Using Analogies to Master Vocabulary

“My son has really excelled at this as it has improved his vocabulary and his confidence. While he has a great memory, this is more than memorization and he likes being able to make the logical connections. He and his older brother will often identify words they both learned through the WordMasters Challenge™ when it comes up in conversation!”

- Nicole Martin, Parent

“I am really glad I found the WordMasters Challenge™. I am passionate about teaching it and feel pride and happiness when my students do well. They learn to differentiate the relationship between two sets of words and verbally tell what kind of relationship it is, teaching them logic and common sense. After the first challenge results come in, it never fails that they are chomping at the bit for the next set of words!”

- Sharon Green, Teacher

“My greatest joy is watching children become more discerning, more aware of the nuances of a word. I love watching them apply strategies rather than guess, set personal goals and work hard to attain them. I love to witness children who struggled with the first test improve, even if it’s just by one point. The WordMasters Challenge™ builds confidence in children, and it’s my favorite thing to teach all year!”

- Susan Holcombe, Teacher

“Kids tend to like competition. Trying to make a perfect score of 20 sparks a desire for the students to try even harder. In the process of trying to win, they are becoming winners themselves as they achieve personal bests, learn valuable vocabulary and strengthen their thinking skills, sometimes without even noticing that they have been working!”

- Anne McChesney, Teacher

“The WordMasters Challenge™ makes learning come alive. It helps our students learn new words, find them in the world around them and most importantly, think deeper. It helps with analytical and creative problem solving, and I believe it helps increase test scores due to their ability to think critically and make those connections. Best of all, the children have fun!”

- Karen Kunsa, Teacher

“The WordMasters Challenge™ doesn’t just enhance my students’ vocabulary. It encourages them to think more critically when reading and writing, search for connections between words and carry those connections with them beyond the classroom. The competition itself also encourages them to work as a team as they all work towards the same goal of improving each time, and it excites them. Parents will email me and tell they are astonished by the words their children are using at home!”

- Kristen Toth, Teacher

“I cannot tell you how many times we'd be talking about something in class and my students would say, ‘Oh, we know that! That was a WordMasters Challenge™ word!’ Having multiple meanings for some of the words helps train students to be open to more possibilities in meaning, which can help them with standardized tests and reading. We had fun and it’s a lifelong benefit to know that developing your vocabulary does not have to be difficult.”

- Cecily King, Teacher

“The WordMasters Challenge™ is a fun way to learn new words. The challenges are kind of like a game to find the connections and make the analogies, which is my favorite part.”

- Oliver M.

“With the WordMasters Challenge™, I learned a lot of different strategies for solving analogies and a lot of new vocabulary. It’s fun researching a word and then teaching it to the class. I think kids would have a great time if WordMasters Challenge™ was part of their class!”

- Rowan C., 4th grade:

“I like that the WordMasters Challenge™ lets me use my imagination to learn new words and remember the meaning of the word. You gain knowledge, improve your vocabulary and it’s FUN!”

- Alex L., 4th grade