Can you imagine how hard it is not to have the words to describe how you feel? Or not have the words to describe a picture in a book or in your mind? Many children face this problem every day and of course it’s perfectly normal as they are learning new words every day, even more so when they are learning to speak in more than one language.
A 10-year-old child who is a good reader will encounter something like 1 million words a year (around 12 novels), but crucially, approximately 20,000 of those words will prove unfamiliar*.
It is therefore important to support children to develop a range of independent word learning strategies to explore and to better understand any unfamiliar words they encounter.
The approximate word acquisition is :
2 years – 300 words
5 years – 5,000 words
12 years – 12, 000 words
12 + - average 25,000 words
There are many strategies we use in school such as word walls; this is a display full of the vocabulary they will need whether it is simple words for our younger children or more technical vocabulary to help children understand more complex subjects such as Science.
You will also see children being encouraged to read at every opportunity and to start to create their own collection of words. Stories are a great way to build vocabulary as children learn fun and exciting ways to tell and describe the stories they are learning. Role-play and drama feature heavily with deeper learning and understanding
All the strategies we teach in school are helpful, but ultimately nothing works like an enriched experience with as many different and varied activities as possible.
*(Oakhill et al. 2015)
Mrs. Alison Boughton-Priestley
Head of Primary
