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Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but do not understand or connect to what they are reading, they are not really reading. Good readers are both purposeful and active, and have the skills to absorb what they read, analyze it, make sense of it, and make it their own.

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Overview

Talking to and reading with your kindergartener are two terrific ways to help them learn new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy, non-threatening ways to get new words into everyday talk.

Use rich language in conversations with your child

Even very young children love to hear and learn new words! Help your child expand their word bank and knowledge of the world by using interesting and vivid words instead of simpler language in your everyday conversations. For example, instead of saying, "this ice cream is good" you might say, "this caramel ice cream is scrumptious."

Read with your child every day

Reading aloud exposes your child to lots of vivid language that is not found in books for beginning readers. When you come upon a new and interesting word, take the time to stop and ask your child what they think that word might mean in the context of the story. Then offer a kid-friendly definition of the word and connect it to a similar word and a shared experience.

Patience!

Word learning and vocabulary growth takes time and patience. Don't expect your child to learn a new word after one conversation or one read aloud. True word learning happens after being exposed to words several times. We all learn about words throughout our lifetime. You're getting your child off to a great start by developing an early interest in words.

Talk about new words during read alouds

Talking to and reading with your child are two terrific ways to help them hear and read new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy ways to get new words into everyday talk. "The book says, 'The boy tumbled down the hill,' and look at the picture! How do you think he went down the hill?"

Sharing a new word with your child doesn't have to take a long time: just a few minutes to talk about the word and then focus back on the book or conversation. Choose which words to talk about carefully - choosing every new word might make reading seem like a chore. The best words to explore are ones that are less common to see in the books your child might read. When introducing new words to your young learner, keep the following four helpful hints in mind:

1. Provide a simple, kid-friendly definition for the new word: Enormous means that something is really, really big.

2. Offer a simple, kid-friendly example that makes sense within their daily life: Remember that really big watermelon we got at the grocery store? That was an enormous watermelon!

3. Encourage your child to develop their own example: What enormous thing can you think of? Can you think of something really big that you saw today? That's right! The bulldozer near the park was enormous! Those tires were huge.

4. Keep your new words active within your house. Over the next few days and weeks, take advantage of opportunities to use each new vocabulary word in conversation. Kids often need to hear a new word in context ten times or more before they "know" that word.

Grocery store vocabulary

The produce section is a great place to hear new interesting word s. Words like rhubarb, asparagus, artichoke, and kiwi are fun to say, and fun to eat. As you introduce each one, use descriptive words to help your child learn. "A kiwi has a fuzzy outside, but the inside is bright green with black seeds!"

Start at the root

Begin with a simple root word, such as push. Ask your child to come up with words they know that contain that word, such as pushing, pushed, pushover, push-up. Talk about how all these words have some shared meaning related to the word push.

Consider the prefix

Numeric prefixes like bi- and tri- are a part of many words kids know and use. Discuss words like tricycle, tricep, triangle. All these words share the prefix tri-, which means three. Can they develop a list of words that begin with the prefix bi- (like bicycle and binoculars)? This gives you a great chance to introduce new words, like bicentennial, bicep, and biped. You can generate similar word lists with the numeric prefixes uni, octo, and cent.

Homonym fun

Homonyms - words that sound the same but have different meanings - provide a great opportunity for word fun. Say a word out loud, and see if your child can generate more than one meaning for the word. For example:

bark: the sound a dog makes ring: jewelry you wear on your finger
ring: the sound a doorbell makes
bark: the covering on a tree

Explore your world

Visits to a museum, the zoo, the botanical garden, historical sites, and even your neighborhood park are terrific opportunities to introduce your child to new words. Spend some time looking at the signage and identifying new words, then connecting them to what you see right there.

"What's another word for ..."

This game helps your child learn there's more than one word for everyday things. For example, look around you and say, "what's another word for couch?" ( sofa, ottoman). Or, "what's another word for cup?" ( glass, mug). You can extend the game by talking about how two things are similar but not exactly alike ( glass, mug). That helps your child learn about the subtle differences in related words.

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Vocabulary: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Building a large "word bank" is one of the best ways to help children with reading comprehension. Beginning readers use knowledge about words to help them make sense of what they're reading. The more words a reader knows, the more they are able to comprehend what they're reading or listening to.

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Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

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After completing this module and successfully answering the post-test questions, you’ll be able to download a certificate of completion.

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Reading 101 for Parents: Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

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Phonological and phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes).

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Play word games that focus on rhyming! Start with simple words like 'cat' and ask your child to think of words that rhyme (bat, hat, rat). Make it fun by turning it into a back-and-forth game during daily activities like driving or making dinner.

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Help your child break words into individual sounds. For example, say the word 'dog' and have them tell you all the sounds they hear: /d/ /o/ /g/. Use hand motions or claps for each sound to make it more engaging.

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Let's Learn SEGMENTING WORDS {Phonemic Awareness}

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Choose a letter sound and go on a 'sound hunt' around your house. For example, find things that start with the /b/ sound (book, ball, banana). Have your child write down or draw the items they find.

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Teach Your Monster To Read - First Steps

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Teach Your Monster To Read - First Steps

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The game's primary aim is to develop children's speed and accuracy of grapheme (letter) recognition. Children work through each grapheme (in the same order as Letters and Sounds) practicing each one using one of four minigames.

Along the way, there are lots of other exciting things to do, each of which allows the player to practice an important aspect of reading.

How to play To play the game, visit www.teachyourmonster.org and set up an account. It takes two minutes and is totally free.

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Teach Your Monster: Free Phonics, Reading and Mathematics Games

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Help children learn with our free, award-winning reading, mathematics and phonics games.

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Set aside 15-20 minutes daily for reading together. Read favorite books multiple times - this repetition helps build fluency. Model expressive reading by using different voices for characters and following punctuation.

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Epic is a digital library with free access to over 40,000 books. They can read about the topics they love and discover new ones, all while learning about the world and themselves.

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Skip to content

Inspire a lifetime of reading and discovery with over 40,000 high-quality books and videos.

Explore over 40,000 books, audiobooks & learning videos.
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online access fun thousands children great kids ebooks books

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get Epic to explore 40K+ kids' books online, from classic storybooks to audiobooks, comics & more.

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Choose a new word each day to focus on. Use it frequently in conversations, draw pictures about it, and celebrate when your child uses it correctly. Try to choose words from books you're reading together.

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Help build vocabulary using this online resource, homereadinghelper.org. Choose the your child's grade and the option that applies to your child’s reading goals.

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"Thank you for implementing a website/program that not only teaches young readers phonics but also incorporates lessons to assist with phonemic awareness and fluency skills-which are so critical for them."

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Children's Reading Resource | Pre-K - 3rd Grade | Home Reading Helper

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Home Reading Helper is a children's reading resource for Pre-K through 3rd grade to help parents at home. Provided by Read Charlotte.

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Before reading a new book, look at the cover together and make predictions about what might happen. During reading, pause to ask 'What do you think will happen next?' This helps develop critical thinking skills.

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Reading For Fun is a game that encourages kids to have fun and enjoy reading! It inspires kids to explore a magical village full of fascinating facts and spellbinding stories.

The game encourages children of all ages to read for pleasure and is perfect to play at home or school, alongside Teach Your Monster to Read or on its own.

WHY READING FOR FUN?

Boost reading confidence

Develop empathy, as they put themselves in different characters’ shoes and develop an understanding of the wider world

Improve skills in reading for different purposes, from recipes, to signposts and instructions

Read books with friends. Choose brand new books, or re-read old favorites

Create positive screen time for children in a fun environment

How to play To play the game, visit www.teachyourmonster.org and set up an account. It takes two minutes and is totally free.