Improve Kid's Vocabulary Now

I have been helping out in a first grade classroom at an elementary school where they introduce two new vocabulary words each week.  This past week the words were precise and ambiguous.  I am sorry to say that when I first heard those were the words I thought to myself, "Oh those must apply more to the older grades."  I have since discovered how unfortunate that kind of thinking can be.  The teacher of this first grade class had no reservations about applying these new vocabulary words to their lessons and using them in different situations to help the kids grasp the definitions.  Kids at that age are like sponges and deserve more credit in their ability to learn new things than we sometimes give them.

Dr. Susan Neuman did some research among young children and found that "oral language... is the foundation of early literacy development" (podcast 2011).  Having a stronger vocabulary can build stronger literacy practices, which can also enhance a child's comprehension in content areas like science and social studies.  I also think children like to learn bigger words so they can use them and show off what they know.

Vocabulary does not have to be a specified area where the teacher gives the student a lists of words to learn.  In fact I would say that would be a bad idea and would not work very well, especially with the younger children.  If we as teachers do not confine our vocabulary when we teach and interact with students, their vocabulary can increase as well.  They may ask a lot of questions to have us explain to them what certain words mean, but what a great opportunity for teachers!  As we continue using vocabulary that our kids may not know, I feel they will also be able to develop an ability to learn definitions through context.  This is a higher level skill, but it still introduces them.

Introducing kids to learning vocabulary at a young age can help prepare them to be able to continually learn new words.  As they get older and reach those grades in elementary school when testing becomes a large focus, they will have a stronger literacy foundation.