7th Grade Vocabulary: How to Help Your 7th Grader Learn Vocab Words

Helping Your Child with 7th Grade Vocabulary

What's Expected in the 7th Grade

In the 7th grade, your child will most likely determine what words mean from context, as well as how to use new words properly in new contexts. Your child will often need to determine what words mean based on their parts, like prefixes and suffixes. He or she may also learn Latin and Greek roots and affixes. Your child will also commonly be expected to know how to use a dictionary, thesaurus and other references.

Helping Your Child

You can probably find 7th grade vocabulary words in your child's textbooks. You can start by looking through his or her English/language arts books, but there's certain to be plenty of new terms in other textbooks as well, including science and social studies. By studying the vocabulary in textbooks and novels around the house, your child can increase his or her comprehension, while also learning the new vocabulary words.

If you want to select words from a textbook, look for bold print and keywords. You can select words from a novel by looking through a chapter for challenging words and highlighting them.

Sit down with your child and go over these words. It's helpful to pick words that supplement your child's schoolwork. Have your child memorize the words along with their definitions. A simple way to accomplish this is by making flashcards. You can make them yourself, or use one of the online flashcard makers available at a number of websites.

In addition, use games and activities to reinforce the vocabulary words. For example, write down a number of common word parts, such as prefixes and suffixes. Shuffle them up and have your child pick them out of a hat. Using these parts, create new words together.

Useful Vocabulary Resources

If your child needs extra help that you're unable to provide, there are options to consider. First, ask your child's English/language arts teacher and other education professionals in your child's life for help. It's likely that there are after-school programs at local learning facilities and libraries that your child could potentially benefit from. You might also consider hiring a private vocabulary tutor.

You can also find 7th grade vocabulary lists online as well as worksheets, practice exams and games. There are also a number of sites that offer vocabulary homework help through e-mail, instant messaging and via Web cam.