Word Enrichment for Gifted Kids
There are so many ways to enrich vocabulary and word usage at home. These should be fun and challenging activities for everyone.
Begin reading out loud to children at an early age, and don’t stop as the kids develop their own reading skills. Shared reading is beneficial into the teenage years and beyond. In addition to reading aloud, share with one another the interesting parts of books that each member of the family reads. Excitement about reading is contagious.
Use big words at the dinner table. Don’t talk down to children. It is only by hearing big words that they become familiar. Young people will figure out the meanings of many words through context. They can ask you about the meanings of the ones they don’t understand.
Play family word games together like Scrabble, Boggle, and UpWords. Crossword puzzles and other word puzzles are also fun to do together. They also increase vocabulary and help one to look at words in unusual ways. Inexpensive word puzzle books are available in the magazine sections of grocery stores and drug stores.
Interactive computer word games can be found at