Little Kids, Big Words – Why Not?

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One day I was skimming the New Children’s Book list at my local library, and I saw the book, Big Words for Little Geniuses by Susan and James Patterson. At first, I thought this book would be too advanced for my toddler. However, I decided to give it a try. When I brought the book home, I opened it and saw these words… “Why should your little genius’s first word be cat when it can be catawampus? Start your child off with an early love of reading with these big words that are wonderfully FUN to say!” Anytime fun and learning are connected, I get excited! This book is colorful and introduces kids to big words in alphabetical order. The first word was ARACHIBUTYROPHOBIA!!!! This word means a fear of peanut butter sticking to the top of your mouth.  I became discouraged and thought to myself, “How am I going to teach my son these huge words?” I decided it was best to learn the words together. My plan was to read the book in small increments and  tackle three words at a time. We used YouTube videos to research and learn the words’ pronunciations. The book provided the word’s definition and vibrant images for further understanding. It became a great learning and bonding experience for my son and me. He learned how to pronounce all the words in the book. We also try to use the words as we are talking. They are really fun to say. Watch this video of my son pronouncing the words and reading. If you work with a group of kids, get this book and try the activity below…

1. Divide students into groups of four.
2. Use the first word, which is Arachibutyrophobia, and read the definition and correct pronunciation to students.
3. Instruct each group to create a comedy show centered around the words.
4. The comedy show should contain the following…
   • Humor
   • Word’s definition
   • Word’s correct pronunciation
5. Have students perform the comedy show to the class.
6. Next week use the B word which is Bibliomania.
7. If you want to create a challenge, have students incorporate multiple words from this book in their show.

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