The following suggested activities will increase your students’ vocabulary by engaging more of your senses and putting you into word-rich environments.

1. Encourage students to take a class.  Choose something you are interested in and which requires you to use your hands. Each craft or skill will have its own vocabulary. There will be words to describe the equipment, the processes, and the materials. Since you will be doing something with your hands (and maybe more parts of your body as in dancing), you will trigger more activity in your brain than if you just read the words on a page.

2.Visit a museum.Children’s museums are a great choice because they often feature interactive displays. Another good option is a “living museum” where you can talk with a docent who can answer your questions about the exhibits.

3.Go to the zoo.You’ll find interesting animals with exotic names which originate from many different languages depending on where the animal normally lives. English is a living language which adopts foreign words to name things. The word “yak”, for instance, is from the Tibetan wordgyak.

4.  Visit the garden.The glossary of gardening is rich with Latin-based words describing plants – their names, the parts of the plant, and their life cycles. Latin provides the roots to many English words in the areas of law, science, and religion. The word “vegetable” for example originated in the Latin wordvegetaremeaning to enliven, bring to life, or quicken. The word “flower” came from the Latin wordflosorflorismeaning a flower.

Learning new words can be easier, more enjoyable, and produce in better retention if you can use multiple senses in the word-learning process. So add a new activity to your students’ lives and they will soon master a whole new group of words.

By: Mrs. Robelyn C. Higuit | Master Teacher I | Balon Elementary School | Mariveles, Batan