The Educational Endowment Foundation (EEF) has released a very useful and highly practical guide to teaching primary science. They identified 5 key points, the first of which is ‘develop pupil’s scientific vocabulary.’ Find out more here: Science vocabulary
Anna Branagan
Lovers of books are lovers of words. Lovers of words are lovers of books. Build an interest in both books and words by having a vocabulary-themed dressing up day. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Celebrate World Book Day with words: Vocabulary Themed Dressing-up ...
We were amazed by the quality of entries for our recent ‘make a new word for English’ competition. That 8 to 11 year olds could be so inventive with language was heartening. Some of our favourite entries were: yayday The best day […]
Inventing words
To access learning, to build relationships and to develop emotional understanding, children need to have words. Now, perhaps more than ever there is an awareness that for children to reach their potential, they need a well-developed vocabulary. For over 10 years the Word Aware approach has been helping teachers to […]
Vocabulary for every learner
Children and young people’s language development is important for their emotional development, behaviour and mental health. We often see problems starting between children and young people because of verbal misunderstandings and problems with managing their emotions. These can then escalate because they can’t negotiate or repair the miscommunication. Sometimes things […]
Why did we write Language for Behaviour and Emotions?
It’s lock down 3 (in the UK) and to keep young minds active and thinking about words we’ve invented a new word game, ‘Word Chain.’ Rules, cards and a board are available to download for free. It is probably most suited to children over 8, as it includes words like […]
Free word game for families (8+)
In recent weeks it seems every news website has articles about safety of staff and students, child mental health and the ‘post-covid attainment gap.’ And as we all work out how to sort through the multitude of issues it is worth considering the role of spoken language and its impact […]
Spoken language at the time of transition back to school
Supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs returning to school after the COVID-19 lockdown It’s been a long, rather strange break, and many children will soon be heading back to schools which are now organised differently. Children, families and staff are all a little anxious. Children […]
Transition back to school
As schools have recently closed in the UK, it has been a steep learning curve for all concerned. No one planned for this day, or at least not us! Motivating children to work at home for extended periods can be rather tedious, but one trick is to find games that […]
Free resources for schools and families
Webinar by Anna Branagan, co-author of Word Aware 2:Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Years. The webinar looks into how all staff who work in Early Years can work together to develop the spoken vocabulary of all children, including those with language learning difficulties.