SERIES
1.3
Helping Your Child with Reading –
Expanding Vocabulary
V
ocabulary refers to the words we must
understand to communicate effectively. A
reader cannot understand a text without knowing
what most of the words mean. Students learn the
meaning of most words indirectly through everyday
experiences with oral and written language.
Here are some ways you can help your child build
vocabulary:
• Help him learn the meaning of new words. The
larger his vocabulary, the easier it is to understand
the meaning of the text.
• Read to your child each day. When the book
contains a new or interesting word, pause and
define the word for your child.
• Discuss the meanings of unknown words, both
those a child reads and
those she hears.
• Study word parts. If
your child knows the
meaning of a root word (“kind”), then he’ll know
what the new word means when the prefix (“un”/
not) or suffix (“ness”/state of being) is added
(unkind, kindness).
• Talk about the relationships between words.
Synonyms are words with the same or similar
meanings (bucket/pail), and antonyms are
opposites (good/bad). Your child may need help
learning figures of speech, such as, “It’s raining
cats and dogs,” in order to understand what she’s
reading.
Vocabulary Building Strategies
We want children to notice new
words and to want to learn them.
There are many ways to draw
children’s attention to words and
to interest them in the words
they hear and see. Playing with
words through games, songs, and
humor can be powerful. Simply
encouraging children to recognize
when they have encountered
new words, and to notice special
characteristics of words, will also
raise word consciousness.
The Alphabet Game
The first level starts as early as age 3
with just reciting the alphabet going
back and forth between parent and
child (this often is done while driving).
Once this level of the word game
gets too easy, it’s time to play the
game with words and go back and
forth with apple, baker, cat, and so
on. You might play the game twice
in a row, and in the second round,
you could use new words that make
it a tougher vocabulary game. At
the next level, restrict the word to
just one type, such as foods: apple,
banana, cheese. Later, you can
move on to verbs: attack, bark,
copy; and nouns: artist, book, and
candle. Next, you might try twosyllable words, three-syllable words,
and so on.
Word Wizard
Challenge your children to find
new words. At the dinner table,
ask children to say or show a word
they saw or heard today that they
did not know the meaning of, and
then get out the dictionary and find
out together what the word means.
Challenge your child to use the word
as often as possible in the next day
or two so that it becomes part of his
vocabulary. Record the words on a
chart so that you both see the new
words learned. Make a column for
other words that mean the same
thing as the new word.
P.O. Box 1348
Charleston, WV 25325-1348
800.624.9120 ext. 5478
Fax 304.347.0489
http://wvpc.edvantia.org
Building Vocabulary:
Using Context Clues to
Learn Word Meaning
When authors write, they often
include context clues to the
meaning of words if they think
that some of their readers may not
know the words. The context clue is
usually presented in the sentence or
paragraph where the word occurs.
Sometimes a picture or other visual
is provided. Using context clues is a
good way to figure out what a word
means and to build new vocabulary.
Here are six types of context
clues used by authors to help the
reader understand the meanings of
words. An example is provided for
each.
1. Definition context clue
The author includes a definition
to help the reader understand the
(continued)
This publication is supported in whole or in part by funds from the U.S. Department
of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, under grant #310A060257. Its
content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, any
other agency of the U.S. government, or any other source.
Edvantia is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer.
meaning of a word. In the following
example, “tainted” is defined as
having a disease.
The people of the town were warned
not to eat the tainted fish. The local
newspaper published a bulletin
in which readers were clearly told
that eating fish that had a disease
could be very dangerous. This was
especially true for fish caught in
Lake Jean.
2. Synonym context clue
The author includes a synonym
to help the reader understand the
meaning of a word. A synonym is
a word that means the same as or
nearly the same as another word. In
the following example, the synonym
“pity” helps the reader understand the
meaning of “compassion.”
After seeing the picture of the
starving children, we all felt
compassion or pity for their
suffering.
3. Antonym context clue
The author includes an antonym
to help the reader understand the
meaning of a word. An antonym
is a word that means the opposite
of another word. In the following
example, the antonym “eager” helps
the reader understand the meaning of
“reluctant.”
Joe was reluctant to take on the
position of captain of the basketball
team. He was afraid that the time it
would take would hurt his grades.
On the other hand, Billy was eager
for the chance to be captain. He
thought that being captain of the
team would make him very popular
in school.
4. Description context clue
The author includes one or more
descriptions to help the reader
understand the meaning of a
word. In the following example,
descriptions of President Kennedy
as having charm, enthusiasm, and
a magnetic personality help the
reader understand the meaning of
“charismatic.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our 35th
president, improved human rights
and equal rights for all people. He
was a very charismatic president.
People were attracted to his charm
and enthusiasm. His personality was
described as magnetic.
5. Summary context clue
The author makes a number of
statements that help the reader
understand the meaning of a
word. In the following example,
statements about being rude,
showing no respect, having poor
manners, and being impolite help the
reader understand the meaning of
“impertinent.”
Andrea was a very impertinent
young lady. She was so rude that
she talked while her teacher was
explaining a lesson. She showed
no respect for other students. Her
manners were very poor. Even her
parents thought that Andrea was
impolite.
6. Visual context clue
The author includes a picture,
drawing, chart, graph, or other type of
visual to help the reader understand
the meaning of a word. In the
following example, putting the picture
and its caption close to the sentence
helps the reader understand that
“exultant” means great joy.
Peggy had an exultant
look on her face.
Adapted from: http://www.
how-to-study.com/buildingvocabulary.htm
Prefixes and Suffixes
Children also need to know how words are formed—the root words,
suffixes (a word part added to the end of a word), and prefixes (a word
part added before a word), and how the word is affected by added parts.
Can your children add suffixes and prefixes to these words (sometimes
changing a letter or two) to make new words?
Prefixes
unpreantisemidisenunirunoverremisdisinterimirunpresemiundisen-
New Word
Root Word
New Word
unkind
kind
fix
social
week
enchant
tangle
glue
regular
form
use
view
spoke
satisfy
mingle
print
responsible
lucky
help
final
friend
cover
courage
kinder
This resource is provided by West Virginia Parent Connections at Edvantia; get more information online at wvpc.edvantia.org.
Suffixes
-er
-ative
-able
-ly
-ing
-ment
-less
-ly
-ation
-ful
-al
-en
-ed
-d
-er
-ity
- ness
- ful
-ity
-ly
-ed
-ment