Yearly Archives: 2020

  1. Learning Games For Preschool & Kindergarten Kids

    Practice remembering letters, parts of speech, sight words, and more with these learning games Get your preschooler or kindergartner learning while having fun with these ELA word games you can play as a family. Letter dice This game requires a little bit of preparation, but the added tactile element makes it worth it. Put letters on dice (or make some using a template). You can …

  2. learning at home high school

    Learning Games For Middle School Students

    Looking for something to do with your middle school kids? Want to do something that involves learning too (we won’t tell the kids, don’t worry). We’ve rounded up over 10 ELA word games for middle school kids that you can play as a family to reinforce learning and build vocab together. Family words Make a word up that originates with you! Using letter blocks or …

  3. English Vocab Activities For Middle School Students

    Want your kid to build their English vocabulary and have fun? We’ve collected over 10 vocab activities aimed at middle school students to build vocab, explain different parts of the English language, and answer those common English language questions. You might even have a little bit of fun. Learning about words in the news Read the following coronavirus informational texts.  What does COVID-19 mean? Coronavirus: …

  4. English Vocab Activities For Elementary Students

    Build your young child’s vocabulary with these fun learning activities focused on different types of vocab. You might even learn a new word or two as well! Learning about figurative language Figurative language is language that contains or uses figures of speech, especially metaphors. And a lot of figurative language is pretty funny when you look at it literally. Guess what the phrase dog days …

  5. Learning Games For Elementary Students

    When it comes to elementary students, learning and fun need to go hand-in-hand. That’s why we’ve collected 14 ELA learning games for elementary kids that focus on vocabulary, reading, spelling, and writing. Play them as a family and learn something new, too! Family words! Make a word up that originates with you! Using letter blocks or letter refrigerator magnets, spell out the name of a …

  6. How To Make Learning Fun: Using Playtime To Build Literacy

    By Lindsay Barrett We all want our kids to learn what they need to be successful. But guess what most kids want to do? Play! And let’s face it: we adults want to play, too. But learning and playtime can, and should, happily overlap. A growing body of research highlights the many benefits of open-ended play activities like building, pretending, creating, and just getting all-around …

  7. “Figuratively” vs. “Literally”

    Although similar and often incorrectly swapped for each other, literally and figuratively have different meanings that can’t really be interchanged. So even if you feel like you literally can’t help confusing the two, this exaggeration may help explain why figuratively is actually the right word in many cases. What does figuratively mean? Figuratively is an adverb of the adjective figurative that means “of the nature …

  8. “Exercise” vs. “Exorcise”: What’s The Difference?

    We hear it all of the time: working out is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But is it exercise or exorcise that healthcare professionals constantly remind us is good for our health? Although some do believe in the importance of exorcise because it means “to free evil spirits,” it’s exercise that has to do with bodily movement that helps to keep us physically and …

  9. “Morbidity” vs. “Mortality”: What Is The Difference?

    Although we’d all love to think we’ll be able to live forever, at some point, we will die. And there’s no way of knowing exactly when that will be. Yes, it’s gloomy to think about this … but is it our morbidity or our mortality that we need to come to terms with? The correct answer here is mortality—although the topic is quite morbid. These …

  10. We’ve Crowned The Dictionary.com Slang Word Champion!

    Update: Voting has closed, and the winner of Dictionary.com’s March Madness Slang Competition is Karen! We started this contest with 64 words, and now after the highly anticipated face-off between our final two, Karen and OK boomer, we have a winner. It’s Karen! So who is Karen, anyway? According to our definition, Karen is a mocking slang term for an entitled, obnoxious, middle-aged white woman. Especially …

  11. Dark green background with light green text: "introvert vs. extrovert"

    Introvert vs. Extrovert: What’s The Difference?

    They say that opposites attract, and that’s usually true for introvert–extrovert couples. We all have that one friend who can strike up a conversation with anyone, who does well in large groups, and who loves being around people. On the other hand, we also know those who prefer quiet one-on-one activities with friends, like visiting a museum or watching a movie, when they socialize. In …

  12. “Antibiotic” vs. “Abiotic” vs. “Antibody”: What Is The Difference?

    by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com In our article on virus vs. bacteria, we noted that vaccines can work on both viruses and bacteria. Antibiotics, however, are only effective against bacteria. But what is an antibiotic, exactly, and how is it different from another, frustratingly similar word: abiotic? And how do both of these words compare to antibody and antigen? This is a …