A backpack is something many children use nearly every day.

They might use them to carry things to and from school, the park, or a trip to grandma’s house.

This common object offers wonderful opportunities to build vocabulary, practice describing, and develop early speech and language skills.

Here’s how you can use the word backpack to support your child’s communication.

A young boy smiling and wearing a blue backpack next to an illustration of a woman signing backpack.

Parts of a Whole

Backpacks are made up of different parts, and naming those parts helps your child build vocabulary and understand how things work.

Point to or talk about these parts:

zipper
handle
straps
pockets

You can also talk about what each part does:

“The straps go on your shoulders.”
“The zipper opens the backpack.”

A bright yellow backpack labeled with its parts, zipper, handle, straps, and pockets.

Labeling Common Objects

Now let’s practice naming what goes in a backpack.

Can you name the common school items below?

A bright blue backpack next to school supplies, a notebook, brown paper lunch, book, glue stick, crayons, pencil, scissors, water bottle, and binder.

What do you carry in your backpack?

Compound Words

Backpack is an example of a compound word, two words joined to make one.

Back + pack = backpack

You can explain that a backpack means a pack that goes on your back.

See if you can think of other compound words (e.g., lunchbox, bedroom, raincoat).

Opposites

Use a backpack to teach early concepts like opposites:

empty / full, “Is your backpack empty or full?”
neat / messy, “Let’s keep the backpack neat.”
open / closed, “The backpack is open. Now it’s closed.”

Opposites help kids build describing skills and compare objects or situations.

Two blue backpacks the left one looks empty and the right one is full with school supplies spilling out of it.

Parents, does your child have a goal to increase the use or understanding of antonyms?

Antonyms is another word for opposites.

Prepositions

We can practice preposition words using these racks of backpacks.

Use the picture to answer the questions below.

How many backpacks are on the top rack?

How many backpacks are on the bottom rack?

What color backpack is in the middle of the top rack?

Which two backpacks are close to each other?

What color backpack is above the green one?

What color backpack is below the pink one?

Point to the hooks on the racks that are empty.

Rhyming

It’s time to rhyme!

Read the two sets of rhyming words below.

Can you find the two missing cards in each word family (-ack, -ug)

Jack, back, _______, _______
pug, mug, _______, _______

Rhyming word picture cards for the word families -ack and -ug.

Generating Sentences

Let’s extend the rhyming activity into sentences or a story.

Use the pictures below to make up a set of sentences.

Or, challenge yourself and use all the pictures to tell a story about Jack’s hiking trip.

Picture cards for the mini rhyming book ack, pack, track, Jack, back, snack, and sack. — Pictures from Mini Rhyming Books.

Answers

Labeling: notebook, lunch, book, glue stick, crayons, pencil, scissors, water bottle, binder

Prepositions: three, three, yellow, red and blue, purple, red, four gray circles

Rhyming: Jack, back, snack, sack, pug, much, bug, tug

Illustration Credits: Kari Bolt, Bunny on a Cloud

Word of the Week: Backpack, Building Speech and Language Skills Through Everyday Objects