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Creating Word Journals For Young Learners

 

Vocabulary represents one of the most important skills necessary for teaching and learning a foreign language. It is the basis for the development of all the other skills: reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, spelling and pronunciation. Vocabulary is the main tool for the students in their attempt to use English effectively.

Building children's vocabulary helps to strengthen their speaking, reading, and writing skills. And a great way to make their learning of new words fun is by creating a word journal, which gives them an opportunity to investigate and learn any words that they either don't know or find interesting..

To start, introduce the vocabulary journal as a place where they can collect and practice words that they hear or see in their reading. Each page of the journal should be dedicated to a singular new word. Having multiple and varied activities with the words will help to make them a part of their natural vocabulary. 

Here are seven ways that children can interact with the word in their journal.

1. Draw the word. It can be a quick sketch or a detailed drawing. If the word isn't a noun, it will require a bit more creative thinking. For example, if your word is glistening, your child might use sparkly glitter crayons to draw a snowy scene. Brainstorming ideas for pictures is great to encourage even more interaction with the word.

2. Write the word in a creative way. He might choose to write glistening in a fancy script or with sparkly gel pens. If the vocabulary word is stocky, then he could write the word in big wide block letters.

3. List synonyms for the word. For our glistening example, synonyms could include sparkling, shiny, and twinkling.

4. Make a list of examples. You might use "glistening diamond rings," "snow banks," or "disco balls." "The sun shining on the water glistens" and "glitter covering the kitchen floor glistens."

5. Think of non-examples. A list of things that are not glistening include chapped skin, tarnished silverware, and shadows.

6. Find or write a sentence that uses the word. If your child discovered the word in a book, copy the sentence where the word was found. Or, he can write his own original, creative sentence.

7. Create a kid-friendly definition. The definition for glistening might be "something that is glistening is shining or sparkling." It's helpful to start the kid-friendly definition with the phrase, "something that" or "someone who."

Encourage children to explain their new words to others. Encourage them to take them home and share them with their family, or spend a little time discussing new entries in the journal. Remind them to also revisit previous words too -- the more interactions with the words the better.

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