It can if it is tuned to PBS this fall!  In an exciting development, The Public Broadcasting Service is bringing Susan Meddaugh’s "Martha" book series to life in order to build young children’s vocabulary skills.  In the popular books, Martha the dog swallows some Alphabet Soup and begins to speak, and hilarious hijinks ensue. In [...]

Another school year is winding down, and for teachers that means a look back at what went well, and what went not so well over the course of the last two semesters.  Chances are, the lessons, projects, and days that feel the most successful are the ones where the students truly engaged in their work.  [...]

In general, a child’s reading strengths are directly related to his vocabulary. Usually, the more words a child recognizes in speech, the more she will be able to readily recognize in writing. This assertion sets the stage for the incredible importance of creating an environment for children where words are of key value. BABIES Some [...]

One of the most interesting things about the English vocabulary is finding out where in the world a word comes from. Did it just appear out of thin air? Did someone see a tree for the very first time and just know instinctively that it was a “tree?” Did the first English-speaking person hear a [...]

We don’t hear all that much from our users so we enjoy the occasional email on how the site gets used. We know it gets used alot.  There are over half a million impressions each month!  We’ve thought of adding a forum to make it easier for people to share ideas. But that can require [...]

When we look back at our own vocabulary instruction, we probably remember vocabulary words highlighted in bold in our social studies books, or occasionally built into our language arts lessons in later elementary school.  What we most likely do not recollect is specific vocabulary instruction in preschool or early elementary.  Most of our gains in [...]