WordGirl's Word of the Week: Vanquish

Your child can creatively vanquish evil all week long!

By Brian Kraker
Jul 23, 2013

Ages

6-13

WordGirl's Word of the Week: Vanquish

Jul 23, 2013

If your children are fans of superheroes, it’s possible they’ve already heard of this week’s WordGirl word of the week before. Certainly, WordGirl continues to defeat foes – such as Dr. Two Brains and Chuck The Evil Sandwich Making King - in an effort to stop crime and keep the city safe.

Either way, get excited for a power packed week of good overcoming evil, because definition dynamo WordGirl and her new word of the week is vanquish. There are plenty of examples to use to help teach your children, including their favorite superheroes overthrow an archenemy. Then, to help your children learn more about their new vocabulary word, try one or more of these engaging, learning activities.

Activity 1: Read a story about a vanquished enemy. Teach your children about vanquished foes with a great story of good versus evil. There are plenty of great children’s stories about kids overcoming obstacles, but my personal favorite is Harry Potter. This series is perfect for readers of all ages and focuses on Harry’s attempts to defeat the evil Lord Voldermort. While it may take seven books for this conflict to be resolved, Harry must vanquish many foes along the way, so this book is perfect for introducing this new vocabulary word. 

Activity 2: Write your own superhero story. Help your children learn their new vocabulary word by incorporating it into their creative writing. If you have some young novelists on your hands, encourage them to write a new story and focus on how their hero must vanquish enemies. To help enhance their writing ask them questions such as, “Why are your hero and the enemy fighting?” “What is the enemy’s weakness?” “How does your hero plan to vanquish the enemy?” When your children are done, make sure to share their stories with the whole family.

Activity 3: Illustrate your tale. If your children are big comic book fans, this is the perfect time to turn their newly written stories into comics. Encourage your children to display their artistic side and begin to illustrate each scene. Remind them to display the emotions of their characters and incorporate the dialogue from the story into the comics. When your children are finished, help them bound the pages together to produce a sharp, homemade comic book. 

Activity 4: Watch WordGirl vanquish her enemies! After a long week of learning new vocabulary words and writing original stories, encourage your children to participate in this relaxing, learning activity and watch WordGirl vanquish her foes. Head over to the video section of WordGirl’s website and watch this definition dynamo defeat one evildoer after the next. While your children will enjoy the action, they will also learn more about the word “vanquish,” along with the new vocabulary contained in each episode!

Check back every Tuesday for the WordGirl Word of the Week and get instant access to more learning activities by visiting the Scholastic Parents Facebook page.

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