VOCABULARY – Improve My Child’s Spelling and Vocabulary (Part 1)
TutorGiant
A strong vocabulary is paramount for the development of reading and writing skills. The more a student is exposed to words, the better the chances he or she will have in becoming a better reader and writer.
There are several ways that you can help your child improve his or her vocabulary.
Read and Read Some More!
Get your child to read a variety of different texts. Different genres and types of text offer your child a wider variety of words. For example, a book about science, an historical fiction story, a magazine article, and a graphic novel each contain specific words for their respective genre and format. That is, your child will be exposed to science vocabulary when reading a book about space. He will learn new words about society, politics, and culture when reading an historical book, and perhaps some slang while reading a graphic novel.
Show Your Child How to Use Context Clues.
When your child is reading and he/she comes across an unfamiliar word, your child can use a strategy to find out the meaning of the word without resorting to a dictionary (although using a dictionary is ideal, it's not always practical because it may ruin the flow and enjoyment of reading). Have your child try to use another word in place of the unfamiliar word. If your child's new word makes sense as a replacement, then he/she can infer what the unfamiliar word means. Your child can also get an idea about the unfamiliar word by determining whether or not the word is a noun, verb, adjective, etc...
This is a great resource for students who have difficulty remembering new words. Have your child write new words (i.e. words that he or she has just learned) in a notebook. Have your child periodically look at the notebook. Even if your child doesn't look at the notebook to review his or her words, the act of writing the words down improves his/her vocabulary. Writing down a new word helps your child with future spelling and word recognition.
Get a Thesaurus
A thesaurus will help your child find other words that mean the same thing. This is a great tool for developing a wider vocabulary and learning spelling. I have often had students who purchase a pocket-sized thesaurus (I'm referring to the ones that are actually small enough to fit in a pocket!) and use it in class.
Good Old Fashioned Dictionary
Although tedious, a dictionary is still the best tool for finding new words. Your child's spelling will improve dramatically when he or she learns how to use a dictionary properly. Students will learn the correct spelling, capitalization, syllabic division, pronunciation, synonyms and antonyms, and obviously the meaning of words when using a dictionary.
Online dictionaries and dictionaries found in word processing programs are also easy and fun for students to use and, they help your child improve spelling and vocabulary skills.
Try to get your child to use one or several of these vocabulary-building techniques and you will see a dramatic improvement in your child's vocabulary skills.
