When several important words are unfamiliar, a child may struggle to build an accurate picture of what a new text means. Preparing three to five terms over several short sessions reduces that initial language barrier.

Ask school for the essentials

Request the words that carry the main ideas in the topic or book. If school cannot send a list, look on the school website. Many schools post each term’s topics, and some add a one-page list of key words, often called a knowledge organiser.

For each word:

1. Say the word and give a clear meaning.

2. Link it to a picture, object, action or familiar example.

3. Use it in a short sentence.

4. Ask the child to choose or create another example.

5. Revisit it before the topic starts.

For evaporation, show water disappearing from a warm surface and connect this with liquid changing into gas.

BBC Bitesize has free short videos on many primary topics, so your child can see and hear the new words in use before the lesson.

Keep the words visible once classroom reading begins. Return to them when they appear rather than treating the preview as a separate vocabulary test. A good sign is your child spotting one of the words in class or using it when they tell you about the topic.

Use several brief reviews rather than one long session. Avoid large lists, copied definitions or expecting the child to learn specialist knowledge that school has not yet introduced.

Talamo has no commercial relationship with any of the organisations named here. We suggest them only because we think they could be useful to families.