creating word-conscious kids

A portion of this article was originally posted by me on ABC & 123 on 5/17/10.

Just the way that some people will notice a kite in the sky, a new bird in the backyard, or a pattern of numbers on a sign, others have an ear for words. We can--and should--help our children to notice and learn new words each day because it will help them with reading comprehension and vocabulary development in the long run.

We can all do our part to create word-conscious kids in an amazingly short span of time.

Even before children are able to read texts on their own, they can develop vocabulary, oral language, comprehension strategies, phonological awareness, and print awareness just by participating in a read-aloud with an adult.

Here are just a few ways of developing Vocabulary during read-alouds:

• Vocabulary Development--Word Consciousness: Before, during, and after reading, we have a captive audience during read-alouds. Why not use this time to model how excited we are when we come across the use of rich and descriptive language?

By sharing our love of words and talking about new and exciting words, we are teaching our children to become Word Conscious. Word Consciousness is an integral component of language development and one of the early predictors of success in reading comprehension.

We can develop Word Consciousness by stopping during a read-aloud and commenting on a particularly awesome, unusual, or interesting word we encounter: Oh, I love that the farmer 'perseveres' after the fire ruined his farm. He doesn't give up. He keeps going, he re-plants his crops, and he moves forward. I love the word 'perseveres' because I like how it sounds when I say it, and it is a strong word. It means that someone doesn't give up and that they work very hard (re: The Farmer, by Mark Ludy).

Or when reading Steven Kellogg's Is Your Mama a Lama? you might say, The bat says he 'does not believe that's how llamas behave.' I sometimes like to use the word 'believe' instead of the word, 'think'. To me, 'believe' just sounds a little fancier. I 'believe' I prefer the word 'believe' instead of 'think'.

You can also develop Word Consciousness by:

• talking about the way a word sounds when you say it;
• discussing the meaning of a word;
  
• talking about the way a word looks on the page;
  
• trying different ways of using a particular word;
• challenging each other to use a 'new word' later that day;
• listening for 'new words' during other read-alouds and taking turns 'catching' them;
• sharing 'new words' as a family, at the end of the day or at dinnertime;
  
• keeping a family list of 'Cool, New Words' or becoming 'Word Wizards' and making a 'Word Wizard Wall' of words you love. . .

Word Consciousness can be started with our littlest readers and should continue into adulthood. (Okay, or at least until our kids can stand it!). It's easy, it's important, and it promotes a love of language and an awareness of language that will ultimately help strengthen reading comprehension down the road.

When children are word conscious, they "are motivated to learn new words and able to use them skillfully" (Lane & Allen, The Vocabulary Rich Classroom: Modeling Sophisticated Word Use to Promote Word Consciousness and Vocabulary Growth, in February 2010's The Reading Teacher.) So let's start noticing words--and keep talking about it!