Before you begin a unit on family in your preschool classroom, determine the new vocabulary you want students to learn and use by the end of the unit. Common words include: mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, uncle and cousin. Include words and phrases about activities families typically do together, such as: eating, playing games, taking trips and celebrating special events. For a longer unit, add words about where families live, as well as everyday tasks each member of the household performs. Ask parents to help you devise a list of vocabulary words that are important to their families.
Introduce your preschoolers to family vocabulary through books and stories. Choose books with words depicting family roles, homes and celebrations. Reflect your students' diversity in home life through the books you choose. As you encounter words on your list in your reading, pause and talk about those words. Write the words so students can begin making associations between print and spoken word. Try to use the words throughout the day so students become familiar with them.
Children develop language by talking with adults, so take time each day to interact with each student. During an art activity about families, circulate around the room and ask students questions about their families, using the new vocabulary words students have learned. Encourage students to use the new vocabulary in their responses.
Students need to encounter new vocabulary in a variety of contexts to foster learning, according to Reading Rockets. Songs and nursery rhymes are a fun way to present new vocabulary to children in a different context. Choose songs and rhymes that use a family theme to teach family vocabulary. For example, the popular rhymes "Five Little Ducks," "The Farmer in the Dell" and "Grandma's Spectacles" all feature family members, and can be spoken, acted out or put to song. Everything Preschool suggests changing the words of simple children's songs to include family vocabulary (see Resource 1, "Songs"). To help students learn the words, sing the songs and perform the rhymes every day.
Offer students opportunities to use family vocabulary words during playtime. Provide students with items necessary to play "family" in the dramatic play area. These might include clothing items for mommy, daddy, siblings and grandparents. Create a home setting with a kitchen area, dining table and living area. As students play, ask them questions about what they are doing, using the vocabulary words on your list. Encourage students to use the vocabulary as they play.
Use artwork to teach vocabulary. Ask students to make a family portrait or family tree, using pictures from home if possible, suggests Everything Preschool. As students work, ask them about the different people in their families, using the vocabulary words on your list. When students complete their projects, let them present them to each other. Preschool Rainbow suggests letting the students ask each other questions about their presentations, thus giving them an opportunity to use their new vocabulary.