How to Increase Vocabulary for First Grade
Some children start school knowing as few as 500 words. By the time they reach adulthood, they should have a vocabulary of at least a hundred times that: 50,000 words. Vocabulary is built at every level as students progress through school, from the earliest grades onward. Parents and teachers can do a great deal to help ensure that their students are acquiring the vocabulary necessary to stay on target academically and advance at the appropriate rate.
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Instructions
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Study words in context, which makes them easier to remember. When you read a book to first graders, make a list of words from the book to serve as vocabulary words for the week. This practice is much more effective than providing students with an arbitrary list of vocabulary words.
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Illustrate words. Write a word at the top of a piece of paper and have students draw a picture that in some way conveys the meaning of the word. Display the drawings on the walls or around the room, or collect them in a visual classroom dictionary that students can flip through during their free time.
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Act out words. Relating kinetic activity to words increases the likelihood that students will retain them. Put a bunch of the words you have studied recenly into a hat and allow students to draw a word and then act it out charades style.
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Create a word wall. As students learn new words, write the words on strips of paper and place them on the wall. The wall serves a dual purpose: first, it allows students to be proud of the quantity of words that they have learned. Secondly, it serves as a constant reminder of the previously learned words. As students look around the room, they will see the word wall and reflect upon the words that they have successfully added to their mental dictionaries.
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Explore synonyms and antonyms. Instead of learning just one new word, help students learn three. Learn a synonym and antonym for each of the words that you learn and multiply the learning.
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