How reading classic texts can help boost vocabulary

Any recommended list of books you have to read before you die, for children or adults, invariably contain classic novels. Some classic texts can be difficult to navigate as they present the reader with archaic language and stories of life beyond our imagining. However, penetrating the depths of a classic novel can be immensely rewarding.

Children rarely seek out classic novels when perusing book shops or library shelves. Compared to the colourful, eye-catching contemporary book covers on display, classic texts can look a little muted and uninviting. It is usually an adult who steers a child towards a classic text and, with a little support, reading it can offer many opportunities for young minds. Texts written more than a century ago can teach children about life in a time before technology, before global travel, before social media. It introduces them to a world wildly different yet strangely familiar to them. Classic texts are also brilliant stories; from secret gardens to time travel to supernatural beings, these older texts rely on the reader’s imagination to add an extra dimension to the story.

As well as providing a fascinating read, classic texts also have the added bonus of helping children (and adults) expand their vocabulary. Texts written before 20^th Century include a lot of archaic, often rarely heard words and phrases. Language is constantly evolving and words and phrases go out of fashion; this is particularly the case nowadays with the prevalence of technology. Reading classic texts means that children are being exposed to a broader range of vocabulary which they need to decode in order to help understand the events of the text. Children are required to read more mindfully as they have to contend with unfamiliar words; this can result in them taking longer to read a text, but engaging with it on a deeper level. Whether using a dictionary (paper or electronic), asking someone, or using their decoding strategies, children will develop their vocabulary, and by extension their spelling.

Reading classic texts offers a wealth of development opportunities and will help with other subjects, not just English. In different subjects, children will encounter esoteric or technical vocabulary. By reading classic texts, children will gain confidence in decoding unfamiliar vocabulary and learn to apply these strategies to other texts they read regardless of the content. Next time you are in the library or a book shop, pick up a classic text for your child to try and let them know that they will likely struggle with some of the vocabulary but that’s OK. Be on hand to help them, or even read with them while their confidence grows. When they realise how stimulating and rewarding it is, you will find that they gravitate towards classic texts and enjoy the additional level of challenge in their literary exploits.

Classic texts recommended reads:

• The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Graham
• Peter Pan – JM Barrie
• The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
• Little Women – Louise May Alcott
• Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
• Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L Frank Baum
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
• Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
• A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
• The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
• Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome