Why Is Vocabulary So Important For ReadingVocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. Beginning readers must use the words they hear out loud to make sense of the words they see in print. Children who have a wide vocabulary learn to read more easily as they can figure out unfamiliar words based on the knowledge of words related to the context. It is harder for a beginning reader to figure out words that are not already part of their speaking vocabulary.
Consider this: when your little one starts learning to read and comes to the word cat in a book. She begins to figure out the sounds represented by the letters c – a – t and then very quickly realises that the sounds make up a very familiar word that she has heard and said many times. Thus the instant recognition is quicker and her recall of this word is better as she has the association reading strategy to use: all because the word is in her speaking vocabulary. Imagine now that there are hundreds of words in your child’s vocabulary so by the time learning to read comes along it is plain sailing. That’s what all parents want so BUILD VOCABULARY and you will BUILD A READER.
Vocabulary also is very important to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. Therefore the more words a reader knows, the more they are able to understand what they’re reading or listening to.
Talking to and reading to children are the two best way to develop vocabulary. As you introduce new words to your children, keep this in mind:
- Define the word in a child friendly manner: for e.g. ’enormous’ means really really big.
- Relate the word to the child’s life experience, ‘remember the big watermelon we bought in the shop, it was enormous’
- Ask children to develop their own example of ‘enormous’
- Use the word ‘enormous’ often over the next few weeks
Parents please continue to read to your child long past the time they learn to read. The reason is that a parent is the fluent reader and can read vocabulary-rich text that a grade 1 learner is not yet able to read but is able to listen to and understand. Just because your child has starting reading, do not stop reading to him or her.
Conversations are vital for vocabulary development, which in turn is one of the keys to unlocking reading. Are we talking enough to our children or are our hectic driven lifestyles and too much screen time creating an environment with less one on one dialogue between parent and child?
With this in mind consider the following: The consequence of less verbal interaction between adult and child is a child with reduced vocabulary and the consequence of that is a poor reader! No parent wants that so I will say it again, BUILD VOCABULARY and you will BUILD A READER.
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My Son Wants to Quit an Activity… Should I Force Him to Play?This was the question I received from a mother who told me that her son suddenly wanted to quit the sports team he was on, right in the middle of the season. She asked me if she should allow him to quit or force him to continue. I suggested that she have him finish out the season by attending the games to support his team, but not force him to play. After sitting on the bench for a few games, he suddenly wanted back on the team.
Understanding why your child’s sudden decision is important but is not always easy to figure out. Asking him why may only result in the response “I don’t Know.” A child’s or teen’s sudden desire to quit a team can be a result of a number of things; a peer relationship issue, bullying, a fear of failing, competition, a lack of confidence or sights set on another activity that he or she likes better. It can even be a result of a change in the family dynamics, such as the loss of a parent or other family member, or even divorce.
It’s not always best to force a child to participate, but instead, find out what he or she is willing to do within the activity for the remainder of the season. Take notice of when your child is in a great mood and ask open ended questions about the situation to get him or her to open up and talk about it. Give them some space and time to mull it over and avoid drilling them to find out why.
One day my tween-age son announced that he wanted to quit the school marching band (he had been playing since third grade and had held first chair for the past few years). He came in, tossed his trumpet in the case into the closet, and declared that he didn’t want to play in the band anymore and marched off. I was not happy about this since we had recently upgraded his trumpet to a much more expensive SILVER trumpet, at his request.
I did not respond to his declaration but later that day tried to engage him in conversation about why he had made that decision. His response with full disdain was that the trumpet was a stupid instrument. He then asked if he could get a set of drums. I told him that I was into the silver trumpet for quite a bit of money and because of what I paid out for it, I might be willing to consider buying a different instrument in about two years.
That response got him mad. So for the next few days he left for school without taking his trumpet to school. I said nothing about it, but on a few occasions I again tried to engage him in conversation about why he was no longer playing his trumpet. On each of those occasions he offered up a different excuse; the teacher was stupid, the trumpet was dumb, etc. Then, on the last day that he could not bring his trumpet to school without being removed from the band, he took the trumpet to school.
I was relieved that he was back playing the trumpet in the school band. What I later found out as the reason for this sudden dislike for an instrument he loved so much, was that he become careless and lost first chair. If I had forced him to bring the trumpet to school, he might have retaliated in other ways and may have never owned up to the real problem. If I had been one of those parents that did go out and buy him the drums, again, he may have been unable to learn what he needed to learn about himself and the consequences of not working hard. Giving children space and time to learn from experiences is key to their emotional development.
Parenting Hub is one of South Africa’s largest online lifestyle magazines, targeted toward Parents.
We understand that there are many aspects that encompass a Mother, Father or Child and strive toward providing resources and services that accommodates this.
Our content is aimed to inform and educate families on issues starting from pregnancy through to the challenges of the teen-age years.
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Bullying: What parents and schools can doARTICLE BY PROF RITA NIEMANN, NALIZE MARAIS, ZENDRÉ SWANEPOEL AND MONIERA MOOSA
Bullying is a great concern for both parents and schools. Here we outline a number of measures that can help them both parties deal with bullying.
Parents
When parents notice that their child is behaving differently – not wanting to go to school, using illness as an excuse, suddenly performing poorly at school or enuresis – and suspect bullying, they need to act immediately.
Firstly, they must determine where this is happing (at school, at a sports club, on social media, etc.) and who the perpetrator(s) are.
Secondly, if the bullying is taking place in an organised environment such as at school or sports club, the authorities need to be informed and requested to step in. They are legally bound to protect the rights of the child.
Thirdly, parents have the responsibility to equip their children to cope by:
- Instilling the knowledge that children must take a stand and that they have a choice in allowing someone else to victimise them.
- Assisting children to terminate relationships that are potentially harmful, such as blocking a person on social media.
- Helping them to identify bullies and the different forms of bullying.
- Creating a safe space for children to speak about what is happening to them.
- Emphasising assertive verbal communication if threatened.
- Building children’s self-concept.
- Getting the help of a psychologist, if necessary, to counsel the victim.
- Emphasising that respectful behaviour is always the best option and thus preventing retaliation.
- Fostering problem-solving and conflict resolution skills with the focus on restoring damaged relationships.
- Working collaboratively to solve the problem with their children so that they can feel reassured.
Schools
As bullying is a deliberate act to hurt someone, there must be consequences for the bully. Once teachers are aware that a bullying incident has taken place at school, the matter must be dealt with by:
- Asking the victim to provide the names of the perpetrator(s), as well as the names of friends of the victim, as soon as he/she has calmed down.
- Counselling the victim and finding out whether he/she has been injured and what effect the bullying or harassment has had on him or her.
- Cultivating a “no blame” approach towards bullying or harassment.
- Establishing punitive sanctions for both the bully and for any bystanders.
- Developing a bullying code of conduct/bullying policy and informing learners of this.
- Having designated teachers to deal with incidents of bullying.
- Facilitating mediation and discussions with the victim and the bully, depending on the severity of the bullying.
- Passing the responsibility to the bully or group of bullies to make sure that the problem is solved.
- Ensuring that potential bystanders understand that they have a vital role to play during bullying incidents.
- Letting the victims feel protected after they have reported the incident.
- Encouraging learners to make suggestions on how they can contribute to alleviating the negative experiences of the victim.
- Scheduling follow-up meetings to monitor the situation where each party has to share how things are going.
- Informing the parents of both the bully and the victim about the incident/s.
The principal and teachers have a crucial role to play in directing learners towards becoming responsible citizens. They should create a safe and secure environment, establish a non-violent culture, and be good role models for all learners.
Reference
Niemann, R., Marais, N., Swanepoel, Z. & Moosa, M. 2016. Problem areas in schools In: Jacobs, M. Teaching-learning Dynamics, Johannesburg: Pearsons
Parenting Hub is one of South Africa’s largest online lifestyle magazines, targeted toward Parents.
We understand that there are many aspects that encompass a Mother, Father or Child and strive toward providing resources and services that accommodates this.
Our content is aimed to inform and educate families on issues starting from pregnancy through to the challenges of the teen-age years.
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