K5 Learning Blog

Without a sufficient understanding of words students cannot understand others or express their own ideas.

Vocabulary is important across the curriculum from language arts and social studies to mathematics and science. It is intimately connected to both effective reading and writing skills, and these skills in turn are necessary for doing well in school.

Research studies have shown that in most cases students have to see, read and interact with words 5-7 times before they are admitted to long-term memory. Words are more easily learned if your child is active - drawing a picture of the word, writing her own definition of it, and thinking of an example sentence to use it in. This is better than simply writing the word over and over again.

So why is a rich vocabulary important to your child’s success?

By Sheila Welch

Our book reviewer, Sheila Welch, has pulled out all the stops this time, finding us a selection of books that will change your scenery.

Here’s a book for children who love animal stories. NUTS TO YOU, written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins, is a jaunty journey into the world of unusual squirrels who can talk and, even better, tell their own stories. With wide spaced lines and illustrations scattered as thick as acorns in an oak forest, this book is not intimidating for independent readers as young as third graders. It would also make an entertaining family read-aloud.

Don’t judge this book, UPSIDE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, by its whimsical cover. In Julie Lamana’s first published book, she chose a difficult subject, Hurricane Katrina, as the central issue. Told in first person by ten-year-old Armani, this is a harrowing tale of a close knit family nearly torn apart by the storm and its aftermath. Although Armani survives, she loses some of her closest relatives. Definitely a worthwhile story for mature fifth graders to read and discuss with parents or teachers.

They say practice makes perfect. This thinking goes back to ancient Greece where Artistotle said: “it is frequent repetition that produces a natural tendency”. But we don’t just need to rely on the wise words of Greek philosophers, as it really boils down to common sense. With almost anything you do in life, the more time and effort you put into them, the more skilled you become.

Learning is no different. When you learn something new, a pathway is created in your brain. The more frequently you “travel that pathway”, or repeat the thought (such as learning math facts, a poem, lines for a play), the more likely you will be able to recall the information at a later stage.

So what can we parents to do help our kids learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and math through repetition?

Wow, this is an eye opener. Denise Pope, a Stanford Professor and author, researched parent and student perceptions about the education system and the attributes they believe will gain the students success. She presents her findings in her book Doing School: How We are Creating a Generation of Stressed, Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students.

For those of you that don’t have time to read the book, this MindShift article provides a great summary of her research and some further insight from Denise Pope. Her recommendations lean more towards what schools can do to restructure for student success, but I think there are some take-aways for us parents as well.