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Post: Improving Vocabulary / March 12, 2009
Improving Vocabulary
Since we have been discussing vocabulary for the past couple of days, I decided to go out and find ways in which we can improve ours and our students vocabulary skills. On this website, http://www.christian-mommies.com/ageless/school-and-homeschooling/12-ideas-for-improving-vocabulary/, the author, Rachel Lower has twelve suggestions in which we can improve volcabulary.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #1 Use Vocabulary SoftwareOne of the most effective ways to improve your vocabulary is to use vocabulary building software such as Ultimate Vocabulary. Software has many advantages over older methods, such as books and audio courses. For example, software can use many different learning strategies, rather than being limited to reading or listening. Also, software is great for keeping track of which words you want to learn. When you come across a word you don’t know, I recommend adding it to a list in your vocabulary software. C'Moms has tested and recommends this Vocabulary Building Software.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #2Crossword PuzzlesYou can find crossword puzzles for a variety of ages. For older children I would suggest the basic daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper, with the help of mom, dad or an older sibling. Or all three! They will pick up on many words, some of which crossword puzzles tend to use often. It also provides for a good memory and possibility a habit or hobby that keeps them sharp when their hairs turn grey and they need false teeth. When there are missing words no one can pin point they could search for the answer online or off line, or just wait until the answers come the next morning. If you don?t get a newspaper, there are many good crossword books. Just make sure to look through them first and see that the questions are not to hard and the answers not to obscure. http://www.dictionary.com/fun/crossword/For older children and adults:The New York Times Daily Crossword PuzzlesThe New York Times Easy Crossword PuzzlesEspecially for younger children:Children's Word Games and Crossword Puzzles, for Ages Seven to NineMore Outrageous Crossword Puzzles and Word Games for KidsBible Crossword Challenge, Big Print Bible Puzzles: 23 Crosswords Uses a Good Mix of Scripture Clues and General Knowledge CluesMy First Crossword Puzzle BookFor when you get stuck:Webster's New World (TM) Crossword Puzzle DictionaryThe New York Times Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
Improving Vocabulary Idea #3 Word SearchWord search puzzles are a great way to increase vocabulary. Since the words presented in each puzzle have a common bond, they will be chained together in your memory. The definitions will be learned in that way. Next time you think of chrysanthemum, you'll think of dandelion and rose and remember it is a flower. You can find word searched for all ages. Preschoolers can look for 'dog' or individual letters. You can easily make your own. You could present a spelling list or vocabulary list in this way. This, like crosswords, may also become a habit that will keep the mind sharp in old age. My own grandmother does this. I remember her word searches when I was a little girl and last time I visited her she pulled her booklet out and started one. Good habits these are. You can find specialized word search books, i.e. presidents, animals to go along with your lesson plan.http://www.dictionary.com/fun/wordsearch/The New Mammoth Book of Seek-A-WordThe 2nd New Mammoth Book of Seek-A-WordThe Original Mammoth Book of Seek-a-WordThe Jumbo Bible Wordsearch CollectionEspecially for younger children:Great Word Search Puzzles for KidsEasy Search-A-Word Puzzles (Dover Little Activity Books)
Improving Vocabulary Idea #4Online Word Games http://www.wgbh.org/radio/saysyou/http://games.yahoo.com/games/login?page=lthttp://games.yahoo.com/games/login?page=wwhttp://www.billsgames.com/wordscram/http://www.vocabulary.com/ (Many cool puzzles)http://www.wolinskyweb.net/word.htm
Improving Vocabulary Idea #5Note padYour child may find it handy to have a pen/pencil and pad of paper next to her when she reads. This way, she can write down any word (w/page number) that she does not know. When she is done reading she can define them, go back and read them in the context the book gave them and hopefully have some or all of them stick in her head. She could make it a point to include them in any projects surrounding the novel.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #6Off line Word GamesEnglish Teachers Book of Instant Word GamesMensa for Kids: 75 Word Puzzles
Improving Vocabulary Idea #7Board and Card GamesThere are many brilliant board games that focus on vocabulary. The most popular would be Scrabble. TIP: If the cost is daunting, perhaps you and a few other home schooling moms can work together to form a game library OR you could try making your own versions. Just look for directions to these games on the net and you can come up with your own ideas. Balderdash, for instance, you can picks words out and make fake definitions just as in balderdash. Then reading the word and the definitions -- the player must pick out the real definition. With some cardboard and markers you could make a scrabble game. Here is a fun filled list of vocabulary building board games:Scrabble * Scrabble Jr. * Balderdash * Wheel of fortune * Finish Lines * Scatt * Upwords * Bethump * Outburst * Boogle * Smart Mouth * Guesstures * Comotion * Mad Gab * Bible Outburst * A to Z * Outburst Jr. * Quiddler * Password * Boogle Jr. * Concentration * Malarky * Hangman (Great way to teach the word Aardvark -- that's how I learned it!) * A to Z Jr.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #8TalkingDon't forget that the first words your child ever said were from hearing YOU say them. That principle with keep on throughout life. When we hear someone saying a word again and again, it sticks. So don't forget to work on your own vocabulary -- and talk to your child! Have conversations. Get them talking. They will be listening. Ah! And don't forget to watch your language. Kids pick up on bad words just as easily.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #9ReadingReading does increase vocabulary. Don't forget to enrich your children's lives with a love for reading. Also reading newspapers and magazine articles can help improve vocabulary.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #10Latin and Greek RootsThe idea is to learn Latin and Greek root words. In this way, many words your child will run into can be "figured out". "Evince", they will recall evidently and evidence, "evi" seems to be a connection. What do those words have in common? Proof. Having some knowledge of how words are built and Latin roots can increase vocabulary and the ability to figure out what a word could mean when they don't have a dictionary handy. This is definitely more for older children, but when you start teaching vocabulary it can be introduced to their own level in small doses. http://www.wordfocus.com/Examples:graph (Greek) to write graphic, photography audi (Latin) to hear audible, auditoriumVocab-AbilityEnglish Words from Latin and Greek ElementsNtc's Dictionary of Latin and Greek Origins: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classical Origins of English Words Dictionary of Word OriginsThe Merriam-Webster New Book of Word HistoriesChambers Dictionary of Etymology
Improving Vocabulary Idea #11"What's that?"A young child will often ask, "What's that?!". Besides your answers, books like LeapStart Vocabulary Book: Richard Scarry Things To Know or videos like Bee Smart Baby, Vocabulary Builder 1 would certainly be of interest. Before they start asking, you can come out and tell them yourself, explain what they are doing ("you're eating cheerios"), sing to them, talk to them, makes all sorts of noises with them to help them develop the ability to speak certain syllables. For the older kids Vocabulary Cartoons: Building an Educated Vocabulary With Visual Mnemonics provides the same kind of visual aids. The library would have many. Later on, "What's that?!" still applies though the child may be less likely to ask. The idea is to provide opportunities for them to ask or simply be told. Something as simple as a field trip to the zoo. You can tell them, or have them read the signs, which animals are which. They will learn reading about the animals, words like "habitat", "diet", etc. They can learn names of animals, along with basic zoology. Museums also increase vocabulary. When you read the labels you'll find many tidbits. If you haven't painted much with your child yet and trip to the art gallery can have them learn words like "oils" "acryllics" "impressionism". Historical museums will introduce old tools and their names along with history. Exposing children to new places full of new things will kick of the "What's that?!" in them. My husband even asked me at the zoo, "What are those rabbit like animals over there?" Even we adults have this innate curiosity. Last year I learned many tree and plant names, and can identify many of them still, just by browsing the local garden centers.
Improving Vocabulary Idea #12Text Books and QuizzesYou can find a whole range of vocabulary work books to learn from, such as Vocabulary Workshop: Level A. These would be best used for the soon to be college bound teenagers. They are not as much 'fun', but short and productive word lists and quizzes. The word quiz in Readers Digest is a good example of a text book - like quiz. You can make your own 'fill in the blank' and 'match the word to the definition' quizzes. You could have your child make them, in fact, and then a week later have them answer them to see if they remember. The process of making the quiz is how they learn the word. Makes your work easier! I actually learned my Latin prefixes and suffixes from a work book. If I recall correctly it had twenty words in each lesson. I had to define them and then fill in the blanks into sentences. I enjoyed them. I was fifteen then.
Improving Vocabulary EXTRA TIP:Word of the DayWord of the Day is a handy FREE tool from Dictionary.com. If you sign up you get a word of the day in your email, every day as the name implies. The word, how to pronounce it, definition, examples and origins are included in each email. The archives can be found at http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/. The words ranging from more common words such as 'aggressive' to left often used words like 'tocsin'. The general age range would be around twelve and up. As an adult, I have enjoyed improving my vocabulary with these emails. I recently caught myself using a word I had memorized from the Word of the Day in my everyday conversation. Other online words of the day can be found at:http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl Merriam-Webster and http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/ Wordsmith.org.http://www.mywordaday.com/.If you want to pick out your own word of the day I would suggest browsing through the archive, the dictionary or finding words in the Thesaurus to use. A good book to take words from is Word Smart: Building an Educated Vocabulary.It only takes two or three minutes to absorb the information. You and yours will find yourselves using some of the words. Remember, they will probably only "stick" if they are used.
I personally love all these ideas, and I think they will definately work with your students because they are fun ideas. All these ideas appeal to different students. Also you can also have a word of the day in your class, it can be in any class, it doesn't just have to be a reading class or an english. With the word of the day you can give your students incentives to use it. For example, you can give out homework passes to the first student in each class to properly use it in a sentence. I also found another website that would be really helpful for teachers on the elementary school level, http://www.time4learning.com/readingpyramid/vocabulary.htm.
Expanding Vocabulary the Play Way
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Post: Expanding Vocabulary the Play Way / 10 November 2008
Expanding Vocabulary the Play Way
Lately my game fever is back. It is that phase carrying on in which I feel like getting hooked to playing word games – my favourite brain booster.
I think they are a brilliant change from the usual learning tips to improve our vocabulary. Word games such as crosswords, quizzes, puzzles, or text twist are interesting, different and enjoyable. Not only do these games provide entertainment, they help us apply what we have learnt thus far. And playing these games is not restricted to computer or Internet.
Reader’s Digest’s Word Power section is one of the best vocabulary builder exercises I have read so far. It is a monthly bite. For each answer they provide detailed meaning, origin, and explanation, and that’s their unique style. In fact now there are millions of books and ways in which you can access such games. On Internet, my favourite is East of the Web website’s Eight Letter word game. Wanna play? Visit: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/games/Eight1.html
The Eight Letter game helps you build as many words as you can out of a set of letters, precisely out of eight letters. The sets keep changing as you proceed through different levels. This is exciting! Scrabble just goes a little further by helping you form words by connecting them with each other. If you play it with ‘only dictionary words allowed’ rule, it is a great brain booster.
Another fascinating game is the Text Twister, which makes you race against time, play with a set of letters, shuffle them, and guess more, more, and more.
Some of my friends agree that word games are vocabulary builders. “Of course word games help, how could they not? Crossword puzzles are a favorite of mine. Try easy ones first,” advises Bob, a friend in an online forum of English language, adding, “Read a lot and you’ll eventually pick it up. More important are vocabulary, grammar, and idioms. Read, read, read. Listen, listen, listen. And talk to native speakers as much as you can.”
Another member of the forum says, “Scrabble would probably be most helpful when played with others with a similar command of the language (and skill level). In cryptic crosswords the answers are usually pretty commonplace, obscurity being confined to the clues, but a solver without large knowledge of idioms and phrases will be rather handicapped.”
That is right. But that’s what adds to your knowledge when you try and find out more about what you don’t know. Solving crosswords, puzzles and quizzes with people who have better vocabulary than yours is especially helpful because that is when you get to learn the most. Next time using the newly learnt words in their correct places helps in remembering them forever.
Considering this, social networking websites such as Facebook and Orkut are popular platforms for people from all over the globe to play word games together and learn together. And having played many such, I can say – it is really helpful and loads of fun.
Try some and gain score – in life and in game.
Word Games to Increase Vocabulary
Author: Celia Webb
Most of us recognize that play is an important way to learn all types of skills and knowledge. Play works as a way to learn for a couple of reasons. First, we are more motivated to do an activity if we are having fun doing it. Second, pleasurable activities get repeated and, therefore, give us more chances to practice the skill or piece of knowledge. And as the cliché says – practice makes perfect.
Word games are a great way to pick up new vocabulary and play with vocabulary that is already familiar. Each game focuses on a different set of skills related to learning words, so if enthusiasm wanes for one game, switching to another game can re-energize the learning process. All of the paperless games below can be played anywhere. They require no equipment whatsoever other than your “thinking cap”.
1. The Alphabet Game: (Ages 5 and up) This game can be played while in a house or riding in a car. Start with the first player. The player must find an object he can see that begins with the letter A. He names the object and now the play moves to player number two. This player must name an object she can see that begins with the letter B. Play continues through the alphabet and group of players. To vary the game, work backwards through the alphabet.
2. The Word Guessing Game: (Ages 6 and up) In this game the first player thinks of a word. We suggest starting with a four-lettered word (i.e. hope). She announces to the group of players how many letters the word has (in this example – “I’m thinking of a four letter word.”). Then the next player suggests a four-lettered word (i.e. made). The first player compares the suggested word to her word. She is looking for letters in her word that are exactly matched in position to her word (i.e. “hope” compared to “made” has the letter “e” in the exact position in both words). She announces “One Letter”.
Now all players know that the word “made” shared one letter with the guess word. The next player will try to think of a word which will test which letter is an exact match. For example, this player may want to test if the letter “m” in the first position is the matching letter and so she might suggest the word “mint”. The first player will respond “No Letters”. Play continues until the players identify the guess word. The player to correctly identify the guess word thinks of the next guess word. It is important to state how many letters are in the guess word. Games using four- and five-lettered words work best.
3. Find the Letter: (Ages 4 and up) This game can help very young readers learn their alphabet. This is a good game for players riding in a car. Have the players look for the letters in alphabetical order. The letters might be on road signs, license plates, billboards, or shop windows. You may need to prompt them with “Can you find the letter A?” Repetition will build up their command of the alphabet and help them identify each letter. You can also use the alphabet song to jog their memories of the next letter.
4. A is for…: (Ages 6 and up) To begin, name a category for the words that will be used in the game (for example: animals, transportation, general, etc). Now the first player must name an object within the category that begins with the letter A (such as anaconda for the animal category, auto for the transportation category, or apple for the general category). The next player names an object beginning with the letter B and the players proceed in order through the alphabet. For the next game try a new category and allow a different person to start the game.
Playing with words can be a fun and rewarding way for your children to learn new words while reinforcing ones they already know. These games will help cement the alphabet in their minds. They will identify letters, learn the order of the alphabet, and practice spelling – all critical skills for reading. Let the games begin!!
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Post:Scrabble tips to make your opponent hate you / May 27th, 2007
Scrabble tips to make your opponent hate you
Having good luck and a decent vocabulary might be enough to win you a game of Scrabble, but what if you’re against a particularly formidable opponent, or a relative you really don’t like and would like to wipe the floor with? Fortune and anagrammatical skills will only get you so far; here are my top three tips for really sticking it to your opponent.
#3 - Use a word that looks mis-spelt
Here’s a short list of perfectly valid Scrabble words, but which your opponent will presume you’ve spelt incorrectly. They, of course, will challenge you and reach for the Scrabble dictionary. You, on the other hand, will sit back smugly, knowing that you’ve just earnt yourself an extra turn. Of course, try this trick more than once and your opponent will call your bluff and allow all of your weird words through, unchallenged. This, in turn, will give you the chance to use bogus words like cromulent, embiggens and kwyjibo.
There are piles of words in the Scrabble , that fit the description; these are just a few examples.
AMUCK APATITE ASBESTUS ASPERATE COALA CHICKORY CIGARET CUNDUM CUTLAS CYDER DORNOCK DROWND FANTOM GALIVANT GOODBY GREWSOME JALOPY KREEP KULTUR KUMQUAT MUSTACHE PEEPUL PENCEL PENSIL RABBET SKEEING SYCOSIS
#2 - “Q” words without the “U”
So you’ve picked up the dreaded Q tile, but no matter how many tiles you get rid of, you just can’t pick up the U. It doesn’t have to be the end of the world, there are plenty of words you can use without a U following the Q. Just don’t expect me to tell you what these words mean.
* 2-letter Words - QI
* 3-letter Words - QAT QIS SUQ
* 4-letter Words - QADI QAID QATS QOPH SUQS WAQF
* 5-letter Words - BURQA FAQIR NIQAB QADIS QAIDS QIBLA QOPHS QORMA TALAQ TRANQ UMIAQ WAQFS
* 6-letter Words - BURQAS BUQSHA FAQIRS NIQABS QABALA QANATS QASIDA QAWWAL QIBLAS QIGONG QINDAR QINTAR QIVIUT QORMAS QWERTY SHEQEL TALAQS TRANQS UMIAQS YAQONA
* 7-letter Words - BUQSHAS INQILAB QABALAH QABALAS QASIDAS QAWWALI QAWWALS QIGONGS QINDARS QINTARS QIVIUTS QWERTYS SHEQELS TSADDIQ TZADDIQ YAQONAS
* 8-Letter Words - INQILABS MBAQANGA MUQADDAM QABALAHS QAIMAQAM QALAMDAN QAWWALIS QINDARKA QWERTIES SHEQALIM TSADDIQS TZADDIQS
* 9-letter Words - MBAQANGAS MUQADDAMS QABALISM QABALIST QAIMAQAMS QALAMDANS QINGHAOSU TSADDIQIM TZADDIQIM
#1 - Know all of those annoying 2-letter words
What’s better than annoying the hell of of your opponent by using a series of words like xu, zo and aa? Knowing what they mean, too. Trust me, it drives people crazy. Here’s a list of the two-letter words which either appear in the American or International English versions of the Scrabble dictionary. You can check here.
* AA - rough jagged lava found in Hawaiian volcanos
* AB - an abdominal muscle
* AD - short form of advertisement
* AE - one (Scots.)
* AG - agriculture
* AH - (verb) to say “Ah” for joy etc
* AI - a three-toed South American sloth
* AL - an East Indian tree
* AM - a present tense of the verb be -
* AN - a form of the indefinite article
* AR - the letter “R”
* AS - to that extent
* AT - in the position of
* AW - exclamation of disappointment
* AX - (verb) to work on with an axe
* AY - an affirmative vote (also AYE)
* BA - the eternal spirit in Egyptian mythology
* BE - (verb) to exist
* BI - a bisexual person
* BO - Amer. slang for friend
* BY - near; a side issue (pl. BYS)
* CH - English dial. for I
* DA - a Burmese heavy knife
* DE - preposition meaning of or from, in names
* DI - a plural of deus (a god)
* DO - (verb) to achieve; a celebration (pl. DOS)
* EA - a river (dial.)
* ED - education
* EE - Scots. dial. for eye (pl. EEN)
* EF - the letter “F”
* EH - (verb) to say “Eh” for surprise etc
* EL - an elevated railway
* EM - a printer’s measure
* EN - a printer’s measure, half of an EM
* ER - an expression of hesitation
* ES - the letter “S”
* ET - a past tense of eat
* EX - the letter “X”
* FA - a musical note
* FE - a Hebrew letter
* FY - an interj. expressing disgust (also FIE)
* GI - a judo or karate costume
* GO - (verb) to depart; a Japanese board game (pl. GOS)
* GU - a simple violin used in Shetland (also GJU, GUE)
* HA - an exclamation of surprise
* HE - a male
* HI - an exclamation of greeting
* HM - interj. expressing thoughtful consideration
* HO - interj. calling attention
* ID - part of the psyche
* IF - a condition
* IN - (verb) to harvest
* IO - a cry of joy
* IS - a present tense of be
* IT - impersonal pronoun
* JA - yes
* JO - a sweetheart
* KA - (verb) to serve (also KAE)
* KI - the spirit of Japanese martial art, see QI
* KO - a Maori digging stick
* KY - cows (also KYE)
* LA - a musical note
* LI - a Chinese distance unit
* LO - look, behold
* MA - mother
* ME - a musical note (also MI)
* MI - same as ME, above
* MM - exclamation of satisfaction
* MO - a moment
* MU - a Greek letter
* MY - belonging to me
* NA - interjction of disbelief
* NE - arch. form of not
* NO - a no vote (pl. also NOES)
* NU - a Greek letter
* NY - (verb) to approach (pl. also NYS)
* OB - an objection
* OD - a mystic universal force
* OE - a grandchild in Scotland (also OY, OYE)
* OF - belonging to
* OH - (verb) to exclaim “Oh” for surprise
* OI - interj. calling attention
* OM - a syllable intoned as part of a mantra
* ON - to go on
* OO - wool (Scots.)
* OP - an abstract art style
* OR - the heraldic colour gold
* OS - a bone
* OU - a bloke
* OW - interj. expressing pain
* OX - a mammal with hooves
* OY - same as OE, above
* PA - father
* PE - a Hebrew letter (also PEH)
* PI - (verb) to jumble or disorder (pr.p. PIEING, PIING)
* PO - a chamber pot
* QI - a Chinese life force
* RE - a musical note
* SH - interj. requesting silence
* SI - a musical note
* SO - a musical note (also SOH)
* ST - an exclamation of impatience
* TA - thanks
* TE - a musical note
* TI - a small tree
* TO - as far as
* UG - (verb) to cause hatred
* UH - interj. expressing disbelief
* UM - interj. of hesitation
* UN - one
* UP - (verb) to increase
* UR - interj. expressing hesitation
* US - a third person pronoun
* UT - a musical note
* WE - a third person pronoun
* WO - a curse
* XI - a Greek letter
* XU - a Vietnamese coin (pl. XU)
* YA - you
* YE - you
* YO - a call for effort
* YU - precious jade
* ZA - contraction of “pizza”
* ZO - a Himalayan cross between a yak and a cow (also DZO, DSO, ZHO, DZHO)
