What is a word for kids

How many words does your toddler say? If you’re in the early intervention circuit, as either a parent or a clinician, you probably hear this question a lot. 

First words are an important milestone for toddlers but what exactly is considered a word? What counts as a word?

If you have a copy of My Toddler’s First Words, this question may sound familiar. That’s because I explain this concept in this book. If you don’t know what counts as a word, it may be tricky to facilitate or track words your toddler’s language development.

Dr. Erika Hoff, professor and director of the Language Development Lab at Florida Atlantic University defines a word as, “a sound sequence that symbolizes meaning and can stand alone (Hoff, 2005, p. 422)”. The sound sequence should be an approximation of the “adult version” of the word, and the use of the word must be consistent. For example, a toddler will say “ball,” or an approximation of the word, such as “baw”, every time he or she sees his or her  favorite red, bouncy ball. 

To use words, a toddler must realize that words are symbols that represent concepts. Noises or sounds randomly uttered are not considered words because they lack meaning and purpose. However, if your child intentionally says “moo,” every time he sees a cow, then that sound can be considered a first word because he is purposefully and consistently associating the two related concepts with each other. Another example would be, if your child says, “dodo,” every time they see the family dog, then “dodo” can be considered a first word.

Additionally, and very importantly, it is expected that children make mistakes when they are first learning to talk! These mistakes are important in the language-learning process. Children may assign random sounds to people or objects, but with practice, time, and loving encouragement, they will begin to consistently assign certain sounds and words to the proper items. Once your little one starts using words, it is important to keep track of the words in their vocabulary (especially if you have concerns!)… so stay tuned for upcoming posts that discuss these next steps! 

To learn more about language development and how to facilitate first words please see my new book, My Toddler’s First Words. It is available for purchase at Amazon or ask for it at your local public library! Amazon affiliate links have been included for your convenience.

Here are some more posts related to this topic that you may find helpful:

Common First Words Spoken By Toddlers

How to Track My Toddler’s First Words

According to traditional grammar, a word is defined as, “the basic unit of language”. The word is usually a speech sound or mixture of sounds which is represented in speaking and writing.

Few examples of words are fan, cat, building, scooter, kite, gun, jug, pen, dog, chair, tree, football, sky, etc.

You can also define it as, “a letter or group/set of letters which has some meaning”. So, therefore the words are classified according to their meaning and action.

It works as a symbol to represent/refer to something/someone in the language.

The group of words makes a sentence. These sentences contain different types of functions (of the words) in it.

The structure (formation) of words can be studied with Morphology which is usually a branch (part) of linguistics.

The meaning of words can be studied with Lexical semantics which is also a branch (part) of linguistics.

Also Read: What is a Sentence in English Grammar? | Best Guide for 2021

The word can be used in many ways. Few of them are mentioned below.

1. Noun (rabbit, ring, pencil, US, etc)
2. Pronoun (he, she, it, we, they, etc)
3. Adjective (big, small, fast, slow, etc)
4. Verb (jumping, singing, dancing, etc)
5. Adverb (slowly, fastly, smoothly, etc)
6. Preposition (in, on, into, for, under, etc)
7. Conjunction (and, or, but, etc)
8. Subject (in the sentences)
9. Verb and many more!

Now, let us understand the basic rules of the words.

Rules/Conditions for word

There are some set of rules (criteria) in the English Language which describes the basic necessity of becoming a proper word.

Rule 1: Every word should have some potential pause in between the speech and space should be given in between while writing.

For example, consider the two words like “football” and “match” which are two different words. So, if you want to use them in a sentence, you need to give a pause in between the words for pronouncing.

It cannot be like “Iwanttowatchafootballmatch” which is very difficult to read (without spaces).

But, if you give pause between the words while reading like, “I”, “want”, “to”, “watch”, “a”, “football”, “match”.

Example Sentence: I want to watch a football match.

We can observe that the above sentence can be read more conveniently and it is the only correct way to read, speak and write.

• Incorrect: Iwanttowatchafootballmatch.
• Correct: I want to watch a football match.

So, always remember that pauses and spaces should be there in between the words.

Rule 2: Every word in English grammar must contain at least one root word.

The root word is a basic word which has meaning in it. But if we further break down the words, then it can’t be a word anymore and it also doesn’t have any meaning in it.

So, let us consider the above example which is “football”. If we break this word further, (such as “foot” + “ball”), we can observe that it has some meaning (even after breaking down).

Now if we further break down the above two words (“foot” + “ball”) like “fo” + “ot” and “ba” + “ll”, then we can observe that the words which are divided have no meaning to it.

So, always you need to remember that the word should have atleast one root word.

Rule 3: Every word you want to use should have some meaning.

Yes, you heard it right!

We know that there are many words in the English Language. If you have any doubt or don’t know the meaning of it, then you can check in the dictionary.

But there are also words which are not defined in the English Language. Many words don’t have any meaning.

So, you need to use only the words which have some meaning in it.

For example, consider the words “Nuculer” and “lakkanah” are not defined in English Language and doesn’t have any meaning.

Always remember that not every word in the language have some meaning to it.

Also Read: 12 Rules of Grammar | (Grammar Basic Rules with examples)

More examples of Word

Words List	Words List
apple	ice
aeroplane	jam
bat	king
biscuit	life
cap	mango
doll	nest
eagle	orange
fish	pride
grapes	raincoat
happy	sad

Quiz Time! (Test your knowledge here)

Summary: (What is a word?)

• Generally, the word is the basic and smallest unit in the language.
• It is categorised based on its meaning.
• Morphology is the study of Words structure (formation) and Lexical semantics is the study of meanings of the words. These both belong to a branch of Linguistics.
• A word should have at least one root and meaning to it.

Also Read: What is Grammar? | (Grammar definition, types & examples) | Best Guide 2021

If you are interested to learn more, then you can refer wikipedia from here.

I hope that you understood the topic “What is a word?”. If you still have any doubts, then comment down below and we will respond as soon as possible. Thank You.

Teaching vocabulary to preschoolers is not just about giving the definitions and some examples, but about creativity and fun techniques to practice the words with them. One of the best and practical ways to teach them vocabulary is using games. Here are some of them.

Categories

This game helps children to categorize the words in the columns, to get their meanings and to find a relationship between these words. For each category, you can use flashcards (fruit, vegetables, clothes, sports, etc) and give a list of different words to your kids (banana, skirt, apple, tomato, tennis, baseball, shirt, shorts, kiwi, etc.).

out the odd word

This game is a bit similar to the previous one because it is again related to categorizing. Here the teacher gives a list of words, asking kids to cross out one odd word from each line. For example:

1. November, July, September, October
2. Cold, snow, January, summer
3. Monkey, banana, apple, kiwi
4. Run, tennis, baseball, football
5. Taxi, car, bus, house

How many?

Here all you need is to show a picture of different things (animals, fruit, vegetables) and to ask your younger learners to count how many things there are in the picture.

2-litre jar

This is a fun game to play with your kids. You show them a 2-litre jar and ask to come up with words that can be placed in this jar. For example, they can say coffee, candle, but they cannot say happiness or animal, because they cannot be placed in this jar.

I spy

One might call this game an old one, but my younger learners adore it. To begin the game choose an object and give some hints to your kids, such as: “I spy something that is big and blue”. The pupil that guesses the word takes a turn to spy something and let other kids guess.

Apple Pass

Get your kids to sit in a circle. You can use a real apple or a fake one. While you pass the apple to the next student, you must say one English word. The student then throws to another student and says a different English word. The student who fails to catch the apple or to say a word is out. And the game continues until you have one winner. It can be played with different categories, such as fruit, vegetables, animals, etc.

Touch

This game is all about giving some instructions. The teacher says: “Touch the board”, “Touch the chair”, “Touch something black”, etc. And young learners go around the classroom to find the appropriate objects and to touch them.

Basketball

Make a paper ball and prepare a box where your kids can throw an imaginary ball. Show a flashcard to the first student. If they say the right word and throw the ball into the box, they get two points. But if they fail to do one of these things, they get just one point. The person who gets the most points is the winner.

Pictionary

This is a nice activity for recycling vocabulary. You can play this game in groups. Tell one of the students a word and ask him/her to draw a picture of it on the board. The first student to guess, what the picture is, gets a point and takes a turn to come up to the board and to draw the next picture.

Line True or False

Put a line of tape on the floor and make appropriate signs for «True» and «False». Show a flashcard and say its word (you can say a wrong word).  If students think that you have said the correct word they jump on to the True side, if not they jump on to the False side. The student who gives the wrong answer is out.

What games do you play with your preschoolers?

Check List of Words For Kids Here

Why do you think words are so important in effective communication? It is important to understand the fact that meaningful sentences are made using proper words. Therefore, parents and teachers need to introduce words for kids that will improve all areas of communication. Without using appropriate words, it is difficult to interpret information. Kids at an early age start picking up words around them. This is the right age where they start developing curiosity to learn new words. 

Initially, a list of words for kids should be considered which are easy and simple to understand in order to develop their language skills. However, it is necessary to teach words to kids that are essential for their communication. Before this, kindergarten spelling words will help kids to spell easy words in order to communicate with others. 

Parents and teachers can prepare a list of words for kids that they think is appropriate for them to use in everyday life. At an early age, you should use words for kids in order to improve their vocabulary skills. It not only helps in developing language skills but also improves grammatical concepts for educational development. 

To understand better, cvc word games for kids will be a great help to learn basic grammar for reading and writing. Teaching a list of words for kids takes a lot of effort. Therefore, incorporating innovative and creative activities or games can boost their understanding of words and eventually improve their language skills. Apart from this, color by sight words can inculcate interests in learning new words with the help of attractive colors and themes. 

List of Words For Kids

On the other hand, parents and teachers can focus on how to enhance their learning experience by teaching great words for kids. 

Some of the list of words that kids can learn and develop their communication skills are as follows:

• Ch Words For Kids
• Compound Words for Kids
• Describing Words For Kids
• Halloween Words
• Multiple Meaning Words
• Opposite Words for Kids
• Ph Words For Kids
• Pictionary Words for Kids
• Positive Words for Kids
• Rhyming Words For Kids
• Rhyming Words Worksheet
• Root Words For Kids
• Summer Words
• Thanksgiving Words
• Valentine’s Day Words
• Th Words For Kids
• Vocabulary Words for Kids
• Wh Words for Kids

Words For Kids By Alphabet

• Words That Start With A
• B Words for Kids
• C Words For Kids
• D Words for Kids
• E Words For Kids
• F Words for Kids
• G Words For Kids
• H Words for Kids
• I Words For Kids
• J Words For Kids
• K Words For Kids
• M Words For Kids
• N Words For Kids
• O Words For Kids
• P Words For Kids
• Q Words For Kids
• R Words For Kids
• S Words for Kids
• T Words For Kids
• U Words For Kids
• V Words For Kids
• W Words For Kids
• X Words for Kids
• Y Words For Kids

3 Letter Words For Kids

• 3 Letter Words Starting with A
• 3 Letter Words Starting With E
• 3 Letter Words Starting With J
• 3 Letter Words Starting With I
• 3 Letter Words Ending In Y
• 3 Letter Words Ending in E
• 3 Letter Words Ending in C
• 3 Letter Words Ending With A
• 3 Letter Words Ending With H
• 3 Letter Words Ending in I
• 3 Letter Words Starting With Z
• 3 Letter Words Starting With V
• 3 Letter Words Ending In J
• 3 Letter Words Starting With U
• 3 Letter Words Ending in Q
• 3 Letter Words Ending With Z
• 3 Letter Words Starting With S
• 3 Letter Words Starting With Q
• 3 Letter Words Ending In O
• 3 Letter Words Ending In U
• 3 Letter Words Starting With O

Four Letter Words For Kids

• Four Letter Words Ending In A
• Four Letter Words Ending in B
• Four Letter Words Ending in C
• Four Letter Words Ending in F
• Four Letter Words Ending In H
• Four Letter Words Ending In I
• Four Letter Words Ending in J
• Four Letter Words Ending in O
• Four Letter Words Ending In Q
• Four Letter Words Ending In U
• Four Letter Words Ending In V
• Four Letter Words Ending in W
• Four Letter Words Ending In X
• Four Letter Words Ending in Z
• Four Letter Words Starting With C
• Four Letter Words Starting With F
• Four Letter Words Starting with S
• Four Letter Words That Start With A
• Four Letter Words That Start With B
• Four Letter Words That Start With D
• Four Letter Words That Start With E
• Four Letter Words that Start with G
• Four Letter Words That Start With I
• Four Letter Words That Start With J
• Four Letter Words That Start With K
• Four Letter Words that Start with M
• Four Letter Words that Start with N
• Four Letter Words that Start with P
• Four Letter Words That Start With Q
• Four Letter Words That Start With T
• Four Letter Words That Start With X
• Four Letter Words That Start With Y
• Four Letter Words that Start with Z
• Funny Four Letter Words

Christmas Words

• Christmas words that start with A
• Christmas Words that Start with B
• Christmas Words That Start With C
• Christmas Words that Start with D
• Christmas Words that Start with E
• Christmas Words that Start with I
• Christmas Words that Start with K
• Christmas Words That Start With L
• Christmas Words That Start With M
• Christmas Words That Start With N
• Christmas Words That Start With O
• Christmas Words That Start With Q
• Christmas Words That Start With U
• Christmas Words That Start With Z

Sight Words For kids

• What are Sight Words?
• Kindergarten Sight Words
• Preschool Sight Words
• First Grade Sight Words
• 2nd Grade Sight Words
• 3rd Grade Sight Words
• Color by Sight Words

Spelling Words For kids

• Kindergarten Spelling Words
• 1st Grade Spelling Words
• 2nd Grade Spelling Words
• 3rd Grade Spelling Words
• Hard Spelling Bee Words
• Easy Spelling Words

Great Words For Kids

Kids from an early age are given easy spelling words in order to learn the formation of meaningful sentences. For that, one should abide by the grammar rules for effective interpretation of information. Parents and teachers can conduct fun and entertaining activities to learn new words. Prior to this, kids should know what are sight words? These are the most commonly used words in the sentences such as are, is, to, at, the, by, we, here, etc. A list of words for kids are introduced in the form of worksheets, videos, charts, games, etc. With this, it is extremely easy for them to understand the meaning of words and know where to incorporate them while making sentences. 

Kids are always curious to learn new words around them. They come up with words and ask questions associated with it. This develops critical thinking abilities among kids. They want to know everything related to the words. Moreover, it is important for them to explore words by involving themselves in some activities. For example, kids in general love to know about christmas or halloween words which brings a feeling of joy in them. Therefore, parents can introduce words related to the celebration or any specific content in order to increase their vocabulary. 

Benefits of Using Words For Kids 

Some of the benefits of using words for kids are mentioned below:

• Helps in cognitive development.
• Develops language and vocabulary skills. 
• Helps in understanding frequently used words. 
• Enhances learning experience. 
• Improves writing skills and reading skills. 
• Builds confidence among children.
• Improves pronunciation. 
• Helps in writing meaningful sentences by using sight words. 
• Improves spelling skills. 
• Improves grammatical concepts. 
• Helps in understanding the words and incorporating them in sentences. 
• Develops problem solving and critical thinking skills among kids. 
• Enhances creativity and mental stability. 
• Improves academic performance.

Tips to Teach Words for Children 

Some of the tips for kids to teach words in developing communication skills are mentioned below:

• Encourage the children to learn new words.
• Ask kids to repeat the words and its spellings for better retention.
• Motivate kids to learn words on a regular basis. 
• Provide reading materials in order to come up with new words. 
• Conduct innovative activities to come up with great words for kids. 
• Include flashcards, images, graphics, worksheets etc to teach words. 
• Teach difference between consonants and vowels. 
• Develop spelling skills by making them regularly read and write. 
• Understand the spelling rules in order to learn correct spellings of words. 
• Include story and essay writing in their curriculum. 

To learn words, parents and teachers need to focus on improving grammatical concepts among the children. Once they are acquainted with grammar, there will be a clear exchange of information without any misunderstanding. Kids at this age learn words that are easy and simple to understand. Make sure that there is no usage of jargon while communicating. Kids at kindergarten and preschools need extra attention in terms of spelling and pronunciation. Using great words for kids will make them feel positive about learning new things. However, there are also words that have multiple meanings associated with them.

For example, bark, can, right, bat, etc. These are similar words but with different meanings. Therefore, multiple meaning word games for kids will enhance their understanding of the difference in words. 

To get more information, explore related articles on spelling rules, spelling games for kids, and reading games for kids here.

Frequently Asked Questions on Words For Kids

Why Are Words For Kids Important?

Words for kids play an important role in improving and developing their communication skills and vocabulary. A solid vocabulary help kids create new and simple sentences by using the right words. Learning new words supports children to generate creative ideas and improve their logical thinking capabilities.

How to teach new words for kids?

Teaching new words for kids play an important role in building their confidence and vocabulary. You can ask them to read a simple sentence or a paragraph aloud, initiate meaningful conversations, encourage them to name a few objects they use or see daily, like, books, trees, sky and many others.

How To Explain The Meaning Of Words For Kids?

Explaining the meaning of words for kids can be done in this way. You can let kids notice and read the word aloud. You can read along with them and mimic the sounds of animals and ask the kid to identify the animals. Also, repeat some words that are used regularly so that kids don’t forget them.

A list of fun English word games for kids to help improve children’s spelling, reading, and vocabulary. This list of word games for kids includes word games that encourage conversation and early literacy that you can play on the spot or prepare yourself with just some paper and pencil.

Why are Word Games Good For Kids?

Word games and vocabulary games for kids are great because they get kids talking and using language while having fun. When you make a learning activity fun, kids don’t realise they are learning.

For reluctant learners, playing these word games can help and motivate them to want to play and learn more.

*This post may contain affiliate links, read more here.

10 Fun Word Games for Kids

Many of these word games for kids can be prepared easily at home with materials you already have. However if you don’t have time to prepare your own, you can also purchase a range of fun word games for kids HERE.

1. Hang Man

Probably one of the most popular word games for kids is the popular Hang Man. Player 1 thinks of a word and Player 2 has to guess it before they get “hung.”

Player 1 writes spaces for letters are written on the page so they know how many letters there are in the word. Player 2 proceeds to choose a letter they think may be in the word.

If it is correct Player 1 writes the letter down where it goes. If it is incorrect Player 1 draws part of the “hangman”. If the drawing is complete by the time Player 2 guesses, then Player 1 wins.

2. I spy

A really easy and fun word game for kids is I spy. You don’t need anything for this game except your imagination.

Player 1 thinks of a word and tells the others the first letter. “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with __” The other players need to guess the word. Whoever wins gets to be the spy!

This is a really great car game for kids too and helps to build vocabulary.

3. Bingo

Such an easy word game to prepare for kids. There are some really good versions on Amazon HERE. You can purchase the game, or use it as an example to make your own.

Draw a square grid on a page and choose a theme. Write out some words using the theme. Eg, beach: swimming, sand castles, water, sea shells, dolphin, sunbeds, picnic etc.

Make an extra copy of the words ensuring there are a few extra than the amount on the page. Cut them up into squares and put in a bowl scrunched up.

Take turns in pulling out a word and reading it out loud, then finding it on your page. The first person to find all of the words calls out Bingo and is the winner.

This fun word game for kids helps with reading and talking aloud.

4. Word Family Game

This game requires children to rhyme. Select one word and everyone needs to write as many words as they can that rhyme with that word. Eg. If the word is “Cat”, answers could be: hat, bat, rat, sat etc.

This is a great word game to help build kids vocabulary and help their language skills.

5. Word Search

Another fun but challenging word game for kids is a word search. Draw a grid of 10 x 10 squares and place as many words as you can within the grid. Words can go up, down, or diagonal, and letters can overlap to be used more than once.

Create a list on the side or bottom of the page of the words you have entered. Then once you cannot fit anymore words in, fill the blank boxes with random letters.

Kids will need to find the words as quick as possible. This can be a fun word game to do individually or as a team. For kids who like to compete, you can make identical grids and see who finishes first.

This word game encourages persistence and helps to improve their literacy skills.

6. Unscramble the words

A simple word game for children that will get them really thinking! Write a list of words down on paper but scramble the letter order while writing. Kids will need to look at the letters and try to work out what the word is and guess it.

This can be quite a competitive word game, but it helps to really get their mind ticking.

7. Scategories

While this is also an official board game, (which you can find online here) you can also make it yourself quite easily. Each player has a piece of paper and pencil.

Select 10-15 categories. These can be anything you like but remember they should be popular enough that you can guess something with most letters. Eg. Country, Movie, Body Part, Actor or Actress etc.

Once you have your categories it is time to choose a letter. Without a dice, the easiest way is to write the letters randomly on a piece of paper.

Then one person closes their eyes and points to a letter. When the letter has been chosen, players have 2 minutes to fill in the gaps with something in each category starting with that letter.

Winner is the one with the most filled in at the end, or the first to finish.

This is a really fun and competitive word game for kids that helps to improve their vocabulary, spelling, and conversation skills.

8. Words within a word

This word game requires kids to create their own words. Choose one really long word with at least 8-10 letters. The longer the better.

The aim of this word game is for kids to try to make a list of small words out of the letters of the long word. So for example the word COMPUTER includes: put, cot, term, core, mop, top, pet. Etc.

This is a really fun word game to help children’s spelling skills.

9. I am going on a picnic

A fun word game to help with your child’s memory and to get them talking.

One person starts and says “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some… fruit”

The next person says what the first person said, and adds something of their own. “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some fruit, and some sandwiches.

The next person says what the first, and second person said, and adds something of their own. “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some fruit, some sandwiches and some ice-cream.

You continue on and on and it gets more difficult to remember everything. We usually can get to at least seven or eight, and surprisingly my pre-schooler can often remember more than me!

This conversational game helps with memory, and also learning new vocabulary.

10. Story prompts

This word game involves making up a story by taking turns in saying sentences. One person starts the story, and says the first sentence. The second person continues the story with another sentence, and so on.

The stories can become very interesting as each person has different ideas. Bilingual flashcards are great for this or you can find a great version online HERE.

This conversation activity helps kid’s imagination, as well as building their vocabulary.

Other Fun Learning Resources for Kids?

If you love these English word games, check out these posts!

English Classroom Games – To play in class or at home
Knock Knock Jokes – To get the kids laughing
Best Board Games for Kids – Educational and fun
Top Book Sets for Kids – For all ages

Which English word games do you play with your kids?

These fun English word games for kids can be played with children of all ages and also with adults just by adapting certain aspects of the game to suit the age of the player.

This list of word games for kids will keep kids entertained for hours on end without feeling like they are actually learning.