How Your Brain Collects New Words Every Day
There are about 170,000 words in the English language. When you were born, you knew zero of them. By age 5, most kids already know around 2,000 words. By the time you finish high school, you will know close to 40,000. That is a LOT of words — and your brain picks them up without you even trying. How does it do it?
What You'll Learn
• How your brain stores and remembers new words • Three powerful ways to learn new words faster • Why using a new word helps it stay in your memory • How to be a great Word Detective
Your Brain Is a Word Collector
Every time you hear a brand-new word, your brain builds a tiny connection — like a new thread in a web. Scientists who study how the brain thinks and learns are called cognitive scientists. They have discovered that words are stored in many parts of the brain at once. The sound of a word is stored in one spot. The meaning lives in another. The picture of what it looks like might be in yet another area. When all three spots connect to each other, the word is really stuck in your memory — like puzzle pieces clicking together.
Three Ways You Learn New Words
1. Hearing: Every time someone uses a word near you — in conversation, on TV, or in a read-aloud — your brain files away the sound, even if you do not know what it means yet. 2. Reading: When you see a word written on a page, your brain connects its letters to its sound. Reading lots of books is one of the fastest ways to grow your vocabulary because you see words AND hear them in your head at the same time. 3. Asking: When you ask "What does that word mean?", your brain gets the answer right away while it is paying close attention. This is the most powerful method of all.
When you meet a word you don't know, don't skip it — investigate! First, use the words around it (context clues) to make your best guess. Then ask an adult or look it up. Write the word and meaning in a small notebook. Word Detectives grow their vocabulary twice as fast as people who skip unknown words.
Practice Makes Words Stick
Cognitive scientists have found that you need to hear or use a new word about 10 to 15 times before it really settles into your long-term memory. That is why reading a favorite book again and again — and talking about what you read — works so well. Each time, your brain makes that memory connection a little bit stronger. The very best trick? Use the new word in a sentence you make up yourself. When your brain creates something with a word (instead of just hearing it), the memory connection gets much, much stronger. Try it with any new word you meet today.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
About how many words do most children know by age 5?
Which method BEST helps a new word stay in your long-term memory?
My Word Detective Journal
Start your own Word Detective Journal this week. 1. Get a small notebook or fold 5 sheets of paper together and staple them. 2. On the cover write: MY WORD DETECTIVE JOURNAL and your name. 3. Each day for 5 days, find ONE new word you have never used before. It can come from a book, TV, a conversation, or a sign. 4. For each word write: - The word itself - Where you found it - Your guess at its meaning (from context clues) - The real meaning (ask an adult or look it up) - One sentence you made up using the word 5. At the end of the week, read all 5 words out loud to someone. Deliverable: A completed 5-entry Word Detective Journal with at least 5 new words, your guesses, real meanings, and your own original sentences.
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