Vocabulary is essential in helping children understand what they read and hear. For children who are lacking in their vocabulary knowledge, you may observe the following:
- He/she tends to use non-specific phrases such as “that/this one” when describing something.
- He/she misuses common words.
- He/she struggles to recount his/her day in a coherent manner.
- He/she often uses the same word repeatedly in his/her writing.
To help children learn new vocabulary and remember it, try to use a variety of strategies and repeat it in different settings. It is also important to note that these novel words/concepts have to be introduced meaningfully, and when the child is already focusing their attention on a specific activity or object. Some useful strategies could be to:
- Define words verbally. For example, “Weary is when someone is feeling tired.”
- Give real-life examples or comparisons. For example, “Smooth is what the apple you ate in the morning feels like!”
- Use words to describe relational and categorical concepts. For example, “Both apples and oranges are fruits. What else is a fruit?”
- Demonstrate concepts with actions and/or props. For example, “This is a whisk! You use it to mix ingredients together when you’re baking” and act out the motion of using a whisk.
- Introduce new words as synonyms of simple words in a meaningful context. For example, “Look at this tiny egg! It is so small that it’s almost the size of a coin!”