Language and Literacy Vocabulary: Word Meanings

What: All words have a meaning or purpose. Young children learn the meaning of words through their actions, interactions, and experiences. As this happens, they expand their understanding of what words mean.

Why: When it comes to building vocabulary and learning the meaning of words, the earlier children start, the better the outcomes. In fact, studies show that early learning has a direct and positive influence on children’s ability to understand what they read and future school success.

How:

1. Start a Project o Children love projects! Introduce a new project on a topic of interest. Identify vocabulary words to

teach, discuss them with children, and use the words in context. Then listen for how children use the words in their interactions.

o Collect examples of how child are learning and using words in conversations and playful interactions. Make note of the words and how they are being used.

2. KWL o KWL is a graphic organizer that includes what children know, wonder about, and ultimately learn. Use

KWL to understand more about a child’s vocabulary. Start by introducing a topic of interest, such as owls. Invite children to share what they know and wonder about owls. Write down their responses, adding pictures where needed, to help teach less familiar words or actions.

o Use your KWL notes for assessment documentation.

3. Collaborative Rules o Collaboratively determine the classroom rules. Post the rules and invite children to share the rules as

part of the morning circle time or as children join the group. o Video or pay attention to how a child shares the list with peers, adults, or others who visit the room.

Add pictures to the list of rules to help children understand the meaning. 4. Storytelling

o Invite families to share pictures of things they have done or places they have gone. Then invite a child to share a story about the pictures. Encourage other children to ask questions.

o Video the storytelling or take notes about what children are saying. Use this to document the level and complexity of children’s vocabulary use and understanding.

5. Word Wall

o A word wall draws attention to new words being learned and integrates printed words. But even more important is putting new words into action so that children learn to use the words in natural ways (i.e., as a part of a child’s day-to-day activities).

o Observe and document how a child uses words from the word wall. Ask children questions that encourage their use of word wall words.

6. Family Chat

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o Ask parents questions to learn about their children’s progression of word meanings. Explain that children learn new words and the meaning of those words in a variety of ways. Ask if they have seen their child learn new words and word meanings. How has that happened?

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Language and Literacy Vocabulary: Word Relationships

What: Understanding word relationships involves connecting meaning to words and understanding nuances and distinctions between words. For example, synonyms (two words with the same meaning, such as yucky/icky), antonyms (opposites, such as hot/cold), part to whole (shirts are clothes), and whole to part (dogs include Elk hounds).

Why: Children’s knowledge of word relationships is a critical aspect of understanding word meaning and for logical and categorical thinking and learning.

How:

1. Fill-in-the-Blank Stories o Read stories that include word relationships. Ask children questions that encourage their thinking.

For example, when reading “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (Judith Viorst), ask fill-in-the-blank questions. For example, “It would be horrible if ____.”

o Listen for how children use and understand the distinction between the words.

2. Library Book Choices o Set up the library area to include different categorical books, such as various animal books (e.g.,

farm animals, zoo animals, animals that live in the sea, etc.). o Watch and listen for how children make connections between the different categories. All are

animals, but some live in the zoo, farm, and/or sea. Are there animals that might fit in more than one category?

3. Music & Movement o Invite children to talk about different ways they can move to music. Listen for the fine distinctions to

describe different ways to move. For example:

Run Pop Fling Push Gallop Shrink Spin

Shake Stretch Prowl Glide Twist Wiggle Float

o Listen for children’s understanding of the different words and subtle differences. Play music and ask

children to dance in ways match some of the words they use to describe movement. Considering calling out words or having children choose their own.

4. Snack o Talk about different tastes and textures, building on possibilities below. Invite children to add to it, as

well.

TASTES: Hot Spicy Bland Greasy Salty Sour Sweet

TEXTURES: Hard Crispy Soft Chewy Flakey Smooth Squishy

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o During snack, listen for how children use and demonstrate understanding of the fine distinctions between words about tastes and textures.

5. Humor

o Make up stories or sayings that use words with more than one meaning. Below are some examples to pull from:

The sweet little boy ate the sweets

Be careful not to drop the last drop in the cup

Use the mouse to move the mouse.

The foot was a foot long I’ll watch the watch Shake the shake before you drink it.

o Listen for how children use and understand words with multiple meanings, and see if they can come

up with any of their own.

6. Family Chat o Talk with families about children’s understanding and use of related words. Explan to families that as

children learn more words we can see how they use different ways to describe similar things (e.g., different tastes, different ways to move, etc.).

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