What I see at home

• She’s unable to tell me about her day in a way that makes sense.
• He doesn’t link words from a book to similar words from another book or in real life.
• She misuses common words.

What I see in the classroom

• She has questions about a lot of word meanings in a grade appropriate text.
• He seems to have a weak vocabulary.
• She is not able to make connections among words in various texts.

What I can do to help

• Engage your child in conversations every day. If possible, include new and interesting words in your conversation.
• Read to your child each day.  When the book contains a new or interesting word, pause and define the word for your child.
• Help build word knowledge by classifying and grouping objects or pictures while naming them.
• Play verbal games and tell jokes and stories.

Learn more about what you can do at home to help your child in the box below! 

What I can do to help in the classroom

• Build language skills through oral and written word exercises and games.
• Provide instruction about the important, useful and difficult words before a student reads a text.
• Offer students many opportunities to encounter target words beyond the context in which they are taught.
• Explicitly teach the meanings of common prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

• Word Chain: Give the child a word and take turns brainstorming words that mean the same thing as the word that was named (e.g., big, huge, large). This can also be played by brainstorming words that are opposites (e.g., big, small, massive, tiny).
• Act it Out: When your child learns a new vocabulary word (at home or at school) have them act out the word’s meaning. (Ex. Can you show what frolicking looks like?)
• 20 Questions: Think of a person, place, or thing and have your child ask questions to identify the item. Then switch!

• Crossword Puzzles: Create crossword puzzles so your child can match words with definitions
• Multiple Meaning Words: As you read with your child, stop, and discuss words with multiple meanings. (Ex. The sentence says The player was on a roll. What does roll mean in that sentence? Can you think of other ways to use the word roll?) This template can help your child show all meanings of the word.
• Prefix/Suffix: Prefixes and suffixes change a base word’s meaning. This activity provides opportunities for your child to analyze these word parts and discuss how they change the base word. (Ex. What happens to respect when we add the prefix dis-?)
• Words in Everyday Places: As you visit familiar places with your child, ask them to analyze words to identify specific word parts that reveal the word’s meaning. (Ex. When visiting the grocery store, discuss the meaning of discount)
• Flip Books: Create flip books with prefixes, root words, and suffixes. Your child can flip between to create new words.
• 20 Questions: You and your child can take turns choosing a word and asking questions to find out what the word is.
• Word Detectives: Every week have a word displayed on your refridgerator and dive in with it! What is the definition? How would you draw it? What is the root? What is the origin? Do you hear other people using the word in your everyday life?
• Visit Reading Rocket’s Website for more activities and ideas