Word Central is Awesometastic*
November 15, 2007
With all the shorthand OMG LOL business happening in children’s lives, sites like Merriam-Webster’s Word Central help to rectify the damage that has been done. Here, youngsters can get a leg up on building their own vocabulary while having fun. There are a couple of games, including Robo-Bee, which tests users’ language skills and word choice, and BIGbot where you feed the right vocabulary words to a hungry robot based on the definitions given. You’ll also find a Daily Buzzword with complete archive and an RSS feed to keep your students in the know. And as you might expect from Merriam-Webster, there is a searchable dictionary, thesaurus and rhyming dictionary.
One of the niftiest aspects of the site, though, is the Build Your Own Dictionary. In a pseudo-wiki format, this feature allows users to submit their own words and definitions. Some are hilarious:
juggleglug
Function: verb
Definition: to juggle and drink something at the same time. Example Sentence: That clown sure knows how to juggleglug.
and others are more hilarious, and even rather useful:
smorange
Function: adjective
Definition: extraordinary or special and different from other people but wanting to fit in at times. Word History: decided to make up a word that rhymes with orange
Example Sentence: She is very smorange.
There are some great resources for teachers here, too, including information that answers the question: How do words get in the dictionary? Check out the site to find out. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN
