Grow your child’s vocabulary by providing them with a word attack strategy using the most common Prefixes, Roots and Suffixes.
Increasing a child’s vocabulary has many benefits. Not only does it help with his communicative abilities, but it increases his ability to perform better on standardized tests.
While the majority of vocabulary is learned through reading, children still need to be explicitly taught vocabulary instruction.
Researchers in the area of language acquisition agree.
“Explicit instruction of words and their meanings increases the likelihood that young children will understand and remember the meanings of new words. Biemiller and Boote (2006) found that while rereading stories improved students’ understanding of word meanings by 12%, an additional 10% gain occurred when word explanations were taught directly during the reading of the storybook.”
Children need to stop and jot down new words they encounter.
If a child comes in contact with a word he still can not figure out using context clues, then he can stop and jot down that word in a vocabulary notebook before continuing to read. Later that child can seek a parent or dictionary to explain the word.
Research shows that people must engage with a new word multiple times before it becomes a part of that person’s vocabulary.
Additionally, while I am not an advocate for rote memorization, that strategy has its place when it comes to vocabulary.
Children are expected to increase their content specific word knowledge as they enter upper elementary school.
Good readers don’t just glance over words, instead they stop and attack the word head on.
So children must be taught the ability to break apart unfamiliar word parts in order to become strong independent readers.
Here are 3 ways to tackle Prefix lists.
- Introducing prefixes first is a great strategy to start because readers see the prefix part of a word first. For example, when a child sees the word illiterate, he first must break the word apart into two words. Prefix first, root word second. If he learns the prefix il- (meaning not), he already has some knowledge about this word. He knows that it is a negative word.
- Categorizing or grouping words together, such as prefixes, helps the child with rote memorization by making it a more manageable task. Just rote learning a most “common” prefix list can seem overwhelming for children.
- Understanding the origin and spelling rules of prefixes help children differentiate the subtle differences with similar or related words. This helps children to remember since it provides another way to engage with the vocabulary word. Linguistic teacher, Ana Martin, joins me in a 3 part series that focuses on the negative prefix family in- and un-. Additionally, she helps to explain how some prefixes are imposters and lastly, she clarifies the battle that surrounds these two prefixes.
Growing your vocabulary is a life-long process.
Vocabulary needs to be explicitly taught and starting with Prefixes is a way to provide your child with a structured program. Every new word learned is a reason to celebrate. Let your child know that his vocabulary will continue to grow as he grows. Enjoy the life-long word journey.
Click the link and download the my Freebie-The Negative Prefix Family In- and Un-. https://www.readinghelponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/The-Negative-Prefix-Family-In-and-Un-.pdf
And, if you feel your child would benefit from online reading sessions, I can help
