Easy read and translate
Word maps
- 5-11 Years
- 11-19 Years
- Speech, language and communication
Word maps are a great way to help children and young people learn new words. It's an organised way for your child or young person to learn new words.
A word map helps your child or young person understand:
- the meaning of the word (semantics)
- how the word looks (phonological knowledge)
- how the word sounds (phonological knowledge)
How to make a word map
Word maps are really easy once you know how to start. They are similar in appearance to a mind map.
The best way to use a word map by using it consistently. This will help your child learn to make their own, if they need it in the future.
Steps to making a word map
- Write the word in the middle of a page and draw a picture of the word.
- Discuss the word with your child or young person. You can talk about the word in lots of ways. You can talk about the meaning of the word, how the word looks or how the word sounds. You can ask questions like:
- What is it?
- What do you do with it?
- What category does it belong to?
- Where would you find it?
- What is it made from?
- How does it feel?
- What size, colour or shape is it?
- Does it have any features?
- Is there something else like it?
- What does it make you think of?
- Is it a long word or a short word?
- What sound does it start with?
- What other sounds can you hear in the word?
- What does it rhyme with?
- How many syllables does it have?
- Draw a line from the word in the middle.
- Draw or write the answers to the questions. For example if the word is triangle, you can draw the places you see triangles like signs and buildings.
- Try to draw pictures and write less. This can be a quick visual reminder for your child or young person.
Top tip
Your child or young person can colour code the word map. This can be a visual aid to help them remember the words and information. Your child or young person could colour code:
The lines - They can colour the lines for different reasons. For example, they may want to use a blue lines for the meaning of the word and green lines for the structure of the word.
The words - They can use different coloured pencils to write the words. For example, blue pens for the meaning of the word and green pens for the structure of the word.
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Last reviewed: 1 November, 2024
