Building Your Child’s Vocabulary at Home

September 2025

Reading is the process of making meaning from written text. It involves more than just recognizing words — it’s about understanding, interpreting, and connecting ideas which is best done with a big, rich vocabulary. The more words children know, the more they can understand when reading and express when writing or speaking.

This Week’s Insight: Building Vocabulary Through Conversation

Reading helps children learn new words — but the fastest, most natural way to grow vocabulary is through rich, everyday talk. The conversations you have at home matter more than you might think! When you describe what you’re cooking, explain why the sky changes color at sunset, or use a “big” word like enormous or disappointed, your child is listening, processing, and storing new vocabulary. Kids learn best in context —hearing words used in real life, in real situations, over and over again.

From Our Literacy Specialist: My child rereads the same book — is that okay?”

Yes! In fact, rereading is a powerful habit. Each time your child revisits a book, they gain:

• Fluency: Words become quicker and smoother to read.

• Confidence: Familiar texts make kids feel successful.

• Deeper comprehension: They notice new details each time.

Balance it with opportunities for new vocabulary through fresh books, audiobooks, or conversations.

Parent Tip: Turn Reading Into a Game

At dinner, bedtime, or in the car, choose one new word to introduce— words like gigantic, miserable, or eager. Say the word, explain what it means, and challenge your child to use it in a silly sentence. Then, keep building their vocabulary by using the word naturally over the next few days.

Book Pick: Cynthia Lord’s “Because of the Rabbit”

A heartfelt, beautifully written chapter book (Grades 3–5) about friendship, belonging, and finding your place. Perfect for a parent read-aloud or for reluctant readers who enjoy gentle, realistic stories.

Next On Our Radar:

Research - The Reading Wars

Phonics vs. Whole Language

The Latest Radar Report - Research:

• How background knowledge boosts fluency

• Literacy and ADHD: What to watch for

How Background Knowledge Boosts Fluency:

• What is Background Knowledge? - Your child’s background knowledge, also known as Schema, is everything they already know about the world—people, places, experiences, and facts. When they read, they connect what’s on the page to what they already know. For example, if they’ve been to the beach before, they’ll understand words like waves, sandcastle, or tide much faster. Schema makes reading easier because it gives the brain something familiar to “hook” new information onto.

• What is Fluency? - Fluency is how smoothly and easily your child can read. A fluent reader reads like they’re talking—at a steady pace, with expression, and without stopping too often to sound out words. When kids read fluently, they can focus more on understanding the story instead of just figuring out each word.

• Why It’s Important - When kids already know something about a topic, reading becomes much easier and more fluent. Their brains don’t have to work as hard to figure things out — they can picture what’s happening, make smart guesses about tricky words, and connect new ideas to what they already understand. This background knowledge is like a “shortcut” that makes reading smoother, faster, and more enjoyable.

Literacy and ADHD:

• What to Watch For - Children with ADHD may have trouble staying focused while reading. This can look like skipping over words, re-reading the same parts, or forgetting what they just read, which makes it harder to understand the text and can slow them down. These challenges are different from dyslexia in which difficulty comes from recognizing words and working with the sounds in language. With ADHD, the main issue is paying attention and staying on task.

• Noticeable Signs - Getting easily sidetracked by internal thoughts or external stimuli, taking longer to complete reading tasks due to difficulties processing information quickly, and a reluctance or resistance to reading and writing due to repeated struggles, frustration, and lower self-esteem.

• What to Do:

  • Talk with a specialist if your child is really struggling with reading. It may help to have them tested for ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning differences to give you clear answers about what’s getting in the way.

  • Try simple strategies at home to help your child stay focused by cutting down on distractions, using short reading timers, and practicing different reading approaches to see what works best for them. Check out Empowering Your Child with Learning Differences on Amazon for strategies and more information.

  • If reading continues to be a challenge, partner with teachers and specialists to create a personalized plan that gives your child the extra support they need to grow.

What's "News" in Education?

School Climate and Safety:

• School Shootings - A teenage gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School in Colorado on Sep. 10, critically injuring two students before turning the gun on himself. Gun violence at schools is on the rise in the U.S. There have been 47 school shootings in the United States so far this year, as of September 10. Twenty-four were on college campuses, and 23 were on K-12 school grounds. The incidents left 19 people dead and at least 77 other victims injured. (CNN)

Leadership and the Teaching Profession:

• Human Resources - Educators across the U.S. are being fired or suspended for social media posts linked to Charlie Kirk. Human resources professionals warn that it may be a violation of due process. (Education Week)

K-12 School Issues:

• Vaping Crackdown: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Surgeon General called youth vaping an ongoing “epidemic” and released a Youth Vaping Resource Guide to raise awareness about the issue. Some districts are installing vape detectors and adding administrative walk-throughs in restrooms, as well as online courses for students, and the CATCH My Breath curriculum backed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

• Cell Phone Bans - As of September 2025, at least 34 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws or policies that ban or restrict student cell phone use during school hours. This reflects a wider debate on the effects of smartphones on student learning, mental health, and safety. Check out the map for school cell phone bans by state.

Notable Developments:

• Secretary McMahon Statement - The nation’s new report card scores for grades 8 and 12 prompted this response from the secretary of education: “Today’s NAEP results confirm a devastating trend - American students are testing at historic lows across all of K-12. At a critical juncture when students are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading.” (US DOE)

• Education Law - Federal judge ruled that Trump can’t require schools to certify that they will not use DEI.

  • On Aug. 20, 2025, a federal judge temporarily blocked a new Texas law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments—at least in 11 school districts for now.

Contact Us!

Have questions or need personalized advice? Email us anytime — we’re here to help! wordwiselit@gmail.com