Action Words: The Learning Focus
Action words describe what someone or something does. Running, pouring, sleeping, and opening are easier to discuss when the movement is visible or demonstrated. This category develops spoken meaning without introducing a formal grammar test.
A Practical Starting Point
Act out a safe movement, name it, and compare it with a picture. Ask ‘What is the child doing?’ and expand a one-word response into a short sentence: ‘Jumping. The child is jumping.’ For actions that look similar, such as carrying and lifting, point to the details that help explain the difference.
Choosing Appropriate Support
Use gestures when a child needs another way to respond. Avoid pictures in which the action cannot be inferred clearly from one still image. Invite several plausible verbs when appropriate. Notice whether the child can identify an action in a new scene rather than merely repeat the label for a memorized card.
Distinguish Related Learning Goals
- Picture Vocabulary: Use simple pictures to help children hear and say the names of common items found in everyday life.
- Describing & Opposite Words: Use familiar pictures to discuss qualities and match everyday opposites such as wet and dry or happy and sad.