Oral Language: xpanding Your Child' Vocaular

By: West Bloomfield Township Public Library

Talking to your child helps expand vocabulary, develop background knowledge, and inspire a
curiosity about the world all of which help with learning to read! Here are some simple
activities you can do at home to get your child ready to read.
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What reading experts say

Reading and talking with children plays an important role in developing their vocabulary.
Typically, more words are used in written language than in spoken language. The more you
read to children, the larger vocabulary they will develop. Research has shown children learn
new words by:
Hearing a word over and over.
Hearing words spoken by the important people in their lives: Mom, Dad, siblings,
grandparents.
Hearing words in a meaningful context during conversation at dinner, in the car, while
playing and while reading.
"Rephrase and extend your child's words, ask a clarifying question (tell me more about the
man you saw), model more complex vocabulary or sentence structure (yes, I see the tall
skyscraper you built with lots of windows), and ask openended questions," says Susan Hall
and Louisa Moats of Straight Talk About Reading.

What good readers know

Good readers have a diverse vocabulary. They ask questions when they are unclear about
what a word means, they use the context of a conversation or the happenings in a book to

decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words and they use varied vocabulary in referring to
familiar objects (this bird is big, but this elephant is gigantic).

What parents can do to help children 'grow up reading'

1. Create or learn songs to expand your child's vocabulary. Use songs to describe your
daily routines, periodically adding new verses that include new vocabulary words.
2. Read stories such as The Three Bears or Three Billy Goats Gruff. Act out the stories
using small, medium and large stuffed animals. Find other items in your home that are
large, medium and small. Ask your child to classify the items according to size.
3. Play "I Spy" with your child using words that describe an object's position. ("I spy
something on the carpet, in front of the couch, next to the dog.") Expand this activity
by playing "Simon Says" using directional words. ("Simon says put your hand above
your head.")
4. Keep a journal. Spend some time every night discussing your activities from the day.
Introduce new vocabulary words by elaborating on the day's activities. Write down your
child's impressions of the day.

Bonus activities
1. "The Picky Puppet"
Using a favorite puppet, explain that the puppet is picky he only likes things that
start with a certain letter. For example, "he only likes things that start with the letter
T." Give your child some examples of things that begin with the letter. Then have your
child look around the house (or around the neighborhood during a walk) and tell you
things that begin with that letter. Introduce a new letter for the puppet to be picky
about each day.
2. When learning about writing letters of the alphabet, give your child many opportunities
to write or trace letters in a variety of media. Use a sand table to trace letters, write
letters in shaving cream or finger paint, make letters out of play dough and pipe
cleaners.
3. Create a "spinning wheel" using two cardboard circles of different sizes and a brass
fastener. On the outer wheel write uppercase letters on the inner wheel write lower
case letters. Punch holes in the center of each circle and fasten them together. Have
your child spin the wheel to practice matching upper and lower case letters.
4. Make an alphabet caterpillar by writing each letter of the alphabet on a circle and
having your child put the caterpillar together in alphabetical order. Attach two pipe
cleaners to the "A" circle to make the caterpillar's head.

Great books to read

Alphabet books are useful because they:
Support oral language development
Help children learn letter sequence
Help children associate a sound with a letter
Can help children build vocabulary
(from Phonics from A to Z: a practical guide, Blevins, 1998)

The links below to Amazon.com are provided for your convenience. A portion of your
purchase helps support Reading Rockets. Thank you!
From the West Bloomfield Township Public Library Counting the Days 'til Kindergarten
Calendar, part of the Grow Up Reading (www.growupreading.org) early literacy initiative.

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Tags: Activities | Early Literacy Development | For parents | Oral
Language | For Parents | Parent Engagement | Parent Tips

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