Key Stage 2 Speech and Language Vocabulary Activity Pack

Word Aware (Stephen Parsons & Anna Branagan) strategies help children learn, understand and have fun with words. Here are five activities, linked to Word Aware, for each week that you can do at home to support your child’s vocabulary. You can find more games and resources at:

https://speechandlanguage.info/parents http://thinkingtalking.co.uk/free-resources-schools-families/

You can work through them in order and complete one activity each day. Or pick and mix activities that suit your child.

Vocabulary is key! Vocabulary is important no matter where you live or who you are – knowing and using words is how we all go about our day to day learning and thinking! Vocabulary is important from Early Years right through to Secondary School – help your child learn some new words and have fun remembering what they mean.

Did you know?

Vocabulary Ideas 1 Children who have difficulties learning to talk are less likely to ask the names of things or say if they do not understand a word. It helps if we teach them new vocabulary.

Mon

Treasure huntThis is a great one for when you are outside or go looking for things such as:• Objects that could be described by a particular word such as ‘gorgeous’ or ‘shrivelled’.• Categories such as mini-beasts or things that need electricity, or things that are circular.• Particular plants or insects such as ‘vines’ or ‘ladybirds’.Draw, write or take photographs of these objects if you can, but above all talk about them.

Tues

Category call outOn the bus or in the car, think of a category. You can choose any topic but here are some ideas forinspiration: ‘living things’, ‘things with wheels’, ‘things with circles’ or ‘things made of metal’. Work as ateam to see how many things you can see in a set time, such as two minutes. Next time see if you canbeat your previous total.

Weds

I went shoppingThis game is good for developing memory, so is good for adults too. One person starts by saying,“I went shopping and I bought a ...” (names a food item). The second player says, “I went shopping and IBOUGHT a- - and repeats the first players item before adding their own on, the third player continues in the same way remembering what player 1 and 2 have already bought. You can also play this game as: “I went on holiday and I packed ...”The first person to forget an item is out.

Thurs

Word of the daySelect a word for the day and write it somewhere everyone can see. This will work well with words thatare sent home from school. Everyone then tries to use the word in a sentence as often as possible. See who can use the word the most times and maybe have a prize.

Fri

I spyPlay the traditional ‘I spy’ game. “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ... (letter)”, or give ita twist by using categories or descriptive words like this: “something coloured red/blue ...” or “somethinground/spiky/shiny/outside/inside that is ...” or “something that is big/beautiful/perfumed/growing/hot/noisy ...”

About 4,000 words are added to the dictionary each year.

The two most common words in English are I and you.

11% of the entire English language is just the letter E.

Vocabulary Ideas 2. Children need time to understand what you have said, to understand the meaning of each word and what it means in that sentence. Start at a level your child understands and then build up.

Mon

Use the word wizard map to help your child learn a new word or understand a word from school Say the word Say the letter it starts with Say a word it rhymes with Clap the number of syllables it has Talk about what it means – draw what it means Use the word in a sentence

Tues Bookmark Challenge: When you have finished reading do on of the bookmark challenges

WedsFortune Teller: Make a word aware fortune teller then choose words your child has been learning from school or in a book. Write them down and put them in a pot/bag/hat. Take it in turns to pick a word and talk or be in charge of the fortune teller.

ThursChallenge Cards: Pick two or three words from one of your child’s school topics – maths, science, history, geography and try the challenges – how may can you do together?

FriCharades: Take it in turns to act out words and guess what they are. You don’t need to have the game at home try some of the ideas on the “Let’s play Charades’ sheet.

Vocabulary Ideas 3: Try activities little and often and keep it fun! Remember to turn off the TV and put your phone down whilst you play.

Mon

Alphabet gameYou could try this on a walk. Start with calling out ‘a’. Each player then tries to spot something that starts withan ‘a.’ When everyone has called out an item starting with ‘a’ you can move on to ‘b’ and keep going through thealphabet. For a quicker game use the letters of someone’s name.

Tues

Letter and category gameChoose a category; it might be something like clothes, food or TV programmes. Then choose a letter.See how many words you can think of from that category that start with the target letter. For example, clothes starting with ‘s’: scarf, socks, sweatshirt. Can you work your way through the whole alphabet?

Weds

Describe itWrite down lots of different words on pieces of paper. They might be related to what your child is learning inschool or any words that they are familiar with. Place all the words in a hat/bag/box. Each person takes a turn attaking out words from the hat. The challenge is to describe the word without using it at all.

Thurs

20 questionsOne person thinks of an object. Others try and guess what it is by asking questions. The first playercan only answer yes, no or maybe. Give a clue if they are on the wrong track. Can they guess it in 20questions?

Fri

Big BrainBig brain is a variation on ‘I spy’ but, rather than seeing something, you need to think of an object and theletter it starts with. Great for playing when you are waiting somewhere or when driving on dark evenings.“I think with my big brain something that is cold and starts with an ‘i’.” “Is it ice?” “No. Have another guess.”

Vocabulary Ideas 4: Extend your child’s use of vocabulary by having fun with storytelling.

Mon

Use the Story Planner to create a story together – pick a word you have to use in the story it could be a Noun – cat, triceratops, ballerina, minion Verb – walking, jumping, munching Adjective/describing word – adorable, caring, adventurous Adverbs – angrily, cautiously, cheerfully

Tues Roll a story: Find a dice and see how silly your story can be! Remember to pick some key words you want to use.

WedsRead a book and listen: Give your child a bell, noisy toy etc. Start reading the story – ask your child to make a noise as soon as they hear a word they do not know. Talk about it and learn what it means together.

Thurs Take photos during a walk outside or activity (cooking/playing football) and use them to tell the story later on.

Fri Help your child to go online to find photographs of new words-a picture gives children something to attach to new words.