Reading is Magic: 7. Vocabulary

“Once upon a time”, “long time ago”, “far, far away”… From the moment these phrases are spoken, something magical happens and our inner child awakens. 

Fairytales exist in every culture and language.  They are an integral part of children’s literature. They brighten imagination, introduce us to literature, and give life lessons. They are warnings learned from a safe distance.

They also include language and vocabulary that is not used in everyday speech. This Book Week theme is such a good opportunity to introduce some new vocabulary, that only exists in stories and  fairytales. 

Words such as enchanted; potion; spell; spindle; leagues; slippers; spellbinding; cauldron; kingdom; villain; hero; damsel; carriage; castle; prick; thorns; cloak; quest; wicked; evil; elixir; bewitch. 

Most of these words are Tier 3 words  low-frequency words that occur in specific domains. In this case the domain is fairytales or traditional literature. We usually learn these words when a specific need arises, so this is the ideal time to take more notice of the words that are appearing in books connected with 'magic' and the world of imaginative play.

The book Word Wizard  by Cathryn Falwell is a good starting point for starting a collection of words.

Blurb: At breakfast one morning, Anna discovers magic in her bowl of alphabet cereal.The letters in her spoon can be arranged to form several different words.She's a word wizard! Wielding her magic spoon, Anna helps a lost little boy named Zack find his way home-turning a wave-tossed ocean into a canoe and producing a horse once they reach the shore. Accompanied by Cathryn Falwell's ingenious collage pictures, this lively adventure is an enticing introduction to a creative form of wordplay. A concluding note encourages children to become word wizards by collecting letters and words from newspapers and magazines to form their own anagrams. 

Or, The Magic of Letters by Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor

Letters are everywhere in this delightful book that embraces the power of words and what they can do, how they can make you feel, and what they can help you say. Each letter has a name, and letters have power . . . power to make words. Words can make you hungry, make you laugh, or enchant you. And you can enchant others with magic of your own, by using them to write anything you please.

While on the subject of 'magic words' what about all the words magicians use:

abracadabra; shazam; hocus pocus; open sesame; alakazam; jokeri pokeri, hey presto