We recently spoke to Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison, founders of the innovative educational company Flocabulary, about how they were inspired to infuse challenging vocabulary and educational content into rap music. In this interview you'll learn more about why they feel rap music is the perfect medium for their mission... and you'll get to sample one of their flocabulous videos.  Continue reading...

We are often reminded that much of the English language is derived from the language of ancient Greece. However, students might not realize that some of our English words actually double as the names of Greek letters. Here is a worksheet that asks students to explore a few Greek letters on the Visual Thesaurus and to discover their additional meanings. Download the worksheet here.

Last week, the College Board reported that SAT reading scores have reached an all-time low. The Class of 2011's SAT reading scores dipped another three points from the previous year (down to 497), and that makes it a whopping 33-point drop since 1972. The bleak news should leave teachers and administrators taking a hard look at how we are preparing students (or not) for the skills that are tested on the reading section of standardized exams.  Continue reading...

This week's worksheet gives students a chance to discover how Americans and Brits might give the same set of directions to Grandma's home using different sets of vocabulary words.  Continue reading...

This week's worksheet asks students to examine the meanings of some familiar words beginning with the prefix tele- and to infer the meaning of its ancient Greek origin.  Continue reading...

If a student encounters an unfamiliar word, he or she should examine the word's ending for a clue to its meaning. This week's worksheet helps students discover how words ending in certain suffixes (-ee, -er, and -or) may have something important in common.  Continue reading...