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

  • air/food
  • animals
  • bear
  • care
  • cat(s)
  • deer
  • feathers/fur
  • jungle
  • land
  • living things
  • owl
  • pets (n.)
  • rabbit
  • shelter/water
  • wild

Basic Words

  • big/little
  • calendar
  • clock/time
  • Earth
  • middle
  • mommy
  • older
  • woods

Story/Poetry Vocabulary

  • calf
  • caterpillar
  • chick/chicken
  • corals
  • cub
  • cygnet
  • desert
  • donkey
  • fluffy
  • foal
  • fresh
  • goats
  • healthy
  • hen
  • joey
  • kit
  • moose
  • mouse/mice
  • need
  • ocean
  • polar regions
  • pup
  • rainforest
  • seaweed
  • sponge
  • stripes
  • tuna fish
  • underwater

Basic Words

  • baby(ies)
  • bedspread
  • brown
  • brave
  • bridge
  • echo
  • eleven
  • footsteps
  • greedy
  • grumpy
  • gulp
  • light
  • pass
  • plan (n.)/plan (v.)
  • polka dots
  • red
  • scared
  • yellow

Challenge Words

  • curled up
  • ditty
  • galaxy
  • howling
  • nooks
  • prowling
  • shellfish
  • stomped

Math Vocabulary

Comparing Words

  • bigger/smaller
  • fewer/more
  • fewest/most
  • thick/thin

Sorting Words

  • estimate/same
  • guess/how many
  • sort/graph
  • color/size
  • coin/nickel/penny

Shape Words

  • circle/rectangle
  • square/triangle
  • cone/cube
  • cylinder/sphere
  • rectangular prism

Science Vocabulary

Oral Language Card 29

  • feathers/fly
  • fur
  • hop/legs
  • run/walk
  • wings

Oral Language Card 31

  • animal
  • child
  • dog
  • food
  • home
  • pet

Oral Language Card 33

  • air
  • barn
  • drink
  • eat
  • farm
  • need

Oral Language Card 35

  • adult
  • alike
  • baby
  • different
  • elephant

Social Studies Vocabulary

Oral Language Card 30

  • animal
  • fish
  • lake
  • ocean
  • plant
  • pond
  • tank

Oral Language Card 32

  • clean
  • help
  • park
  • throw away
  • trash

Oral Language Card 34

  • bird
  • continent
  • kangaroo
  • mountain lion
  • ocean
  • panda bear
  • penguin
  • reindeer
  • zebra
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.