Saturday, March 12, 2011

Math Vocabulary Help

Math teachers find that teaching math vocabulary is a wonderful step in teaching math. On one hand, students benefit from learning the vocabulary associated with the concepts and math processes and techniques that they are learning.  Understanding the concepts and vocabulary are really important to cementing the learning of math.  

Some words may have uses in everyday language as well as some uses that are specific to mathematical contexts. An example is the word "right" which when referring to an angle has a very specific math meaning.

Vocabulary SpellingCity has compiled comprehensive math vocabulary lists to make those difficult math words, a snap! Along with high school and elementary vocabulary, we have also included 6th grade math words and 7th grade math vocabulary. Also, algebra vocabulary and statistics definitions are introduced in almost every grade. So whether you are looking to play games, learn spelling or study definitions, you can do it all with Math Vocabulary right here!

Math Vocabulary words help students understand the foundational principles taught in each math concept. Of course, students need to know the meaning of basic math terms before they can learn how to apply them to math principles. From addition words and elementary math to geometry vocabulary and every type of number word in between, students can find the right list right here with all the math definitions they need to be successful in math.

The following math resource lists are really useful since they can be used with all the learning resources available on VocabularySpellingCity.
 Kindergarten Math Vocabulary 5th Grade Math Vocabulary
 1st Grade Math Vocabulary 6th Grade Math Vocabulary
 2nd Grade Math Vocabulary 7th Grade Math Vocabulary
 3rd Grade Math Vocabulary 8th Grade Math Vocabulary
 4th Grade Math Vocabulary High School Math Vocabulary

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs


Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs
Homonyms, homophones and homographs can bring confusion to even adults and teachers! For clarity, we've brought them all together on one page.
SpellingCity spelling lists will help you learn your homophones and have fun all at the same time! We have made it easy for you to learn the difference among homographs, homophones, and homonyms using our definitions and examples below. At SpellingCity, we help you master homophones to show off your skills
Compound words are words which are created from two, or sometimes more, words that, when joined together, create a new word. Studying compound words is fun, helps kids understand the language, builds an interest in words and will help prepare students to learn prefixes, suffixes and word roots.
Sound alike words, also known as homophones, cause confusion. Here, at SpellingCity.com, we want you to learn the correct spelling and meaning behind all your sound alike words. To practice, SpellingCity provides you with "confusing words" vocabulary lists.

We all have made those mistakes when, for instance, your friend had a hoarse throat and you sent an email that said, “Tommy has a horse throat.” Did you really mean that your friend has a horse in his throat? No.
SO MANY MANY resources, here's the full list!


  • Compound Words

  • Contractions - New!

  • Custom Sentences - New!

  • Dolch - Sight Words 

  • Geography Lists

  • Handwriting Worksheets

  • Homophones and Homonyms

  • Literature Based Word Lists

  • Monthly Holiday Lists

  • Phonics & Sight Word Curriculum

  • Popular Word Lists

  • Possessive Nouns - New!

  • Printables - New!

  • Sample Lists


  • Sound Alike Words

  • Student Writing Practice - New!

  • Teacher Training Videos

  • UK Spelling

  • Word Abbreviations - New!



  • Monday, December 20, 2010

    Reading Skills, Homonyms, and Homophones

    The Reading Skills Pyramid illustrates a typical sequence for acquiring reading skills for use by parents for homeschools and enrichment. The reading skills are organized using the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) system. The "What Works?" Report found that the five key areas in learning to read are phonemic awarenessphonicsreading comprehensionvocabulary, and reading fluency.



    Homonyms & Homophones

    Homonyms are words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings.  For example, bear. 

    bear (the animal) can bear (tolerate) very cold temperatures.
    The driver turned left (opposite of right) and left (departed from) the main road. 

    Homophones, also known as sound-alike wordsare words that are pronounced identically although they have different spellings and meanings.  These words are a very common source of confusion when writing.  Common examples of sets of homophones include: to, too, and two; they're and their; bee and be; sun and son; which and witch; and plain and plane.  SpellingCity is a particularly useful tool for learning to correctly spell the soundalike words.

    Homographs

    Homographs are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and different pronunciations. Some examples of homographs are:
    bass as in fish vs bass as in music,
    bow as in arrow vs bow as in bending or taking a bow at the end of a performance,
    close as in next to vs close as in shut the door,
    desert as in dry climate vs desert as in leaving alone.

    Currently, SpellingCity cannot distinguish between homographs, as we are unable to have two pronounciations for the exact same word. We are looking for possibilities in the future.

    Friday, December 10, 2010

    The Reading Skills Pyramid

    Build Vocabulary Skills - One Section in the Reading Skills Pyramid

    The Reading Skills Pyramid illustrates that there are many steps to becoming a proficient reader. Generally, the skills can be split into two halves: one half is word decoding which is made up of phonemic awarenessphonics. The other half is made up of a set of skills that falls into three categories: comprehensionvocabulary, and fluency.

    Reading Comprehension
    All parents want their children to become effective readers. 

    But, when these parents attempt to educate themselves about reading, they tend to find two types of literature, neither of which are of much use to them. 

    There are the "rah rah" articles which lecture parents to fill their house full of books and to take 20 minutes/day to read with their children. While this is good advice, it is not a panacea nor does it provide any insight into the process. On the other hand, there are academic papers full of jargon and complex debates about the process of learning to read. The "rah rah" articles over-simplify; the academics over-complicate.
     
    What has been lacking has been information for parents which simply summarizes the current thinking on teaching reading and helps parent understand what the expectations are at each level of education.

    Wednesday, December 1, 2010

    Building Vocabulary

    The Significance of Building Vocabulary Words

    Building vocabulary words is key to reading, to writing, to verbal expression, and in many ways, vocabulary is key to building analytical and critical thinking. A person's vocabulary skills can be measured in terms of building receptive vocabulary (ie understanding) words and their expressive vocabulary words. People can build their expressive vocabulary in two ways that can get measured: the written vocabulary words or their spoken vocabulary words. Building vocabulary skills improves reading comprehension and reading fluency. Without building a large vocabulary, students cannot read successfully.

    Building Vocabulary & Learning Words Starts at Home

    Building vocabulary is far more than memorizing words. Ideally, children should be brought up in a rich language environment which is language- and word- conscious. Children take up attitudes and learn from their parents so building vocabulary starts as a family affair. Children are greatly influenced generally by the amount of conversation, by the nature of the conversation (and the vocabulary used), and the "word awareness" of the family.There are a great number of families where vocabulary word games are played with the children as an ongoing game to build vocabulary and "word awareness" skills including phonemic awareness. These games can build vocabulary and phonemic awareness.

    Techniques for Building Vocabulary Words - Reading & Other Media

    The best method for building vocabulary is to be an active reader. But, there are differences between skilled active readers and less skilled passive ones (see reading comprehension) Students should learn to decode vocabulary words thru a vocabulary building techniques such as context clues and word roots. Word roorts means that students should learn to define words by learning the meanings of root words, prefixes and suffixes. Knowing the basics of the Latin and Greek word roots in English is useful and helps students get insight into how the English language vocabulary words derived and are structured. The use of media greatly affects the building of vocabulary. Some television programs use a large and rich vcoabulary, others are mostly explosions. Whereas many contemporary and classcial films (especially the musicals) had great conversations and rich vocabulary, many others are noticable for their poor quality of conversation (the Power Ranger might stand out as having the most limited vocabulary. Whole episodes consist of a dialogue such as "Lets do it" and "Watch out!", not exactly a sound track to build vocabulary. In interactive media, there are games where the entire sound track is explosions, there are interactive systems with rich vocabulary building, such as Time4Learning.

    Time4Learning's Approach to Building Vocabulary Words

    Time4Learning helps students review commonly misused words and phrases. There are vocabulary games to build vocabulary word skills through synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. There are strategies, skills, and individual word instruction that students needed to build vocabulary proficiency.
    For more information on how the reading skills are developed, look at the Time4Learning Reading Skills Pyramid.

    Saturday, November 20, 2010

    Learning English Vocabulary

    Many of Vocabulary Learning Fun’s vocabulary word games are organized with dozens of categories of vocabulary lists. By making connections between words and ideas, and between words and pictures, we build vocabulary skills. Connections between vocabulary words make the process of building vocabulary skills faster and more efficient. This grouping of knowledge by topic is a cornerstone of the vocabulary.co.il learning website.
    The fun of English vocabulary games can help both native and foreign speakers of English build their English language vocabulary skills. There are vocabulary word games for all levels of English



    Oxymoron Games 
    Parts of Speech Games 
    Prefix Games 
    Root Word Games 
    Spelling Games 
    Suffix Games 
    Syllable Games 
    Synonym Games 
    Word Play Games 

    Four Types of Sentences and the Effect of Punctuation


    When students learn to write, they begin by learning about the four types of sentences and the role punctuation plays in determining and creating those different sentence types.
    The four types of sentences in the English language include:
    • Declarative sentence
    • Imperative sentence
    • Interrogative sentence
    • Exclamatory sentence
    And there are only three punctuation marks with which to end a sentence:

    Wednesday, November 10, 2010

    Best Way To Increase Vocabulary


    Undoubtedly the best way to increase vocabulary is with computer software packages. Other methods such as plain reading, word games, self-help videos, DVDs, and CDs are all valid, and can help in their own way, but if you want to get long-lasting, positive resultsquickly, then you will be better off if you choose learning by computer.
    Why is using a computer the best way to increase vocabulary? Well, just ask yourself what is more convenient – wading through a massive dictionary finding words, taking notes, closing the book, then returning to it to check you have spelled it right, and got the correct definition, or using a computer where everything you need comes up on a handy screen, and keeps all your notes, exercises, tests, word lists and dictionary all in one place? Besides, try and find anyone who doesn’t think using a computer is fun.

    Effective answers to the question – ‘How can I improve my vocabulary’ –
    The article has all that is required to know about increasing your vocabulary starting from the reason to improve till the different effective ways to improve.
    A few tips on how to learn vocabulary –
    The article is full of effective tips that will help you improve your vocabulary in simple easy steps.
    A simple strategy of how to expand vocabulary –
    If you looking at ways to improve your vocabulary, this article is a must read with loads of strategic techniques that will help increase your vocabulary.
    An excellent method of expanding vocabulary –
    The article details about the one single most efficient method of vocabulary building that can be used by almost everyone.
    Compare Vocabulary Software –
    This is a detailed comparison report of the various software products available in the market for vocabulary building.
    Best Way To Increase Vocabulary -
    The article focuses on the most effective way of using the Ultimate Vocabulary software to improve your vocabulary.
    Building Vocabulary Adults –
    The article breaks the myth that adults do not require excellent vocabulary and provides three top reasons in its support.