Word Detective Notebook

A small notebook

Pencil for writing

Crayons or markers for drawings

Stickers for decorating (optional)

Get a notebook. Label it "Word Detective Notebook" and decorate the cover.

Explain: "You're a word detective! Write down new words you hear or read."

Model: find an interesting word in a book — "'Enormous.' Let's add it!"

Create entries: the word, its meaning, a drawing, and a sentence using it.

Write the first few entries together.

Point out words throughout the day: "'Exhausted' — that's a detective word!"

Review old words: "Remember what 'enormous' means?"

Set a goal: 5 new words per week. Celebrate milestones.

Vocabulary size is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension AND academic success. Children who actively collect and study new words have a significant advantage.

The multi-step entry (write, define, draw, use in a sentence) creates four different memory pathways for each word. That's why it sticks better than just hearing a definition.

Don't limit "interesting words" to hard words. "Squish," "sparkle," and "gobble" are perfectly great detective words because they're vivid and fun to say.

The drawing doesn't need to be artistic — a quick sketch of something "enormous" (like a huge dinosaur) creates a visual memory hook.

Revisiting old words matters as much as adding new ones. Spaced repetition is how vocabulary moves from short-term to long-term memory.