One of the questions my son asks me most often as he is writing is “Is ______ a compound word?”  I’m not exactly sure why compound words are so difficult to learn except that there doesn’t seem to be a hard and fast English rule about when to use them. Even word experts don’t agree [...]

We at Vocabulary.co.il are curious.  We get some feedback on our vocabulary building games and articles, but it never quite allows us that “peek into the classroom” that we would like.  If you are a classroom teacher, using Vocabulary.co.il in your daily classroom or homework schedule, we would love to hear from you.  Sound off [...]

The topics used in the games at Vocabulary.co.il cover a wide variety of subjects and curriculum areas. Several of the topics offered in the games at Vocabulary.co.il are related to religion.  If you are playing either Match Game, Quiz Game, Unscramble, Word Search, Crossword Puzzle, or Hang Mouse, you can choose any of the following [...]

If you are a classroom teacher or homeschooler, you may be discussing the Nobel Prizes today.  They have been in the news quite a lot in recent days, and today especially due to President Obama being the latest recipient of one of the honors. There are Nobel prizes in each of the following disciplines: physics, [...]

Teachers and homeschoolers across the country are studying our national parks this week thanks to the current PBS airing of Ken Burns’ documentary series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”  If you are one of these teachers, you might be interested in some great vocabulary and spelling tie-ins to this subject. SpellingCity: National Parks Play [...]

Yesterday, my boys and I attended a homeschool program about nature journaling.  Nature journaling, we came to find out, involves taking paper, pencils/crayons/markers, and possibly a camera, binoculars, magnifying glass, and even a field guide outside to get up close and personal with the natural world. Doing this means paying attention to the details you [...]

Triple A Words.  Have you ever thought about them?  In my opinion, they are often some of the most difficult words to spell.  Probably because they don’t always follow traditional rules of English (which are hardly traditional, and made to be broken, it would seem). But words with three A’s in them are some of [...]

It’s summer time, school is out, and time for a brain vacation, right?  Not necessarily.  Studies have shown that those students who attend year round schools, with shorter breaks between quarters and semesters find it easier to retain information than those kids who have long summer breaks of 2 1/2  to 3 months.  So if [...]

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.  [...]

Middle school…the time of crushes, embarrassments, and growth spurts.  The time between childhood and adulthood, between dependence and independence.  It is a time of growth — physically, socially, emotionally, and educationally.  It is also a time when communication is key and a strong vocabulary becomes more important than ever. In the middle grades, students are [...]