More Than Words: Why pancakes ended the lesson
- May 18
- 2 min read
In the clinic, we often use real objects, pictures, and hands-on materials when teaching new words, and this is very intentional. Young children learn language best when words are connected to something they can see, touch, or experience. When a child hears a word like “apple” while also seeing or holding an apple, their brain forms a stronger and clearer link between the word and its meaning.
This approach is more effective than spoken explanation alone for several reasons:
Objects make meaning clear and reduce confusion.
Children remember words more easily when they hear and see them.
Hands-on materials are more engaging and help children focus.
Hearing a word helps children learn the label, but seeing and interacting with the object helps them truly understand the meaning. We combine rich talk with real objects and visuals to give students the strongest possible foundation for vocabulary growth and language development.
Today we finished a session with pancakes.
Just last week, one of my youngest students, who was working with the letters SATPIN, came across this sentence and had no idea what sap was.
Even when I mentioned maple syrup, she had never tried it, so this week we ended her session with morning tea. We also watched a short video about how maple syrup comes from the maple tree.
Moments like these are small but powerful. They show us that vocabulary doesn’t grow from definitions alone. It grows from experience, curiosity, and connection to the real world.
The sentence comes from The SATPIN Kit.
It is also included in the Read It, Write It, Draw It sentence pack.
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