By Laura Payne
It is never too early to help your child learn to properly use confusing word pairs and groups. The English language is full of them, and many of the confusing words are ones that children learn in elementary school, so what better time to start than now. There are several things you can do to help your child better understand the differences between similar words.
1. Select one pair or group of words to focus on each day of the week.
2. Write down each word on the front of an index card with the definition on the back.
3. Have your child read each word and its definition in the morning while eating breakfast.
4. Discuss the differences in the meanings of the words with your child.
5. Give your child examples of each word in context.
6. Present one example sentence that includes each of the confusing words (This illustrates the differences between the words even more than giving one example sentence for each of the words).
7. Ask your child to think of and write down a sentence of their own that contains each of the confusing words sometime during the day.
8. Discuss the sentence your child created during dinner.
9. If your child is still confused, use the index cards and try to come up with some additional example sentences with your child’s help.
10. Be enthusiastic and make the learning activity seem like a fun game.
Here are some examples to get you started:
John gave a card to his mom, and he will give cards to his two brothers and dad too.
The big scary bear wasn’t so scary when he was bare.
Jane is going to lose her scarf because it is very loose.
About Laura Payne
A self-confessed language nerd, Laura Payne is the mother of two boys, and she is a part-time English teacher. She has also done freelance writing about several topics including the structure and grammar of English.
