe words

I will be introducing a new core vocabulary word for you to practice with your child at home. Core vocabulary is is very important to your child's language development and will help decrease frustration as they gain more core words in their vocabulary.

Core Vocabulary

• High frequency words that can be used in a variety of situations and with various communication partners

• Make up about 75-80% of the words we use everyday

• You cannot form a sentence without using core words

• You can create a sentence using only core words

• Often more difficult to visualize

• Usually includes pronouns, helping verbs, prepositions, articles, and common verbs

• Examples include – I, he/she, like, play, have, on, open, help, more, can, do, it

• Sentences using only core vocabulary – “I like to play”, “I need help”, “you can do it”

Fringe Vocabulary

• Words more specific to a situation – mostly nouns

• Cannot be used across a variety of situations

• Cannot form a sentence with only fridge words

• Can visualize the fringe vocabulary words

• Examples include “pig”, “school”, “teacher”, “pizza”, “TV”, “dinosaurs”

Fringe Vocabulary vs. Core Vocabulary: Fringe words are often easier to teach because you can picture the item in your mind; however, core words are going to be more flexible to use across environments and communication partners. Since we don’t just speak using fringe vocabulary, it is important to focus on teaching the core words even though it can be more challenging.