Pondering Over New Words, Based On The Context- Vocabulary Building

It is hardly motivating for a 3rd grader to reach out a dictionary, spend time locating the new word, and then spotting the meaning. Needless to say, it kills the joy of reading a good book. But how then can young reader learn new words?

Who doesn't love a good story? The story picks up pace, suspense is building and there comes along a new word. The word is evidently important to understand what is going on in the story. An adult would suggest reaching out to the dictionary and finding the meaning. The 3rd grader would find it too cumbersome. Left with 2 choices, either drop the word or ask the adult, they might choose the 2nd option. If the adult is not available to clarify, the most natural course of action is to drop the word. Definitely not browse through a thick hard bound dictionary!

But it needn't be that way! They can be taught to independently figure out the meaning of new words without a dictionary. Here is how...

Encouraging children to observe and understand the context as a means to figure the meaning of a new word goes a long way in making the learning process fun and far more effective. Understanding the meaning of the word in the context of the story, enables better understanding than referring to a dictionary and even better, longer retention.

This takes time and practice but once the habit is ingrained, it comes in handy anywhere included reading comprehension passages in the school where access to a dictionary is not permitted especially in exam situations. Encouraging children to adopt this practice each time they curl up with a book, makes it a habit and eventually second nature.

Next time, you are tempted to give the meaning of the word, check yourself. Enable your child to figure the meaning by themselves first.

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