Reading Tip#3: Building Vocabulary

Children naturally build vocabulary knowledge when we talk with them. But the best vocabulary building happens when reading with kids and picture books make learning new words both easy and enjoyable. Increasing children’s word knowledge gives them a headstart to becoming good readers.

Simply the process of reading with children helps them pick up new vocabulary. They hear the language of the story and quickly absorb its meaning. Illustrations in picture books reinforce learning as children connect what they hear with the visual on the pages. They also begin to understand the relationship between the printed words and the illustrations.

You can reinforce this by pointing to and repeating a word after reading a page and then drawing your child’s attention to the related scene or object. The next time you read the book together, ask your child to find the correct spot in the illustration. This makes a fun game of vocabulary learning for the youngest of readers.

As adults we occasionally come across words in our reading that we haven’t heard before. At times, it doesn’t interfere with our understanding. Other times, it makes the text confusing. It is the same for our kids. Early readers may be able to figure out a word’s meaning from the other words in the text or from the illustrations. Sometimes, reading the full text again helps to figure out a word’s meaning. If not, you might share the meaning of the word or Google an image. Whichever option you choose, go back to the text and reread it to boost the new understanding.

Check a child’s understanding by asking about uncommon words you come across while reading. It’s not important that your child knows every single word as long he or she gets the gist of the text. But by choosing some unknown words and ensuring understanding using any of the strategies above, you can build your child’s vocabulary and as a result, his or her reading ability.