Dictionary.com is hosting a new site called Word Dynamo. Word Dynamo is an academic review site hosted by Dictionary.com. The Word Dynamo offers vocabulary quizzes, flashcards, and games in all academic topics.  Word Dynamo offers activities based on your grade level, subject you're studying, or standardized test that you will take. If you register you can save your scores and progress. Give it a try!

Congratulations to all Cottage Lane students.  Keep up the great work.

Do you love words? When will you love words?  For some students, they enjoy hearing words at a young age and begin school as early readers.  For others, they are too busy exploring and playing outside to sit and read. They might not enjoy words until they are forced.  Joshue Henken wrote an essay for the NY Times explaining this exact situation.  It wasn't until he took the SAT class at Stanley Kaplan and was forced to attend Sunday classes did he begin to have "A Nose for Words."  You can read the full article here.  At Cottage Lane it is our hope that we force you to love words.  That you experience WordMaster words and all words to a point that not only you can define them, but you can use them when you speak, use them when you write, and understand their meanings in different contexts. We hope someday you will say the same about your teachers, "I remember best for coming home every evening with his vocabulary lists…unknowingly but persistently set me on my path."

Now check out the image featured with his article.  How awesome is that? Does anyone need pipe cleaners or tissue paper? 🙂

World’s Worst Pet is a free app that exposes you to over 1,000 words through four engaging games. Your mission is to help bring home Snargg, the world’s worst pet, who has run away. To get Snargg back you have to fill his food dish by learning new vocabulary words. The games are fill-in-the-blank, synonym identification, antonym identification, and definition identification.  Ask your parents if you can downlaid this free app.  Let us know what you think of the app and post your comment below.

When you begin to study a foreign languages, you realize many of our words have similar roots.  That's because the word could have originated from this country then changed over the years.  Etymology studies the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. Many teachers encourage students to study Latin to help them recognize root words to help understand the meaning of words.  Google has done this for us!  Google has added a feature in their search, so you can not only see the definition, antonyms, translations, but also the origin and the evolution of the word.  In the google search bar type "define=" then your word.  When the definition appears there is an arrow to expand this information.  Her is an example of one of our 4th grade blue words – TOXIC

define=toxic

The results…

Choose a word from your list. Give it a try and let us know the word, its origin, and how was it originally written!

Nature of Language is a written painting created by Jose Parla.  While walking through Raleigh, North Carolina, and visiting unexpected places he used all the words, phrases, names, and poetic thoughts in an abstract landscape.  How would you express your WordMasters words to inspire others?

"The WordMasters Challenge is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 which encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning.  Over 4,200 school teams, from 50 states, participated last year. It challenges students to solve analogies based on relationships among words they have learned, and it draws these analogies from special vocabulary lists, which students study before each meet. Unlike other language-arts contests, which emphasize grammar and punctuation, this competition addresses higher-level word-comprehension and logical abilities and helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically." 

This blog will provide opportunities for you to study definitions and practice analogies.  Additional information will be posted to this site as the year progresses. We will post pictures, projects, and activities.

Mark your calendars for these important dates:
~First Competition will be administered the week of December 9th.
~Second Competition will be administered the week of March 3rd.
~The Final Competition will be administered the week of May 5th.

It is important for you to find time in your busy schedules to study the words, find them in your reading, and use them while writing and speaking. Then, you will truly own them. 

Over 4,200 school teams, from 50 states, participated in WM this year.  All students learned a new appreciation for the wonderful diversity of English words and they were encouraged to think more logically, carefully, and critically as the year progressed. Three timed contests, starting in November, were given during the school year to increase student interest and healthy competition. Here are the final results:

5th Grade Gold 5th Grade Blue Grace J. Katie L.
4th Grade Gold 4th Grade Blue Brendan D. Mia P.

Congratulations to all WordMaster participants. Remember to read, read, read this summer to develop your vocabulary!

Use these instead!