Welcome to the March-April 2008 WordMasters Challenge, the third and final of this school year. Over four thousand school teams from every state participate each year in this popular national competition for Language Arts students in grades 3 to 12. Click on www.wordmasterschallenge.com to learn more about the Challenge and to participate using the word lists posted here.  Continue reading...

"Rationalize rhetoric and it speaks to your mind, personify her and she speaks to your soul," announces the online speech bank American Rhetoric. Listen to hundreds of classic speeches on its website by MLK, JFK, FDR and other giants -- and learn from them.

After reading author John Elder Robison's inspiring Backstory about his memoir Look Me in the Eye, we wanted to learn more about what makes this particular writer tick. How did he go from touring with KISS to repairing luxury cars to writing his acclaimed book about living with Asperger's syndrome? So we called him and had a fascinating conversation about writing, storytelling, and touching readers' lives though a memoir:  Continue reading...

Teens: Itching to write? Check out these sites for support and inspiration! (And a ton of invaluable how-to.)

Miss Erin

Write On!

Young Writers Project

Merlyn's Pen

Teen Reads

The Dictionary Society of America publishes a list of books about lexicography and dictionary writing. Here are a few of our favorites:

Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography

Chasing the Sun: Dictionary-Makers and the Dictionaries They Made

The Story of Webster's Third: Philip Gove's Controversial Dictionary and its Critics

Dr. Johnson and Mr. Savage

Is similar to: An adjective that is very close in meaning to another word. Example: Precise is similar to meticulous.

Is a type of: A term that is a type of another term. Example: A Dalmatian is a type of dog.

Is a part of: A term that is part of another term. Example: A spoke is a part of a bicycle wheel.

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"A corporate brand is meant to be an organizing principle and filter for all actions, behavior and product development of an organization," explains author and veteran branding expert Scott Lerman. The former president of Siegel & Gale and CEO of Enterprise IG, Americas, Scott founded the consultancy Lucid Brands in 2005 to help organizations shape and develop their "brand story." We had a fascinating conversation with Scott about his work:  Continue reading...