Once again we have asked writer and educator Bob Greenman to select some words to mull over from his latest guide to vocabulary enrichment, More Words That Make a Difference, co-authored with his wife Carol. The book illustrates word usage with passages from the Atlantic Monthly, and Bob takes a look here at words used by one of the Atlantic's most famous editors.  Continue reading...

Unless you've been living under an Internet-free rock, you've probably seen the enthralling video of Scotland's Susan Boyle singing on the television show Britain's Got Talent. According to the latest numbers, the video of Boyle's performance has already attracted more than 100 million online views. But it's not only her singing prowess that is attracting worldwide attention: it has also been reported that "Web searches for the term gobsmacked spiked after Boyle used the British slang meaning utterly astonished when describing her reaction to newfound widespread acclaim."  Continue reading...

Are comma splices running rampant, or is it just me?

I keep seeing them in newspapers and magazines and on billboards and can't help but wonder if they, too, are now becoming acceptable, as have so many once-verboten grammar, ahem, alternatives before them. I sure hope not — as you might guess, I'm agin 'em.  Continue reading...

Go on a Visual Thesaurus treasure hunt to track down the answers to these ten questions. If you successfully find all the answers, we will send you some authentic Visual Thesaurus booty! (Hint: you might need to brush up on some of the VT's special features here to help you find your treasure.)  Continue reading...

British author J.G. Ballard, a highly distinctive and often controversial writer, has passed away. Here are some of his most memorable novels and short stories.

Empire of the Sun

Crash

The Atrocity Exhibition

The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard

Transform your students' television time to vocabulary time by having them tune in to these PBS show sites developed to enrich their word knowledge.

Martha Speaks

WordGirl

Word World

You may have heard the educational buzz phrase "essential question" a lot lately, but do you really know what it means? Or how to develop meaningful essential questions of your own? In this excerpt from Learning to Question to Wonder to Learn, technology and teaching guru Jamie McKenzie, Ed.D. explains what makes some questions "essential" and provides some examples for every grade level.  Continue reading...