3 Fun Ways To Build Your Child’s Vocabulary In Preparation For The 11+

3 fun ways to improve your child’s vocabulary in preparation for the 11+

---

Vocabulary is one of the most important areas of  11+ preparation as it’s a skills that’s assessed in Verbal Reasoning and English exams. Furthermore, research shows that children who possess higher levels of vocabulary tend to outperform those with limited vocab. 

Vocabulary is extremely important and creates the foundation for outstanding academic standards in the 11+ and beyond.

To help your child improve their vocab, check out these three tips. They’re based on my experience of teaching hundreds of students in preparation for school entrance exams.

Use higher level vocabulary when talking to your child. 

Children learn vocabulary best when hearing advanced words in context. It’s therefore more effective to speak to your child in a way that they’ll understand, but will also challenge their knowledge of more complex words. For instance, you could throw in a ‘big’ word when asking a question or when talking about your day. You can also encourage your child to respond back to you using the same word.

Have a word of the day or week. 

In the 11+, SATS, ISEB and GCSE Facebook group that I’m an admin of, we have a Word of The Day. I love the concept and have seen it used successfully for helping children improve their vocabulary skills. You can choose a WOTD or WOTW (word of the week) and really get involved by making a big deal of that particular word. For instance, you could create word posters or cartoons with that word - an activity that visual learners love. I actually started implementing this in my lessons and was amazed to see that one of my international students still remembered the words several months later. It made me realise how powerful it is to incorporate images and pictures into English and Literacy lessons.

Put down the “baby”books. 

No offence to certain authors, but I often observe my students reading books that limit their vocabulary. For instance, some of the most popular children’s books of the moment are filled with lovely cartoon pictures but very limited vocabulary-building words. I won’t name the books in question but they’re extremely popular and they’re great as light reading but when I see students ONLY reading those books, it makes me wince. Your child should be reading a wide range of books including reputable newspaper articles and magazines, novels and autobiographies.

Choosing to read just one type of book or books by one author and never branching out, is a recipe for limited vocabulary so I highly recommend encouraging your child to read slightly outside of their comfort zone.

But my child hates reading “smart” books, can I just let them read the “baby” ones?

The answer is NO!

Yes, it’s hard to get them reading some of the more difficult texts but you can branch out a little by encouraging them to read a small snippet of a newspaper article or a page or two of an autobiography and then build up from there. Diversifying the types of books they read will pay off later down the line, trust me.

Do you have any additional tips for boosting vocab? If so, share them by leaving a comment below.

If you enjoyed this blog, share it on social media or forward it to a friend or family member.

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress.

Do you have any additional tips for boosting vocab? If so, share them by leaving a comment below.

If you enjoyed this blog, share it on social media or forward it to a friend or family member.

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress.

How To Prepare For The 11+ or ISEB During The Summer Holidays

Good morning parents,

As we approach the summer holidays it’s very easy to reduce the focus on learning but this is one of the best times to help your child with 11+ exam preparation.

Make each day count.

Here are some fun ways to do this:

- Make the most of the sunshine. Instead of going outside, study in the park, at the beach or in the garden - it’s beautiful, relaxing and...free.

- Make the most of your local library. It’s a great time to go to the library as a family or even take day trips exploring different libraries across the UK. My local incorporates AI technology (Artificial Intelligence) and children love it.

You could search for some of the UK’s best libraries and spend a day visiting each one or pick three or four libraries to visit over the summer.

- Complete the 10-minute test books. I am a huge fan of 10-minute test books because they’re so convenient for busy children and marking them is quite straightforward. There’s also no excuse when it takes just 10 minutes to complete a paper. Make it a habit to complete a few papers each day.

That leads me to my next tip.

- If you’re travelling abroad, pack a 10-minute book for each subject (English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning), plus reading books or a Kindle and electronic dictionary. Go through vocabulary cards, apps or flash cards on the plane, train or in the car 🚗.

The key takeaway is to make everyday meaningful and productive. That doesn’t mean your child need to study excessively, far from it, create a routine that’s easy and enjoyable to stick to so that it’s easy for your child to follow through and complete their revision.

One final tip which was inspired by 11+ Mum, Shola Alabi, is to eat healthy and limit your child’s intake of sugary foods. It’s easy to indulge during the holiday season as there’s an abundance of popcorn, candy floss and sugary drinks but a healthy body fosters a healthy brain so try to swap high sugar foods for healthier alternatives such as fruits, vegetables, water and crackers (instead of chocolates).

Shola also adds that parents should go through corrections. This is vital - your child can complete a million papers but if they don’t understand why they’re making mistakes and learn the correct techniques, they’ll never make significant progress.

I hope the above tips were helpful - if you have any other insights to share please leave a comment with them below 🙂

If you’re looking for great free learning resources, head over here to sign up for worksheets and printables.

Should My Child Study During The Summer Holidays?

As a parent it can be difficult to know whether to allow your child to simply enjoy the summer holiday break or encourage them to keep a regular academic routine.

It's natural for most children to want to play, have fun and sit in front of the TV all day. However, doing these things can also negatively affect their academic progress.

So how do you as a parent strike the balance between allowing your child to have fun whilst also encouraging them to study?

Here are a few quick tips to help.

#1. Treat the summer as a time for progress and rejuvenation. 

The summer is a time for you and your child to recharge and unwind and it's therefore essential that you give your child at least some time to have a break. Do your best to have a positive mindset about the summer months and think of it as being a time for progress and rejuvenation. 

#2. Schedule fun time and work time.

One of my favourite quotes is, "if it's not scheduled, it's not real." This simply means that if you don't schedule things then they're never going to happen. To maximise your child's progress during the summer months it's pivotal that you carve out specific times for work and for play. You could for instance have study time from 11am-2pm and then fun time from 2pm-7pm. This will help your child to follow a routine and it will ensure that they study without feeling over worked. It'll also ensure that they wake up at a decent time each morning as many children have the habit of waking up in the late afternoon when they're not at school.

#3. Create a curriculum.

Which subjects or topics is your child struggling with? Is it 11-plus verbal reasoning, trigonometry or writing compositions? Make a note of the areas that they need to work on and create a curriculum that will cover all of the key areas that they need to study in more depth. Use the summer as a period where they can make progress in areas that they were previously struggling with.

If your child is struggling with English you can enrol them in an online course such as The Clever Comprehension Academy so that they can go through subjects like reading, inference and vocabulary in a way that is convenient. Furthermore, the course can be accessed 24/7 so your child can study in their own time. Click here to learn more about it.

Expat Children and the 11-Plus Exams: Advice For Expat and International Parents

Many of the students that we teach are from expat, diplomatic and international backgrounds.

As the child of an ambassador, politician, CEO or public figure, you're often expected to move from country to country, city to city with hardly any prior notice. It isn't an easy life and it becomes harder when you're expected to sit some of the most challenging school entrance exams in the world.

If you're the parent of an expat child, it's important that you understand many of the complexities that your child may be facing. 

These include:

• Feeling lonely (because your child's friendship circle changes every time they move schools)
• Feeling as if they don't belong
• Lacking in confidence about their appearance, accent or mannerisms because they are 'different' from that of other children.

However, it's important to note that your child's unique international upbringing has many benefits that make them unique and therefore, you should encourage them to embrace the following qualities.

• They have an innate ability to get along with people from every culture because they are a third culture kid.
• They might speak multiple languages to a fluent or conversational level.
• Your child might be more confident because expat life has given them the chance to see more of the world and use public speaking speaks on a regular basis.
• Your child is likely to have a more varied and diverse perspective of the world because they have visited and lived in a variety of places. This also means that they have wonderful stories to tell; stories that make them stand out from the crowd.

To help your child with the 11+, SATs and other important exams, instil pride and confidence in them. Let them know that they have some incredible gifts that are unique to them because of their third culture background. Encourage them to embrace every aspect of who they are.