There are thousands of words in the English dictionary. To help your child with their communication skills, it’s vital that you introduce them to as many as possible. Reading is one of the fastest ways children can pick up new words as their books have a varied vocabulary and demonstrate how words are used correctly. Below we share teacher recommended tips from a prep school in Richmond that you can use to help your child learn new words.
Introduce Them to New Objects
Introducing your child to new objects, such as a cantaloupe and labelling them is a great way to add new words to their vocabulary. You can also explore their features and words we use to describe them such as sharp, round and pointy to grow the list of adjectives they know
Help with Their Weekly Spellings
You can also help them with their homework. As a part of their English homework, children are set spellings each week that they must remember for their weekly spelling test. To ensure they score top marks and remember these words, you can help your child practice.
Diversify The Words You Use
Regular communication can expand a child’s vocabulary, so try and diversify the words you use to introduce your child to new words and make them a part of their own dictionary.
Play Word Games
Children can be difficult to engage and teach, so you will likely need interactive methods. Word games such as word searches and sudoku puzzles are a fun and easy option to explore. While your child may not know the words they are looking for, they can use the clues and a dictionary to guide them and learn new words in the process.
Creative Writing Activities
Setting your child writing activities will get them thinking about words that best describe what they are trying to say and can help them discover new ones. There are lots of different activities you can set, for example you can have them write a letter to Santa or their head master. Alternatively, think about something that they are really passionate about and go from there.
Journal Writing
Keeping a journal is another good way that children can improve their writing skills, and in turn grow their vocabulary.
With each of these activities it’s important to consider what your child will enjoy and their preferred way of learning as this will be most effective.