Compound Words

June 20, 2024•2 min read

The creation of placing two words next to each other to create a new word with a new meaning

Have you come across compound words when studying for the 11+?

They are basically the creation of placing two words next to each other to create a new word with a new meaning. I guess examples of this could include:

dish + cloth = dishcloth,

car + park = carpark,

book + mark =bookmark.

These are different from adding a prefix (something like un, il, or pre) suffix (-ing, -er, ly) to a word which wouldn’t have any sense by themselves.

Games that you might use to practice these could include

Hangman:

Have a list of words that when paired up could create a compound word. Pick 2 words from the list, draw the line for each letter and the other person has to guess the letters that complete your compound word.

You may also create a pairs game.

Cut some compound words up and place them face down on the table. The first person takes 2 and if they fit together to create a compound word, they keep them and have another go. If not, they place them back and the other person has a go.

These are some of the more tricky ones, I think. Can you guess what they might be:

Me an

Be an

Hum rest

For an

(Actually, now I’ve written them in isolation of any other examples they’re actually quite easy!)

Something I learned many years ago when I first started learning about different learning styles and techniques is that, if we are engaged in what we are doing we are more likely to learn.

If we just keep repeating the same learning technique over and over we are just creating one memory so when we are sat in the exam and our brain is floundering and there's only one place we can go to where it will find that piece of information, we're unlikely to find it.

That's why by incorporating a variety of resources and making them fun and relevant, not only are our children want to put in the huge amounts of effort needed as a family to get a child through the 11+, put they are also more likely to be able to recall the information when they are sat in the exam.

If you're child is studying for the 11+ this year and you're wanting help, get in touch and we can have a chat.

Dawn Strachan

For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

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