A young person may understand a new topic more easily when its most important terms are familiar before they appear in a textbook or homework task.

Connect each word with the subject

Ask school to share a short list. Many secondary schools give out a one-page knowledge organiser for each topic with the key words already listed, so ask whether there is one. For each term:

• check the pronunciation;

• agree a concise meaning;

• connect it with a subject example;

• identify a useful root or related word; and

• keep it available during the first pieces of reading.

For history, industrialisation should be connected with changes in production and society, not learnt as an isolated dictionary definition. In science, reactivity can be linked with react, reaction and a familiar example.

Ask the young person to explain how the term is being used in the current topic. This is more useful than copying a definition.

Once the routine is familiar, let them select the terms that need checking and use a reliable dictionary or school glossary. Review only what is necessary; vocabulary preparation should support the reading rather than replace it.