Vocabulary.com
Use Vocabulary.com to encourage your students to build vocabulary skills in a non-threatening, possibly even fun, way. The words in the game make it ideal for use as part of an SAT-prep program or a high school English course. By searching the word lists, you can help students practice relevant vocabulary. For example, a social studies teacher may use a word list that focuses on vocabulary used in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution or a computer skills teacher may focus on words used in Minecraft. You might also encourage students to play the game for homework to help build their general vocabulary skills and compare their progress with the progress of other students in the class. You could even opt to reward top students for their performance or for making large gains in their skills over a given period of time.
Continue readingAfter creating an account, teens jump right in to playing the vocabulary game. As they play, they encounter a variety of questions. Some ask them to choose the definition for an unfamiliar word, while others present them with a definition and ask them to choose the word it applies to. As they get further into the game, they read short passages and must use the context of the passages to help determine which word best fits into the blank. The game covers a wide range of words, from simpler words such as vale and veterinarian, to more complex words such as viand and solecism. Each correct answer builds points and the game also tracks how well players learn individual words as they continue with the game. This tracking and the game's adaptive format introduces new words based on a player's level, helping to keep it challenging, but not overwhelming.
While teens may not use many of the words they learn while playing the game, they'll build general vocabulary skills. As they discover new words, they'll learn about common word patterns, improve the ability to use context clues, and gain confidence in their vocabulary skills. Many of the words they learn may also appear on college acceptance exams such as the SAT and ACT, so playing the game regularly has the potential to help improve their scores. In fact, specific word lists allow students to focus on key SAT words, words from specific novels, or even subject-specific words.
The app would be stronger if there were ways for kids to make their own connections to word meanings. The ability to curate word lists, add images, or create their own sentences using the words would make for deeper learning.
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