The note
How schools teach it now
Vocabulary is the 'V' in VIPERS, the reading skills many schools use (Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Summarise). Children are taught to use clues in the sentence and word parts (prefix, root word, suffix), then check in a dictionary.
5-minute kitchen-table activity
When reading a book or the news together, stop at one unusual word. Your child guesses its meaning from the sentence before you look it up. Check in a dictionary, then both try to use the word once at dinner. Keep a jar of slips with new words.
Worked example
What does 'reluctant' mean here? Sam was reluctant to jump into the cold lake, so he stood on the edge for ages. (eager, unwilling, quick, excited)
- Look for clues: he 'stood on the edge for ages' instead of jumping.
- That tells us he didn't want to jump.
- 'eager' and 'excited' mean the opposite; 'unwilling' fits.
Answer: unwilling
Common mistakes to watch for
- Guessing from how the word looks instead of from the sentence.
- Giving a meaning the word has elsewhere, not the one it has here.
- Not reading the next sentence, which often holds the clue.
Encouragement
- Try saying
- “What clues around the word can help us guess?”
- Rather than
- “Look it up, you should know that one.”