Change and the word "AND"

This time of year is so busy, so bustling and so filled with opportunity. We find new beginnings and walk toward endings. It is here where we rely on strengthening foundations in order to build new tasks. To that end, let's talk vocabulary, an often overlooked building block of learning.

In past posts, I have discussed ways to learn new words, (July 2018) and ideas related to concepts. As this time of year marks new beginnings for our pediatric clients, I am often asked by teachers and parents, "why" their loved one does not follow directions, understand directions, respond to questions, or follow a line of conversation. Although there may be many reasons for these things to be happening, it is more than likely that vocabulary understanding or lack there of, may be lending a hand in this issue.

Building vocabulary not only refers to object identification (nouns) but also actions, locations and descriptions. For older students, it means, among other things, knowing words which end in "-ly, " knowing words which are homonyms, antonyms and synonyms. Additionally, it requires that students ask questions, gather information from sentences to guess the meaning and then try to use new words in personal ways. My absolute favorite, "starter" word for diving into the pool of vocabulary is AND. This single word opens up possibilities both academic and social. Happy vocabulary building.