Curriculum

• Paper and pencil; no pictures or toys needed
• Parent writes these word lists on paper: walk, march, strut, prance; big, huge, gigantic; warm, hot, scorching
• Clear floor space for small steps, or a stable table for seated finger movements

1. Step 1. 1. Read walk, march, strut and prance. Model each with a few safe steps: ordinary pace, steady lifted steps, proud showy walk, light bouncy steps. The child acts them out and explains one difference. Do not rank them by speed.
2. Step 2. 2. For imagined weather, read scorching and warm. Ask which suggests more heat, then order warm before scorching by strength and explain. Next imagine one very large animal. Read huge and gigantic: could either word fit? Accept either or both with a sensible reason. Their meanings overlap; do not require an order between them.
3. Step 3. 3. Ask: What colourful thing have you really seen? What colours did it have? Accept an ordinary example such as clothing, a drawing or a flower. The child supplies their own connection; do not require a private story or a new drawing.
4. Step 4. 4. Use the quick check without first showing the model. Record support if needed. At age five, stop after one action pair if that is enough today. Weather strength, overlapping size words and the real-life connection remain unobserved until tried later.
5. Quick check. Ask for walk, march, strut and prance and one explained difference. For imagined weather, order warm and scorching by strength and explain the hotter description. Ask if huge and gigantic could fit the same very large animal: accept either or both with a sensible reason; meanings overlap. Ask for a colourful thing actually seen and its colours. Note each part and prompts separately. At age five, one action pair can be today’s core; leave later parts unobserved. Do not score a fixed huge/gigantic order.

Worked example. I march with steady steps; I strut with a proud, showy walk, not necessarily faster. For imagined weather, warm comes before scorching in strength: scorching suggests extreme heat. A huge elephant and a gigantic elephant can describe the same animal; both words mean very large and their meanings overlap. Either fits; neither proves a larger measured size. My scarf is colourful because it has red, blue and yellow stripes. The child supplies their own real example.

Optional challenge. For Shades of Meaning, imagine the same day described as warm, hot or scorching. Order these by suggested heat in this weather context and explain the change; there are no exact temperature cutoffs. Then try huge and gigantic in two sentences about one enormous animal. Does either change the picture for you? Accept a context-supported preference or both; there is no fixed order between them. Choose march or strut for a proud entrance and explain. Use imagination only, never hot objects.

What to notice. One parent note records walk, march, strut and prance actions and a difference; warm/scorching weather strength and a reason; huge/gigantic overlap (either or both may fit) and the child’s reason; a colourful thing actually seen with colours. Record prompts and unobserved parts. At age five an action pair alone leaves later parts unobserved. No photo alone proves meaning. This samples these words, not full vocabulary skill; never require a fixed huge/gigantic order.