Useful Tips and Strategies for Working with Your Child at Home

Here is a strategy to assist with enhancing vocabulary by writing object descriptions, since defining concepts is important across all academic areas. This strategy will assist students with retaining, recalling, and writing definitions using an appropriate structure.  In order to use the strategy of object descriptions you must ask your child these seven questions in this order: 
1) What is it called?
2) What is the category?
3) What do you do with it? What does it do? 
4) What does it look like?
5) What parts does it have?
6) What does it feel like?
7) Where can I find it?

**Not every question needs to be answered.**

Then, you build a definition with the answers the students give to the seven questions: A(n) ______(#1)______ is a(n) ________(# 2)________ that _____(#3)_______. It _______ (#4, 5, 6 or 7)_________ and ____(#4, 5, 6 or 7)_________.

Here's an example:
1) What is it called? A blueberry
2) What is the category? Fruit
3) What do you do with it? What does it do? Eat it
4) What does it look like? Round, Dark Blue
5) What parts does it have? Small seeds and a small stem
6) What does it feel like? Smooth
7) Where can I find it? At the grocery store, On a plant

Definition: A blueberry is a fruit that you can eat. It is round, dark blue, and smooth with small seeds and a small stem. You can find them at the grocery store or on a plant.

(Zimmerman, 2007) (Montgomery, 2012)