Vocabulary and Concept Development

When children learn about their world (information, ideas, vocabulary) and how to connect new information and ideas to what they already know and understand, they gain skills that are important for their success in reading and writing.

The following are suggestions and examples of ways to support vocabulary and concept development:

• Provide children with new experiences every day and converse with the children about these experiences.
• Respond to the child’s questions and topics that she/he introduces. Prompt and encourage the child to share more about the topic or question.
• Read nonfiction, informational books with lots of photographs or illustrations and descriptions that children can understand easily. When possible, provide the real-life materials for classroom observations and exploration before and after you read the book.
• Talk with the children about the meaning of new words.
• Provide opportunities for children to develop concepts by exploring and working with familiar classroom equipment and materials in a variety of ways. Listen and talk with them about these experiences.
• Teach children how to use familiar objects, name them, and how they work.
• Provide opportunities for children to cook and learn about substances and how they change. (i.e. eggs: boil them, scramble them, fry them, and hatch baby chicks). Introduce words and concepts that they may not know. We need to use the spatula to turn the eggs.” “The whisk will help us beat the eggs.” Put these objects in other centers in the room for further exploration and experimentation.
• Provide opportunities for children to plant seeds and take care of the plants, to care for pets, etc. Introduce words and concepts that they many not know. “Look at the seeds we planted. They are beginning to sprout.” “The guinea pig is building a tunnel with the bedding, so that he can go through it to the water.”
• Provide opportunities for children to learn about social situations and interacting with other children throughout the day. Use facilitating and negotiating skills to support this learning process. Providing the words for children who are learning these social skills is also important.
• Take children on field trips and walks. Talk about these experiences and listen to the children’s language. Ask questions that will support and extend their thoughts and ideas. Point out things that the children may not notice. Answer their questions. Provide books and play materials that extend the field trip experience.
• Provide a variety of materials in all areas for the children to explore and use as pretend props, such as tubing, water toys, cardboard boxes of various sizes and shapes, tissue paper, scarves, paper plates of various sizes, etc.
• Invite parents and other guests to share jobs, hobbies, interesting objects and animals, or to tell stories about their experiences.