Big Vocab, Better Stories

Lots of parents ask what they can do to help with their child’s English development, particularly their story writing. Consider this - If you want to build a fabulous house, you need fabulous materials. If you want to write a wonderful story, you need wonderful words - and lots of them. In short, they need an extensive vocabulary.

Children develop vocabulary by hearing it, using it in their own speech and then in their writing. If we use interesting language with our children, they are more likely to begin to use it themselves. How easy is it for a two year old to use swear words? They have heard them somewhere and realised that it is ‘interesting’ so therefore they want to use it too.

Having discussions about ‘fun’ words can stimulate children’s interest and help them to build up a bank of words they can then use when they write. A fantastic board game that develops vocabulary is Taboo. Try it, you’ll love it!

Showing children how to use a dictionary and thesaurus is also an excellent idea. Pull out the paper versions and show them what it was like in your day! Then, when their eyes have glazed over just enough, reveal to them that the computer has other uses other than Facebook and Twitter.