Three Easy, Everyday Tips to Boost Vocabulary!

It's no secret that vocabulary size and language develoment are correlated. Boosting vocabulary helps receptive language- because a child understands more. And it also boosts expressive language - because a child can speak, and write, in a more complex way, especially as they progress through elementary school.

However, we don't need flashcards to boost vocabulary! Instead, the easiest ways to boost happen in daily routines.

1. Talking synonyms- One of the great ways to boost vocabulary is to look for another word for what you are saying. This way, you are modeling finding synonyms, and thus expanding descriptive words. For example, "That was really kind! You want to know another really cool word for kind? Compassionate." Just doing this a few times a day opens a whole road of possibilities, especially for adjectives and adverbs

2. Being silly antonyms- describe something as the opposite of what it actually is, to practice antonyms. For example, "oh that play doh is so soft. Just kidding. It's the exact opposite. It's hard."

3. Reading words in context - and last but not least, the classic. Looking for unfamiliar words while watching TV, or while reading with your child, is a wonderful way to boost vocabulary. And, walking your child through guessing the meaning himself develops critical thinking skills and inferencing as well! So for example, "It was a humongous cake- almost as tall as the giant. Okay so I think humongous must mean really big, right? I like that word. Humongous."

So there you have it. Synonyms, Antonyms, and Vocab in context- all looped into daily routines!

And of course, if you are a more worksheet/ games person - check out these fun vocab games - with all the above prompts, for children in Kindergarten to 2nd grade, and another from 3rd - 5th grade.

Happy Talking!

Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.