Words are the building blocks of a language. Without words, we wouldn’t be able to speak or communicate our thoughts, opinions, needs, and wants to others. Words are how we can express ourselves meaningfully and communicate with others precisely. Speaking is integral to our everyday lives, so children must know several different words to express themselves correctly. This is where an expansive vocabulary comes into play. A vocabulary filled with a wide and varied range of words helps children express themselves properly and also understand what others are saying clearly.
Teaching words to children from a young age is extremely important. It is the first step to developing their language skills. But just teaching words for kids is not enough; they should also know how to use the words correctly to form meaningful sentences. This helps the listener or the audience interpret the words correctly and understand them. This ensures that there is no miscommunication and misunderstanding, which helps the child communicate effectively with others.
Along with communicating, knowledge of words is also directly related to their learning and academic achievement. A large vocabulary is a precursor to good reading skills and also helps the children understand the information in the text. When the children understand what they are reading or writing, it helps them retain the information better. This reading comprehension improves their academic performance too. But how do you help children learn words and build a strong vocabulary? Here are 5 fun ways to help your children learn new words and improve their vocabulary.
5 Fun Vocabulary Building Activities for Children
Try these awesome vocabulary-building activities with your children to help them learn new words and use them too.
Word of the day: When the kids are small, you can’t bombard them with a huge list of words and expect them to remember the words. Introduce them to words at a short pace, start with one word at a time to help them learn words easily. This is also a great method to help kids learn difficult and rare words like 4 letter words ending in q, which make a great addition to their vocabulary. So, introduce the children to one word per day. Help your children understand what the word means and use it in sentences to help them learn to use the words. Then ask them to come up with new sentences using the word. This helps the children retain the words in their memory easily.
Reading: Reading is one of the easiest ways to help children learn new words and build an expansive vocabulary. Give your children age-appropriate books to read and read along with them. If they stop at an unfamiliar word, help them read the word by breaking it down into easy-to-pronounce syllables. Then, help your child understand what the word means. Also, use it in other sentences to help your child learn to use the word correctly.
Word puzzles: Word puzzles are a fun activity to help children learn new words. Ask your child to find words in a word search puzzle. This activity not only helps children learn new words, but it also helps them learn to spell the words correctly too. As the child hunts for the word letter by letter, the child learns how to spell the word.
Labeling things: A great vocabulary-building activity for little kids is to ask them to help you label different things. This is also a great activity to boost their spelling skills. Ask kids to identify different things in your kitchen or in their room. Then ask them to write the names of these objects and stick the labels on the objects. For example, flour, oranges, carrots, bowls, toys, etc.
Word hunt: A word hunt is a fun game to help children learn new words. Make a list of words and hand your children a newspaper or magazine. Then ask them to hunt for and underline the words in the list in the newspaper or magazine. Each time they find the word, ask them to read it aloud and spell the word. Not only will this activity help improve their vocabulary, but it also boosts their observation skills too.
