Saturday, January 8, 2011

Learn Your Vocabulary

Many of the teachers I've been working with recently have been discussing ways to help the students with vocabulary words, especially to prepare for end-of-year testing. They have been using the free Hot Potatoes application to create online activities in several formats: multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, flashcards, and even crossword puzzles.

Another online solution to help you learn vocabulary and similar material is a fairly new website (only four years old) called Quizlet. It was developed by a 15-year old in 2005 to help himself learn a big assignment of French terms. The main idea behind the site is to make learning vocabulary fun. By making it fun, the learning is more effective and retained longer.

Vocabulary words from almost any subject can be found and used on the site without a login. Scoring is done on the spot, term lists can be printed out, and flashcard templates are available. Teachers and students are creating and sharing the quizzes. Thousands of new flashcard sets are created daily and hundreds are online, either creating more flashcards or using the site.

This site is a great way to test your knowledge and makes you want to get the answers right. It is another fun resource to introduce, practice, or test your vocabulary.

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