A rich vocabulary is an important part [...]]]>

“I think sometimes in education vocabulary is looked at in much too mundane a way. Indeed, vocabulary is a person’s tools of thought.” - Dr. Keith Stanovich, Canada’s Research Chair of Applied Cognitive Science at the Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto 

A rich vocabulary is an important part of developing language and literacy skills. From the Wechsler Intelligence Test to the SAT, vocabulary is an important part of verbal IQ tests and is considered a predictor of academic success. But how can we help our children gain a vast vocabulary with ease?

Reading, reading and reading….but reading with a difference…

Several researchers have shown that reading storybooks to children from early childhood is vital to helping children develop an extensive vocabulary. But what is even more important is the interaction we have with our children during a storybook reading session.

We can either read storybooks “passively” to our children or “actively” engage our children in the session. When we read passively, our children listen while we parents read the text to them. However, several research studies have shown that vocabulary growth is higher when children actively participate in the reading session by answering questions and discussing the storybook.

In one study, researchers Walsh and Blewitt (see reference below) introduced several new words through storybook reading sessions to three-year olds and studied the new word comprehension. Children who were actively engaged through questions and answers performed significantly better in the new word comprehension and production tests than children who were read to passively.

So when we read storybooks to our children, we can help them develop a more extensive vocabulary by actively engaging them in the session. There are several ways we can do this:

1. Focus the attention of the child on the new words by highlighting them during the reading session.
2. Ask questions about the story. For example, we can ask them to describe the scene using new adjectives and/or act out new verbs.
3. Make a conscious effort to use the new vocabulary in comments, and questions and answers about the story.

This post refers to this study: Walsh, B.A. and Blewitt, P. (2006). The Effect of Questioning Style During Storybook Reading on Novel Vocabulary Acquisition of Preschoolers. Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 33(4).

For several years, teaching specialists debated the importance of teaching phonics to children learning to read. Some suggested that teaching whole words and whole language should be emphasized over phonics. However, now [...]]]> How do we learn to read? Do children read by recognizing whole words or do they use phonics while reading?

For several years, teaching specialists debated the importance of teaching phonics to children learning to read. Some suggested that teaching whole words and whole language should be emphasized over phonics. However, now researchers agree that teaching phonics is an important part of decoding the written language. The International Reading Association’s policy on teaching phonics also suggests that phonics is an important part of reading instruction. However, the Association does state that phonics knowledge is “critical but not sufficient to support growing independence in reading”. As such, phonics instruction is more effective if it is linked to children’s reading and writing, rather than being practiced in isolation.

The importance of phonics in developing reading skills was also highlighted a couple of years ago, when researchers at NYU showed that all three processes, phonics, whole word recognition and whole language processes, work together to determine reading speed.

1. Phonics is the process of decoding words letter by letter by using sounds of each letter. Phonics accounts for 62% of reading speed and is the most dominant process in reading.   
2. Holistic word recognition is the process of recognizing words by their shape. This process accounts for 16% of the reading speed.
3. Whole language processes are processes where words are recognized by the context of the sentences. These processes account for 22% of the reading speed.

These researchers also showed that the three processes work independently of each other and all three are important in reading speed.

Project EASE (Early Access to Success in Education), which has had great success in increasing the reading level of children, suggests several activities to help children develop phonics awareness. The Project EASE Cracking the Code (letter recognition and sound awareness) activity unit introduces the shapes, names and sounds of letters to children, using most of their senses – sight, hearing, touch and movement. Below are some activities, based on Project EASE that we, as parents, can use to teach phonics to our children.

1. Making collages of specific letters using words and pictures of items that start with that particular letter. This helps children look at items and think about the starting sound.
2. Playing games that involve sound. For example, play a rhyming game, where a child is encouraged to come up with words that rhyme.
3. Playing games that require children to sort through various items, and then sort the items into boxes labeled with the 26 letters of the alphabet. This helps children identify the beginning sound and associate the sound with a printed alphabet.
4. Reading books which involve playing with letters and identifying the starting sounds of objects. Some recommended books are shown below.

Other Related Posts:

Impact of Early Childhood Conversation and Reading

This post is based on the Project EASE Cracking the Code Activity Unit and the following article:

Devitt, J. (2007). Phonics, Whole-Word, and Whole-Language Processes Add Up to Determine Reading Speed. NYU Today, Vol. 21(1). Accessed at http://www.nyu.edu/nyutoday/article/777.

Storybooks open up the whole world of reading to a child. Researchers have shown that reading stories with your children helps them at many [...]]]>

 ”Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.” -  Marilyn Jager Adams 

Storybooks open up the whole world of reading to a child. Researchers have shown that reading stories with your children helps them at many levels. Stories introduce children to rare words and more complex sentences. Also, children learn how stories are constructed by listening to them. This lays the foundation for better reading comprehension in later years.

Stories also introduce concepts to children that go beyond the present and extend their knowledge of the world. Parents can use stories as a starting point for extended conversations with their children. Parents can also introduce abstract concepts easily by providing a context for the child.  For example, concepts such as sharing and kindness can sometimes be better explained by relating them to a story.

The Storybook Unit of Project EASE (Early Access to Success in Education) by Dr. Gail Jordan suggests selecting books with “strong central characters, well-defined goals, interesting conflict between characters, and story problems that generate extended conversations between parent and child”. Here are some additional tips on selecting books for your children:

1. Select stories with plots and characters that your child can relate to (e.g., if your child likes trains, maybe he/she will like Thomas the Tank Engine stories).
2. Choose a subject and genre that is interesting for your child. This is even more important if you are starting at a later age, since you are trying to replace another activity with reading time.
3. Select books by the reading level and the interest of your child. While you can use age as a starting point, let your child decide what he/she would like to read. Let the older children choose their own books in a bookstore.

Once you find the books that your children enjoy, reading to them will become one of the best times you spend with them as a parent. Best of all, your children will come to you with books in their hands and smiles on their faces!

Also visit the PicabooLane store to purchase these books or find more storybooks.

This post is based on the Project EASE Storybook Unit. Other related posts:

Impact of Early Childhood Reading and Conversation

Words Everywhere – Vocabulary for Children