Tips to increase your child's vocabulary
Have you ever noticed the rich vocabulary in a picture book? I was struck by this as I was sharing a picture book during storytime. The book noted that the bear lived in a “lair.” I pointed out this word. I said “lair” is a special name for an animal’s home. I had the children (and the adults) repeat the word with me. What I did is an example of building a child’s word consciousness, which is part of building vocabulary. Word consciousness is an awareness of and an interest in words and their meaning.
One research study showed children whose parents read only one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than a child whose parents do not regularly read. It is interesting to consider that a child whose parents read them 5 books a day enters kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than a child who was never read to. This research could potentially explain the differences in vocabulary and reading development in children.
Certainly, kids who hear more words are going to be more prepared to become readers. Think about the quantity of words your child hears and the variety of words. The vocabulary in books is often not the words many of us use everyday. It is more descriptive and sometimes contains complex and unusual words that have special importance to the book.
Fortunately, children are eager and excited to learn new words. A child will learn new words the more he/she hears, sees and engages with them.
8 Tips to boost your child’s vocabulary
- Read often.
Set aside time for one-on-one conversations.- Incorporate new words into your daily routine.
- Talk about a new word and define it. Connect your child’s prior knowledge to the new word.
- Model using a variety of words. For example happy can become cheerful, delighted, overjoyed or pleased.
- Tell stories and read books that introduce new words. Maybe these are books on a new theme or topic – the ocean, rain forests, etc.
- Point out similarities of words.
- Praise your child for using a new word.
