3 Ways to Boost your Vocabulary (Lower Primary)

Hello, everyone! I am Miss Krittika, an English Teacher at Lil’ but Mighty! Today, I will be sharing with you 3 ways you can boost your vocabulary. Yes, you read it right. 3 simple ways to start you off on your vocabulary journey. But first, why is vocabulary important?

• Helps us express ourselves and our thoughts about anything perfectly

• Helps us understand what people are saying

• Improves our understanding of what we are reading

Children, are you ready? Let us dive right in!

1. Reading

Do you know that the more you read, the more words you will be exposed to? This does not only apply to books. You can read comics, magazines, and blogs as well. Reading does not have to be limited to books nor does it have to be boring. It can be made enjoyable by reading about topics that interest you. It is through reading that you will discover new words and their meanings used in different contexts. All the new words learnt will be added to your mental dictionary. Cool, right? Engaging in conversations with your parents and friends about what you have read can help you in your comprehension. Check out some book recommendations that I have over here to get started!

2. Creating Word Banks

Back when I was in Primary 1, my teacher had us create and decorate word banks in a jotter book for the whole year. She would even give us quizzes based on the words we had written in our word banks and their respective meanings. Word banks require some time to create but they can be extremely beneficial. As you progress in your learning journey, you will be at different proficiency levels and the words in your bank will come in handy for your schoolwork and even in everyday conversations.

How can you create a word bank?

• Start by getting a notebook of any kind (but not too small!) and designing it however you want.

• Make the book uniquely yours in every possible way. After decorating it, start each page off with its date and your goals.

• If you want to learn more vocabulary to describe feelings, draw the emotions out and write the words you have just learnt from books, conversations, and movies (or anywhere) that you think fit that emotion perfectly.

• Once you do that, pick 2 to 3 words on each page that you would like to use today: when you are writing your composition, or talking to your friends, teachers, and parents! Practice makes perfect, use the words, and learn how to fit them into sentences and various contexts.

• Save interesting words that you come across and keep them with you. You never know if you will get the chance to surprise someone with what you have just learnt.

Here is an example of how a word bank on emotions can look like on a page:

Learning new words will always be helpful. In school, you will need them to write compositions and understand texts. Outside of school, a better grasp of the language will help you express your thoughts more eloquently which will in turn allow more people to understand you better.

3. Playing Word Games

Hangman

Have you ever played Hangman, the game, before in school? I used to love that game and would always guess right. My friends and I would “test” each other on movie titles, teacher’s names, and even new words that we had learnt that day. The next time you play Hangman with your friends, try surprising them with the new words logged into your word bank and have them guess the word. You will have a whale of a time doing so!

Here is a website where you can play Hangman for free! Click here to play Hangman! You can either play by yourself or with friends.

BONUS!

I have specially created a printable game of Hangman for you! Download it and have some fun. You can follow the format and create your own Hangman to play with your friends too!

Scrabble

Another game which is easily available will be the board game, Scrabble! Now, we already know that we all have a mental dictionary. Imagine using the words from your word bank to help you in board games such as Scrabble. Scrabble tests you on your spelling and also your ability to link the spelling of one word to another.

Taking what you have learnt and putting them to use in games shows that learning can be interactive and not to mention, FUN. While playing these games will improve your vocabulary and stimulate your mind, it will also teach you how to spell words and use them in different ways. Learning does not always have to be boring. By taking learning into your own hands,

you can make it exciting and something to look forward to. I am sure each and every single one of you can do it! Get ready to challenge yourself and learn new words and their meanings. Have fun!