If you're looking for quality, engaging, and meaningful activities that your child can do at home (on their own!), you're in the right place.
Whether you're simply tired of seeing your student watching TikTok videos, or you're on the hunt for a robust literacy tool that will support at-home learning, we can help.
Vocabulary.com offers loads of resources and activities for students in grade 5 and up, all designed to boost their word power, improve their literacy skills, and help them prepare for standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. And, because it’s game-based learning, it's something that students actually want to do.
Free for Students
Although lots of teachers and schools are using the Educator Edition of Vocabulary.com to support their curriculum, even if your child's teacher isn't working with the platform, they can still use the free resources and instructional activities.
How You Can Support Independent Learning
On Vocabulary.com, students don't need any oversight to be successful. All they have to do is put in the effort, and we'll teach them what they need to learn.
But if you do want to support them, we recommend that you set attainable goals and just encourage them to be consistent.
Here are some ideas:
Daily Goals and Activities
Play The Challenge for 15 minutes a day. The heart of Vocabulary.com is an adaptive learning game that teaches students the words they need to learn, automatically keeps track of their trouble words, and follows up with them over time until they achieve mastery. To start playing The Challenge, they just log on, click "Play," and we'll take it from there — giving them the right words and the right questions at the right time.
See if they can earn a "Perfect Round". The game is played in rounds of ten questions, and students earn points, badges, and achievements that motivate them to keep going. One way to really keep their head in the game is to see if they can get every question right and score a "Perfect Round" achievement. Want to up the ante? See if they can get a 50-in-a-Row streak.
Keep playing until they master a word. On Vocabulary.com, students aren't merely memorizing definitions, they're achieving mastery. That means we teach them all the core meanings and subtle nuances of the words they're learning until they know them inside and out. The next time they log on, you might suggest that they keep working until they earn that gold mastery seal and add another badge to their virtual trophy case. Mastering a word might take a while, but it's more educational than streaming music videos!
Weekly Goals and Activities
Complete one Practice activity each week. Vocabulary.com has thousands of ready-made vocabulary lists that are based on the most commonly taught texts and topics. We also have test-prep and "Just for Fun" lists, so there's something for everyone. Have your student browse the our list library, choose one they want to learn, and click the green "Start Practice" button to — you guessed it — start a Practice activity. As a general guideline, lists that have 10–15 words can be completed in one sitting, while Practice will take more time to complete for longer lists.
Master at least ten words each week. If you want your student to really attain significant results, a good goal is for them to master ten or more words each week. As long as they are playing The Challenge for fifteen minutes a day, this is a realistic goal.
Play in the live, world-wide Vocabulary Jam! Each Friday, Vocabulary.com hosts a public Vocab Jam, which is a real-time word learning game that's open to players everywhere. Players compete on randomly assigned teams, including members of the Vocabulary.com team. The Jam is a fast, friendly competition that brings students together (virtually) for a little fun. We'd love to have your student join us!
Students can sign up here — it's free, it's easy, and it only takes five seconds. Most students get up and running on their own, but if you need any support check out our help center for hot-to videos. We recommend this 3-minute Getting Started as a Student video, or the 30-minute recording of our For Students Only webinar. We welcome input and questions from parents and caregivers too, so feel free to email us at [email protected].