Be A Word Collector

Children collect all sorts of things, and beginning readers especially like to collect words. This activity will expand your child's reading vocabulary. In this activity, your child is the collector, and the adult is the curator of the collection.

Materials Needed:

Unlined, white 3x5 cards cut in half the short way
A dark, contrasting marking pen
Ribbon and tape
A prominent place to hang the collection

Curator’s Responsibilities:

Explain that things in collections are all alike in some way.
Tell your child what this collection will be OR
Let your child choose the subject OR
Use this activity as a spontaneous response to your child’s question about, for example, “What day of the week is it today?” This could begin a collection of the names of the days of the week.
Write the words on the cards in large print.
Help your child tape the cards to the ribbon and hang the collection.

Collection Ideas:

The names of dinosaurs, fish, or other animals
The names of favorite books or movie characters
Days of the week and months of the year
Names of family members or friends
Words that rhyme with newly learned “Matchwords”
Words that begin with a particular letter