The Wonderful World of Nonsense: Using Jabberwocky to Boost Early Reading Skills
The strange creatures and bizarre vocabulary of The Jabberwocky offer more than just giggles—they provide a unique opportunity to strengthen your child’s phonics abilities. There’s something magical about the way children respond to whimsical language. Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” with its fanciful made-up words like “slithy toves” and “borogoves,” might seem like pure entertainment, but it can actually be a powerful tool for teaching phonics and helping children develop crucial reading skills. Far from being just a silly poem, “Jabberwocky” can open doors to phonemic awareness, decoding skills, and a lifelong love of reading.
Why Nonsense Words Build Stronger Readers
When children encounter a word like “brillig” or “outgrabe,” something remarkable happens in their developing brains. Since these words don’t exist in their vocabulary, they must rely entirely on their knowledge of letter-sound relationships—the very foundation of phonics—to sound them out.
This process is particularly valuable because it prevents children from relying solely on memorization or context clues when reading. Instead, they must apply their understanding of how letters and sounds work together—practicing the exact skills they need to tackle unfamiliar words they’ll encounter throughout their reading journey.
Think of nonsense words as a phonics gym where children exercise their decoding muscles without the safety net of meaning to guide them. It’s pure decoding in its most distilled form.
From Jabberwocky to Phonics: Practical Activities for Home and Classroom
Making the connection between Carroll’s whimsical creations and structured phonics practice can be both educational and entertaining. Here are several approaches to try with your emerging reader:
- The Nonsense Word Detective: Read “Jabberwocky” aloud, then challenge your child to identify which words are real and which are made up. This helps children differentiate between known vocabulary and new words they need to decode.
- Create a Nonsense Word Dictionary: After reading “Jabberwocky” or a similar nonsense verse, invite children to choose their favorite nonsense words and create illustrations and definitions. This playful activity reinforces the idea that words have meanings we assign to them through our understanding of language patterns.
- Sound Sorting: Take nonsense words from “Jabberwocky” and sort them by vowel sounds or consonant blends. For example, group words with long “i” sounds or words that start with “sl” blends.
- From Nonsense to Real: Challenge children to transform a nonsense word into a real word by changing just one letter or sound. For example, “slithy” could become “slippery.”
Remember that while nonsense words are powerful teaching tools, they should complement—not replace—instruction with real words. The goal is to strengthen decoding skills that transfer to authentic reading experiences.
The Science Behind the Silliness: How Nonsense Words Support Decoding
When students encounter nonsense words, they must rely on their knowledge of letter-sound relationships rather than on memorization or context clues.
This process engages the brain’s phonological processing areas in a unique way. The ability to decode unfamiliar words represents a fundamental difference between merely “decoding” text and truly “reading” it. When children can successfully navigate nonsense words, they demonstrate that they’ve internalized the alphabetic principle—the understanding that letters represent sounds in predictable ways.
The brain-based research supporting explicit phonics instruction shows that when children learn to decode efficiently, they free up cognitive resources for comprehension. Nonsense words provide the perfect opportunity to practice these decoding skills in isolation before applying them to meaningful text.
Beyond Jabberwocky: Explore Other Whimsical Texts for Phonics Practice
While “Jabberwocky” may be the most famous example of nonsense verse, there’s a rich tradition of whimsical literature that can support your child’s phonics development. Consider incorporating these beloved works into your reading routine:
- Dr. Seuss books: With made-up creatures and playful language patterns, books like “The Lorax” and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” provide natural opportunities for phonics practice while engaging children with compelling stories and illustrations.
- Shel Silverstein’s poetry: Collections like “Where the Sidewalk Ends” contain delightful nonsense poems that play with language in ways that challenge and delight young readers.
- Roald Dahl’s inventive language: Dahl created numerous words in books like “The BFG” (with its “snozzcumbers” and “frobscottle”) that make excellent fodder for phonics discussions.
- Edward Lear’s limericks and nonsense verse: Like Carroll, Lear was a master of Victorian nonsense poetry that continues to charm readers today.
When selecting texts, look for those that match your child’s current phonics knowledge while stretching them just enough to promote growth. A good rule of thumb is to choose books where your child can successfully decode about 95% of the words independently. This creates the perfect balance of challenge and confidence-building success.
Create a Balanced Approach: Combine Play and Structure in Phonics Learning
The beauty of using nonsense words and whimsical literature in phonics instruction lies in the balance it creates between structured learning and playful exploration.
At home or in the classroom, try these strategies to create a balanced phonics approach using nonsense words:
- Make it multisensory: Have children tap out syllables in nonsense words, clap to mark vowel sounds, or use manipulatives like letter tiles to build and rebuild nonsense words.
- Create clear boundaries: Always clearly identify nonsense words as “pretend words” or “silly words” to avoid confusion. You might place an asterisk beside nonsense words or use a special voice when reading them aloud.
- Connect to meaning-making: After decoding nonsense words, invite children to imagine what these words might mean. This builds a bridge between phonics skills and the ultimate purpose of reading—comprehension.
- Use technology thoughtfully: Several high-quality phonics apps incorporate nonsense word practice into their instruction.
- Monitor progress: Periodically assess your child’s ability to decode nonsense words to gauge their developing phonics skills. This can be as simple as creating flashcards with nonsense words that contain previously taught phonics patterns.
Make Reading Magical: The Lasting Power of Whimsical Literature
The ultimate goal of phonics instruction isn’t just to teach children how to decode words—it’s to help them become lifelong readers who find joy and meaning in text. Whimsical literature like “Jabberwocky” creates a special kind of magic that can transform phonics practice from a dry academic exercise into an adventure in language.
When children encounter the playful possibilities of language through nonsense words, they begin to understand that reading isn’t just about following rules—it’s about exploring, creating, and connecting. This sense of wonder and possibility can sustain their motivation through the sometimes challenging process of learning to read.
Moreover, the cognitive flexibility required to navigate nonsense words develops skills that transfer to many other areas of learning. Children who can successfully decode “slithy toves” today may be better equipped to tackle scientific terminology or foreign language vocabulary tomorrow.
As you incorporate nonsense words and whimsical literature into your phonics instruction, remember that the most powerful teaching moments often occur in the context of joyful discovery. When children laugh at the absurdity of “Jabberwocky” while successfully applying their phonics knowledge to decode it, they’re developing a relationship with reading that can last a lifetime.
Playful Phonics Practice
Nonsense words and whimsical literature offer a unique and powerful approach to developing strong readers. By strategically incorporating texts like “Jabberwocky” into your phonics instruction, you provide children with opportunities to practice crucial decoding skills in engaging, meaningful ways.
Remember that successful readers need both the technical ability to decode words and the motivation to engage with text. Whimsical literature brilliantly addresses both needs, creating readers who are skilled and enthusiastic. For more resources on evidence-based phonics instruction and creative ways to support your emerging reader, visit Phonics.org regularly. Our team is committed to providing parents and educators with the latest research and practical strategies to help every child discover the joy and power of reading.