How to build vocabulary at home: word parts and the Frayer card
Children learn most new words by meeting them often, in context, and by using them. A few simple habits at home speed this up: looking at word parts, making a small card for each new word, and coming back to it after a few days.
Learn a few words at a time
Three or four words a week is plenty. Choose words from what your child is reading or writing so they matter to them, and keep a small list on the fridge or in a notebook.
Look at word parts
Many long words are built from small parts. Knowing a few of them lets a child guess new words.
- Prefixes at the start: un- means not (unhappy), re- means again (rebuild), pre- means before (preview).
- Suffixes at the end: -ful means full of (hopeful), -less means without (careless), -er often means a person who (teacher).
- Roots in the middle: port means carry (transport, portable), bio means life (biology).
Use context clues
When your child meets an unknown word, cover it and ask what word would fit in its place. The sentences around it often give the meaning: "The ground was parched and cracked, and not a drop of rain had fallen for weeks." Parched must mean very dry.
Make a Frayer card
A Frayer card is a small four-box card for one word. It makes a child think about the word from several sides.
- Definition: what it means, in their own words.
- Characteristics: facts or features about the word.
- Examples: things that fit the word.
- Non-examples: things that do not fit, which is where much of the understanding is built.
Use it, then come back to it
A new word sticks when it is used. Ask your child to say or write a sentence with it, then spot it again over the next few days. A few minutes of flashcard review, a day later and then a few days later, works better than one long session.
Where it shows up in LiteracyLab AI
Every piece of feedback gives new words. On Core and Premium they collect in a vocabulary bank with flashcards and a short self-test quiz, and the progress follows the learner between devices. For the primary years, each word also comes with Frayer details.
Common questions
How many new words should my child learn each week?
Three or four, used properly, is more useful than a long list that is forgotten.
Does reading more help?
Yes, because children meet words in context. Talking about the words and using them in their own sentences makes it stronger.
Get feedback on your child's writing
LiteracyLab AI reads a child's own writing and gives specific feedback: what worked, one thing to try next, and a corrected version, matched to their year and curriculum. The Free plan includes 3 pieces a month and needs no card.