Vocabulary Development

The words in these lists are the focus of vocabulary development throughout this theme's oral language, listening comprehension, and small-group activities. The list includes a wide variety of academic and content area words as well as everyday conversational words that children add to their vocabularies through interactions with families, teachers, and peers.

Theme Vocabulary

Core Words

  • blue
  • cold/colder
  • color(s)
  • cools/cooler
  • feel
  • green
  • hard
  • hear/hearing
  • hot/hotter
  • pattern(s)
  • red
  • see/seeing
  • senses
  • smell/smelling
  • soft
  • spot(s)
  • stripes
  • taste/tasted/tasting
  • touch/touching
  • warmer
  • yellow

Basic Words

  • arms
  • bird
  • calendar
  • circles
  • clock
  • coat(s)
  • ears
  • eyes
  • feathers
  • feet
  • hands
  • legs
  • line(s)
  • mouth
  • nose
  • shape(s)

Challenge Words

  • cardinal
  • discovery
  • repeat

Story/Poetry Vocabulary

  • black
  • noisy
  • orange
  • purple
  • sniffs
  • sorting
  • sounds
  • whispering
  • white

Basic Words

  • hair
  • help
  • tails
  • tongues
  • tricks (v.)

Challenge Words

  • classifying
  • discovery
  • excited
  • matching
  • observing
  • rainbow
  • recording
  • repeat
  • science
  • spirals

Math Vocabulary

Number Words

  • one
  • two
  • three
  • four
  • five
  • number
  • numeral

Position Words

  • behind
  • between
  • first/middle/last
  • next to
  • pattern

Shape Words

  • circle
  • cone
  • cube
  • cylinder
  • prism
  • rectangle
  • square
  • triangle

Science Vocabulary

Oral Language Card 15

  • hear
  • see
  • smell
  • taste
  • touch

Oral Language Card 17

  • ears/hear
  • eyes/see
  • hands/touch
  • mouth/taste
  • nose/smell

Oral Language Card 19

  • cool
  • fall
  • leaves

Oral Language Card 21

  • fruit
  • sour
  • sweet
  • taste

Social Studies Vocabulary

Oral Language Card 16

  • awake
  • breakfast
  • clothes
  • morning

Oral Language Card 18

  • hear
  • holiday
  • parade
  • see

Oral Language Card 20

  • beach
  • feel
  • hear
  • see
  • smell
  • taste
Core Words
Teach and reinforce these words with all children.
Basic Words
Three-year-olds, English language learners, and children with limited vocabulary experience may need reinforcement of these words.
Challenge Words
Introduce these words as children's interests indicate.