Imperfect Word Study Card Set

A Note on Control Charts: There are five control charts included in the word study set. Why not 11 (one for each card packet)? Because not every word study activity needs a control chart. We want the child to be able to verify that a beaver lives in a den, not a burrow so the animals and their homes cards need a control chart. Similarly, we want the child to verify that a female fox is a vixen and not a mare so the masculine and feminine cards need a control chart. We don't want them to be misinformed about factual information and there is no other control of error built into the cards.

For other materials, such as synonyms, there are a limited number of cards included in the packet. This allows the children to discover their own errors. For example, if they match damp with frigid, they will be searching for the correct match for cold and won't be able to find a good alternative. They will naturally discover their own error based on the limited selection of options before them. For compound words, the child may see more possibilities than the adult sees. For example, they might match fire with tail and pony with fly rather than the other way around (the typical way). While these words don't combine to create a conventional compound word, they do have a logic of their own.

The intention of these activities is to help children develop a deeper understanding of and curiosity about language. Accuracy develops at the child's pace. If an error is made in spite of the inherent controls built into the materials, the adult's role is to observe and offer additional spoken language lessons (at a different, neutral moment) to support the development of precision in language.