by Charlee Bee
Yes—when a new word matters to the meaning, give a short explanation and carry on reading. You do not need to define every unfamiliar word or ask your child to repeat a definition. Try an everyday meaning, a picture or gesture, and another example later. The aim is to help your child follow the book while keeping your time together enjoyable.
What does research say about explaining new words?
In a 2005 study by Laura M. Justice, Joanne Meier and Sharon Walpole, 57 kindergarten children identified as at risk were randomly assigned to a storybook-reading group or a comparison group. The reading group attended 20 small-group sessions. Gains were modest, but the reading group learned more of the words that adults explained than the comparison group did. The same benefit was not found for words presented without explanations.
In two classroom studies reported by Andrew Biemiller and Catherine Boote in 2006, teachers used repeated book readings with primary-grade children. Adding explanations helped children learn the meanings being taught. These findings support making room for word explanations; they do not establish a perfect number of words for a bedtime story or promise the same results at home.
The suggestions below are ways to adapt that idea for family reading. They are not a tested home programme or a guarantee of a particular vocabulary gain.
Which words should I explain while reading?
Start with a word your child asks about, or one they need to understand what is happening. A useful word can describe an action, a feeling or something in the picture. If a word is incidental and your child is absorbed in the story, you can leave it for another day.
As a flexible starting point, choose one word rather than planning a lesson around every page. That is a practical suggestion, not a research-based quota. Follow your child’s interest and stop explaining when they want the story to move on.
How can I explain a word without interrupting the story?
Try a brief meaning, connect it to the page and continue. For example, if you encounter enormous, you might say, “Enormous means very big,” spread your arms wide, then return to the sentence. This is an invented example, not a quotation from a Bubbly Books title.
You can also point to something in an illustration, act out an action or give a familiar example. Use the meaning that fits the sentence: a word can mean different things in different places. If you are unsure, say, “Let’s look that up together,” rather than guessing.
Should I ask my child to guess the meaning first?
You can invite an idea when your child seems interested, but you do not have to turn an unfamiliar word into a question. “That word means…” is a perfectly useful way to help. If your child offers an idea that does not fit, respond warmly and supply the meaning.
This guide concerns understanding vocabulary during an adult read-aloud. It is different from working out how a printed word is pronounced. A picture may help explain a meaning; that does not make guessing from pictures a substitute for learning how letters and sounds work.
What if my child does not want to stop?
Keep reading. You can return to a word after the ending, mention it during play or let it pass this time. A familiar book offers another opportunity without needing to explain everything at once. Our guide to why children ask for the same book again explores repeated reading in more detail.
If your child asks several questions, make room for the conversation. If they want quiet listening, respect that too. No response, pronunciation practice or definition recital is required.
What simple word activity can we try afterwards?
Try a one-word drawing. Choose a word you discussed and draw something that shows its meaning. For enormous, you might draw an enormous imaginary sandwich beside a tiny plate. Your child can draw, dictate a sentence or simply talk. Later, use the word naturally when it fits a real situation.
This is an original family activity suggestion. It does not require a worksheet, and it is not a technique tested in the studies cited above. For more ways to follow your child’s comments, visit our interactive shared-reading guide.
Can we explore new words in a nonfiction book?
Yes—you can use the same short-explanation approach when reading about a topic your child enjoys. If geography interests them, Amazing Landforms and Water Wonders: A Geography Adventure by Charlie Wildhart is one option from Bubbly Books. Our Earth Sciences collection describes its pictures, simple definitions and exploration of landscapes and water features.
While reading, you could choose a word that actually appears on the page and discuss its meaning, then draw an imaginary place together. This is our suggested extension, not a claim that the book contains that activity. You can view Amazing Landforms and Water Wonders on Amazon, or use a book you already own.
Bubbly Books publishes the featured book. Purchases through its Amazon listing may earn book royalties.
Where can I read the research?
Justice, L. M., Meier, J., & Walpole, S. (2005). Learning New Words From Storybooks: An Efficacy Study With At-Risk Kindergartners. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36(1), 17–32. DOI: 10.1044/0161-1461(2005/003).
Biemiller, A., & Boote, C. (2006). An Effective Method for Building Meaning Vocabulary in Primary Grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 44–62. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.44.
Research summaries checked against the published study abstracts on November 9, 2026.