For many families, reading is a well-established activity in daily life. It is sometimes synonymous with a bedtime routine or an activity to bring calmness.
Why not maximize this moment to develop our children's vocabulary? Vocabulary is one of the most crucial factors in predicting success in reading (2). From 18 months to 5 years, the acquisition of new words is impressive. On average, a child at 18 months knows about 50 words. By the age of 5, they will know 6000! (1)
Children's books are a goldmine for working on vocabulary and supporting the acquisition of new words. We love them because they serve as a gateway that children enjoy, offering an authentic learning context with images and context to support the learning of new words. Literary vocabulary also enriches spoken vocabulary (2).
Here are some enjoyable strategies to implement during your next read-aloud session, whether your child is young or school-aged.
1- Don't be afraid to reread the same book several times:
We often try to do well by always reading different books to our children. However, both in terms of comprehension skills and the acquisition of new vocabulary words, it is very beneficial to reread the same book several times.
I often suggest reading the book for the first time without interruption. This allows getting a good idea of the story without any interruptions. You can briefly clarify the definition of a few words if they hinder the understanding of the story.
On the second reading and subsequent ones, you can try the different strategies described below.
After two readings, it can help the child understand the new words. A third reading will help the child produce the learned words (1). For many children, even greater repetition of the same word (not necessarily during a reading) is needed to truly integrate it into their knowledge.
2- Before reading, sort it out:
Before reading, you can choose a few rich or rare words in advance and define them in your own words to your child. With them, you can act out or describe the word, then use it in a sentence. You can also ask them, depending on their age, to use the word in a new sentence.
Provide a definition in your own words, very simple, adapted to your child's level.
We focus, among other things, on words essential to the good understanding of the story, useful and likely to be reinvested in the child's life (2).
3- Find small words in big words:
For some words, clues may be present within the word itself. For example, in the word "enneigé" (snow-covered), there is the word "neige" (snow). This can give an idea of its definition or help you find a synonym. Then, reread the sentence to check if our definition makes sense in the story.
4- Use the context
Children's books are full of clues to support vocabulary. You can point to the pictures of new words, reread a sentence or a page, make a connection with a synonym from a previous page, etc.
It is also interesting to tell your child that the vocabulary in books sometimes differs from the vocabulary used orally. For example, the use of the past tense or words like "palpitant" (exciting), "maisonnette" (cottage), or "jadis" (formerly) is rarely used in everyday life but regularly in books.
5- Ask questions
A final idea to promote the acquisition of expressive and receptive vocabulary is to ask your child questions that require the production of a new word. This could be done, for example, during a third reading of the book or in everyday life (1-2).
All these activities are suggested to enrich these sweet reading moments and can contribute to keeping your child engaged in the story. Happy reading!
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References:
(1)Gagnon, C. (2019). L’apprentissage de vocabulaire à travers la littérature jeunesse en classe d’accueil préscolaire [Mémoire de maîtrise]. Université de Montréal.
(2)Sénéchal, M. (2008). Stratégies pour bonifier le vocabulaire de jeunes enfants. Québec français (150), 60–61.
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