Vocabulary and Word Play

Mother having a conversation with elementary-aged daughter

Building a large "word bank" is one of the best ways to help children with reading comprehension. Get tips and ideas for strengthening children's word knowledge and sense of play in learning new words.

Building Your Child's Vocabulary

Talking to and reading with your child are two terrific ways to help them hear and read new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy, non-threatening ways to get new words into everyday talk. Here are some ideas to get you started. Get tips ›

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Use Words to Teach Words

Children who comprehend the most from their reading are those who know a lot about words. They are familiar with word prefixes, suffixes, word roots, and multiple meanings of words. Families can help develop word knowledge through simple conversations focused on words. Get tips ›

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The Vocabulary of Science

Science learning involves lots of new vocabulary words. Focusing on root words, prefixes and suffixes can help your child learn new science words more quickly and become a word detective! Get tips ›

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Playing with Words (Riddles)

Riddles are an excellent way for kids to learn how to really listen to the sounds of words, understand that some words have more than one meaning, and how to manipulate words. Riddles also help build a rich vocabulary and strengthen reading comprehension. And finally, riddles are familiar and fun — a good incentive for thinking about words and reading. Here's how to get started with riddles. Get tips ›

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