VOCABULARY

Some facts about Vocabulary from a talk given at Roseville College

• Vocabulary begins with oral language.  
• 5-6 year olds know between 2500-500 words when they start school.
• Students learn about 3000-4000 words per year.
• The more words you learn the easier it becomes to learn more words.  Networking in the brain improves and connects with other things. It becomes about making connections with the known.
• Vocabulary size is important: evidence shows the more words you know the more successful you are in life.

There are 3 layers to vocabulary instruction:

1. Encoding - introducing new words
2. Storage - practice makes permanent it;s important to encourage children to speak the words
3. Retrieval - reviewing for automaticity

The more we read and talk to children about their reading the better their learning.
Pictures are important as they display word consciousness

New words need to be 'played around with' multiple times to be internalised and committed to memory.

Wordsmiths (creators of words in history) - Shakespeare, Dr Seuss, Lewis Carroll

So go on, get talking and get reading and have some fun!