Building a Strong Vocabulary

Developing a strong vocabulary helps with communication, comprehension, and reading ability.   There are many different strategies parents can use to build their children’s vocabulary, even during common, everyday activities.

• Converse with your child frequently.  Don’t be afraid to throw some “bigger,” more complicated words into your speech.
• Encourage children to ask questions about words they don’t know.  Explain the words with proper pronunciation, definition, and even an example or two.
• Have your children tell stories, and ask prompting questions to foster detailed explanations within the stories.
• Play word games.  There are the traditional favorites like “Scrabble” and “Boggle,” but with the amount of educational technology we have at our fingertips, word game apps are a beneficial way to go too.
• Read! Read! Read!  Read to your children, and have your children read to you.  The more children read and hear new words, the more likely they are to use those words in speech and writing.
• Relate new words to ones your children already know.  This helps put words into groups and helps children make connections in the world around them.
• Correct mistakes carefully.  If children mispronounce or misuse words, correct the children in a positive way.  It is easy for a child to feel embarrassed when making such a mistake, so it is helpful to praise your child for attempting to use expanded vocabulary.

At LearnOn! Tutoring, we use many different resources to improve children’s vocabulary.  We encourage students to hear, read, write, and speak newly learned words every day.  We always strive to reinforce an expanding vocabulary, and hope students take it with them into their daily lives.