5 Cent Words - 50 Cent Words

Why use a "50 cent" word when a " 5 cent" word will do?   What the heck are 'cent' words anyway?  In classrooms, many times we tell children that a big word is a million dollar word.   It makes children feel big.  More importantly it increases their vocabulary.  For example, read this dialogue from 

Sagacious, Sophisticated, and Sedulous: The Importance of Discussing 50-Cent Words With Preschoolers - I might add, all children.

Ms. Doran: Unruly means hard to control. It was hard for Henry to make his hair do 

what he wanted it to do—stay down. Your hair might be unruly when you wake up 

in the morning.

Jason: Yeah, my mom’s hair is messy.

Ms. Doran: When she first wakes up?

Jason: Yeah, all over, like this (hands circling head). 

Ms. Doran: It sounds like her hair is unruly, too. Hard to control.

I am the first to state that low level, high frequency words such as like, the, and, was are very important in learning to read.  Check out my app Read With TedDee to see how children use them to read.   But reading isn't just about high frequency or sight words.   It's about language and building background knowledge (schema).   When children learn big, 50 cent words, they use them in conversations.  When they encounter them later in reading, they build context - comprehension.  Most teachers will be the first to agree with the above article that increased vocabulary gives children a boost in school.

So today, as you go through your day, as you talk to your child use those 50 cent words. Instead of using the word get use retrieve.  Use specific words, grocery store or market instead of just store; inhaling instead of eating fast; slumber instead of sleep.  Be sure you tell them what the word means too.  You don't just say, today you were a vegetarian, hope you know that word. Instead you say, today you were a vegetarian, you only ate vegetables. That's what a vegetarian is.

Let me know the 50 cent words YOUR child uses.