Oxford Children's Dictionary

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This research highlights the vital role language plays for children when it comes to processing the news and discussing important topics. Motion, the former poet laureate, said that “by discarding so many country and landscape-words from their Junior Dictionary, OUP deny children a store of words that is marvellous for its own sake, but also a vital means of connection and understanding.

Their defence – that lots of children have no experience of the countryside – is ridiculous. Dictionaries exist to extend our knowledge, as much (or more) as they do to confirm what we already know or half-know,” said Motion.The updated supplement provides grammar and punctuation information to support children’s reading and writing, making it the ideal dictionary for boosting reading skills and building word power. Here are four things to consider when choosing a dictionary for your child. 1. Is it pitched at the right age for your child? Is it age-appropriate? This year, over 5,000 children aged 6-14 across the UK took part in the research. Initially, we conducted two surveys, via parents and schools, asking over 4,000 children to suggest their word of the year. Based on the results and key themes we selected a shortlist of three words – Queen, happy and chaos – which were put to an additional 1,000 children to vote for their top choice. The highlights

Many dictionaries come with special appendices, pictures, grammatical rules and more. Some children’s dictionaries come with jokes, anagrams, and rhyming words, while others contain creative writing tips from beloved children’s authors. It’s always worth doing a little research to find a dictionary with extra features which are useful and interesting to your child. The Oxford First Illustrated Dictionary contains lovely hand-drawn illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark, and is full of popular characters from children’s stories and fairy tales. The Oxford First Dictionary, on the other hand, features computer-generated images which may appeal to children who prefer computer games to bedtime stories!

Teaching with Oxford Learner's Word Lists

Further help with writing skills is available in the updated new edition of the companion Oxford School Thesaurus. Queen was chosen by children as their word of the year for 2022, according to research carried out by our department of Children’s Dictionaries & Children’s Language Data. Nearly half (46%) of surveyed children voted for Queen, making this the most popular choice from a shortlist of three words: Queen, happy and chaos. Across all the research we conducted, children’s awareness of current events and compassion for others was evident in their responses. The research It is uniquely powered by the Oxford Children’s Corpus, the largest bank of children’s language in English, so you can be confident that all entries are clearly written in child-friendly language that children actually understand. Each example is perfectly age-appropriate, making it easy and enjoyable for every child to use. When, in 2007, the OJD made the changes, this connection was understood, but less well publicised than now. The research evidence showing the links between natural play and wellbeing; and between disconnection from nature and social ills, is mounting.”

The Oxford Junior Dictionary is very much an introduction to language. It includes around 400 words related to nature including badger, bird, caterpillar, daffodil, feather, hedgehog, invertebrate, ladybird, ocean, python, sunflower, tadpole, vegetation, and zebra. Many words that do not appear in the Oxford Junior Dictionary are included in the Oxford Primary Dictionary; a more comprehensive dictionary designed to see students through to age 11. Words included in this title include mistletoe, gerbil, acorn, goldfish, guinea pig, dandelion, starling, fern, willow, conifer, heather, buttercup, sycamore, holly, ivy, and conker. Children’s dictionaries generally have a clearly defined age guide, which is a good place to start. It’s also worth bearing in mind that some children acquire reading and writing skills more readily than others, which is completely normal! Buying a dictionary together can be a good way to make the experience fun for your child, while ensuring that they find the definitions engaging. A good child’s dictionary will contain example sentences which children will relate to: they ‘walk’ to the park, they don’t ‘walk’ to work. 2. DimensionsOxford Children’s Dictionaries are created using language research drawn from the Oxford Corpus to help children develop their vocabulary and understanding, with age-appropriate definitions carefully levelled for different reading stages.