Learning new vocabulary:
Dishing out lists of words to learn and asking a child to look up meanings of words in a dictionary can seem an onerous task for a 9/10 year old!
Of course, there are online platforms and apps for learning new vocabulary but we find that children tend to get bored very easily and quickly. We are constantly on the lookout for new ways to get the children to actually want to learn new words and to teach them that possessing a wide vocabulary gives you a massive advantage in later life, not just as an important component of passing their 11+ test.
We know only too well that listening to spoken definitions of new words – where additional information may be conveyed via facial expression, intonation and gestures – will result in more words being learnt. This is why we try very hard to ensure that we make our definitions of new words as animated and colourful as we possibly can!
As in all preparation for the 11+, parental involvement and support is vital, so we prepare a ‘word of the day’ piece of work for all our students.