Supporting Young Children’s Vocabulary

Scottish Attainment Challenge

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Are you clear?
What do we mean by vocabulary?

Before he/she begins to read and write words, a

child’s vocabulary is determined by the words they
apply meaning to, both in understanding what is said
to them (receptive) or by using these words to make
his/herself understood (expressive).

This is a child’s oral vocabulary.

Document title Transforming lives through learning

http://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/build-your-childs-vocabulary.aspx

Read and
consider this
New knowledge? short article for
parents/carers
from The
Hanen Centre.
Forgotten gem?

Take action idea?

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Books, stories and tales

When building oral vocabulary,

children must hear and use new and
familiar words regularly in a variety
of situations.

Therefore, storytelling is an effective

approach of supporting children’s
emerging oral vocabulary.

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Consider….
How often are stories read to children? Is once per day
enough for some children?

Are practitioners committed to reading stories to children

throughout the day and during free play?

What is the range and type of vocabulary offered in the

books and stories that are read to children?

How interactive are story-times? How effectively do you

plan opportunities for interaction?

When reading/telling stories, how effective are your

techniques for supporting children’s vocabulary?

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Singing games and rhymes

When building oral vocabulary,

children benefit from hearing and
using repeated words and phrases
in new and familiar contexts.

Therefore, singing games and

rhymes is an effective approach of
supporting children’s emerging oral
vocabulary.

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Consider….
In your setting, how well does singing
games and rhymes support vocabulary
development?

How effectively do you use singing

games and rhymes to support the
development of vocabulary?

How well do we support parents/carers to

understand well enough the how songs
and rhymes support early language
development?

Document title Transforming lives through learning

 How often do you use these techniques?
Children need to build up a repertoire of familiar songs, rhymes and stories. To do so,
they need to hear the same stories time and time again.
Repeat
What can you do in your setting to ensure that all children have several favourite
songs, rhymes and stories?

Practitioners should choose/offer stories, rhymes and songs that have the greatest
potential for hearing new and unusual vocabulary. When an unusual word is
encountered in a story, it is a useful idea to play with the sound and pattern in the
word.

Sound Actual text,

“Wilbur sits at the top of a tree because he is miserable. He looks ridiculous.”**

Read as,
“Wilbur sits at the top of a tree because he is miserable. He looks ridiculous.
Just RI-DIC-U-LOUS.”
** Text is taken from Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Oxford University Press
Document title Transforming lives through learning
How often do you use these techniques?

As often as possible try to use expression and gesture to convey to children the
meaning of words or phrases. For example, elongate the word ‘enormous’ while
make a large shape with your hands.
Express For example, the song, Down In the Jungle, is particularly good for this kind of
expression and movement.

Wherever possible, encourage children to join-in with the expression.

To help children learn the meaning of new words, it is useful to help them relate to
something they already know or have experienced.
Relate For example, by recalling something that happened in the recent past or by
demonstrating.

Document title Transforming lives through learning

How often do you use these techniques?

In stories that do not require to be read with rhythm (e.g. non-rhyming), you do
not have to stick to the vocabulary on the page. As children become more
familiar with the story, substitute some key words with an alternative (synonym).
For example,
“And he still looked hungry (ravenous), so Sophie passed him the buns.”**

When storytelling, always say the printed word followed by the substitute.
Substitute Substitutions can also be made in rhyming stories and songs, however, these
must support the author’s rhyme. For example,
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his ‘nose’.
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his ‘toes’.
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his ‘clothes’.

The repetition is also useful for children to hear the similarities in words.

** Text is taken from The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr
Harper Collins Publishing

Document title Transforming lives through learning

Modelling ‘good’ talk
Expansion
Language expansion “expands” upon what
a child says. It requires the adult to use
adult grammar but not add new
information.
Expand the child's "sentences" to the way
an adult says them.
Restate and complete what the child
offers. This gives the child a good speech
model for reinforcement.
For example, the child
says, “Bunny run," you say, "Yes, the
rabbit is running." The child says, “Him
hurt?,” you say, “Is he hurt?”
Document title
Extension
Language extension “extends” what a
child’s says. When talking with a
child, use adult grammar and add new
information.
Extend the child's “sentences” to the way
an adult says them, then add an
additional, related comment.
For example, the child says, “ Bus go,"
and you say, "The bus is going. It's a red
bus." The child says, “Mummy laugh," and
you say, “Mummy is laughing. She is
happy."
Transforming lives through learning
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Document title Transforming lives through learning