Posted on: 12/07/2020
Bewildered, antiquity, choreography - some of the words I have enjoyed recently with my two year old in ways I would never have imagined. These words are part of a ‘word of the day’ set of cards I have on my desk at home. On each card, there is a short definition, picture, synonym, antonym, word class information and an example sentence. It is a very satisfying piece of ‘kit’ for anyone with an interest in language and literacy. That said, it wasn’t until my daughter Martha found the cards that the fun and playfulness began…
Martha is at a glorious age where she is becoming very interested in words, letters and numbers. She will routinely ask us to identify letters and words she finds in everyday life. Unsurprisingly, this was the case when she first saw the ‘word of the day’ cards, that day displaying the word bewildered.
I initially hesitated at her request to read the word thinking, ‘What good would it do trying to discuss the meaning of bewildered with a 30-month-old?’ However, in the spirit of curiosity, I went along with it and I am so glad I did! She found the word hilarious and began chewing the sounds over in her mouth. We then playfully moved onto creating actions and faces for the word before going onto another game and leaving the word behind us.
A few days later, we came across a character in a bedtime story looking, what could indeed be described as, ‘bewildered’. I could see the cogs turning and the connections forming and, after a few seconds, she demonstrated the action we had made up earlier in the week. Seeing the intrigued and quizzical look on her face, I said, ‘Well he looks very confused doesn’t he. He looks bewildered!’ Instantly, her face lit up. She laughed, nodded and seemed satisfied. She had made a small connection between the character and the new word. By making this connection, she had added another synonym to her consciousness which in turn gives her access to more language and more understanding about the world around her.
Arthur Scargill, who led the 1980s miners’ strike, once said, ‘My father still reads the dictionary every day. He says that your life depends on your power to master words’. Now I’m not suggesting we all sit and read dictionaries on a daily basis (or that we should be using daily flashcards to teach complicated words to 2 year olds) but maybe he did have a point: words have real power.
A wide range of studies show that vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to reading proficiency, and indeed to school achievement more generally. Alex Quigley in his book ‘Closing the Vocabulary Gap’ tells us that a child who knows approximately 50,000 words by the time they leave school is more likely to thrive in future life. He also articulates how each National Curriculum subject has its own academic language and that when pupils are given clear access to this vocabulary they are able to understand much more of what they read and learn. Many of the words used in educational texts are not used in everyday speak, and so taking in new vocabulary needs to be encouraged, supported and assisted.
We know that children learn better when they are fully immersed and engaged. We can create the conditions for engaging and immersive vocabulary exploration by sitting alongside children at every age and stage of their development, sharing vocabulary-rich stories and enjoying, breaking down and discussing words that arise in these books and in the wider curriculum.
In recent weeks, I have encountered through Twitter recommendations a number of fiction and non-fiction books that demonstrate the joy and beauty of being word collectors and explorers. I highly recommend checking out these books for yourself and I wholeheartedly encourage you to playfully embrace the role of ‘Word Explorer’ at every opportunity that presents itself. For the children in our care, it may well be one of the most powerful things we can do!
Hannah Baker, Associate Consultant and Primary English Lead for Astrea Academy Trust
