# 5 Reasons Why You Should Expose Preschoolers and Kindergarteners to Challenging Words

Challenging Words...

1. **Help children express themselves more clearly and precisely.** Sophisticated words that represent familiar concepts will help children express exactly what they mean—for example, "soak" is a more precise word than "wet."

2. **Get kids ready to grasp academic content.** Teaching kids challenging words now will prepare them for school success later.

3. **Help children understand the language of adults.** When children master sophisticated words, they’ll better understand what the adults around them are saying.

4. **Are tough to learn without help.** Select words that would be difficult for kids to learn from context. Explicit instruction and multiple exposure is the best way to introduce these words to children.

5. **Show children’s progress.** Targeting vocabulary words that children don’t already know helps you to assess the success of an intervention.

Adapted from Story Friends™ Teacher Guide by Howard Goldstein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Brookes Publishing Co.