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Word for Wednesday: Exam

September's Word for Wednesday theme is school.  So far, we’ve looked at the words semester, teacher, pupil, and uniform. Our final word for September is exam. An exam is a formal set of questions or exercises that evaluate a particular skill or knowledge. In schools, exams are often set at the end of a term or a year to assess a student’s progress. Exam has been used as an abbreviation for examination since 1848, when it was a slang word used by college students. Examination comes from the Old French ‘examinacion’, from the Latin ‘examinare’ meaning ‘to ponder’ or ‘to consider’. The word took on ...

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Word for Wednesday: Uniform

Our Word for Wednesday theme for September is school. The word school comes from the Old English ‘scol’ meaning ‘place of instruction’, from the Latin ‘schola’ meaning ‘intermission of work’ and ‘leisure for learning’. The idea of children attending a school is from around 1300 and the idea of a school building is from the 1590s. Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at the words semester, teacher, and pupil. Today’s word is uniform.  A uniform is a specific outfit worn my members of a particular group as means of identification. In the UK, it is common for p...

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Word for Wednesday: Pupil

This month's Word for Wednesday theme is school. The word school comes from the Old English ‘scol’ meaning ‘place of instruction’, from the Latin ‘schola’ meaning ‘intermission of work’ and ‘leisure for learning’. The idea of children attending a school is from around 1300 and the idea of a school building is from the 1590s. So far we’ve looked at the words semester and teacher. Today’s word is pupil.  A pupil is a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution. The word is usually used to refer to schoolchildren.  Pupil was the Late Middle Eng...

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Word for Wednesday: Teacher

September's Word for Wednesday theme is school.  The word school comes from the Old English ‘scol’ meaning ‘place of instruction’, from the Latin ‘schola’ meaning ‘intermission of work’ and ‘leisure for learning’. The idea of children attending a school is from around 1300 and the idea of a school building is from the 1590s. Last week we looked at the word semester. Our second word of the month is teacher. A teacher is someone whose occupation is imparting skills or knowledge.  The word teacher dates to around 1300 and comes from the verb ‘teach’. ‘Teac...

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3 Word Lists for September 2021

Did you know there are over a million word lists on Spellzone? Every word list can be used in a variety of online and offline activities – learn more about them here. Here are 3 word lists to try in September:  Words ending in ctor  This month’s spelling pattern is 'ctor' endings  After the letters 'ct', many words use 'or' to spell the weak vowel ending. Learn about ctor words in Unit 25 and practise spelling them in this word list.   Education - Places September means back to school and to celebrate we’ve chosen education as this month’s Word for Wednesday theme. Over the next few week...

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Word for Wednesday: Semester

It’s back-to-school season! To celebrate, we’ve chosen school as our Word for Wednesday theme for September.  The word school comes from the Old English ‘scol’ meaning ‘place of instruction’, from the Latin ‘schola’ meaning ‘intermission of work’ and ‘leisure for learning’. The idea of children attending a school is from around 1300 and the idea of a school building is from the 1590s. Our first word of the month is semester.  A semester is one of two divisions of a school year. The word is common in North American schools where the academic year is usually split into two eighteen-week semesters. Here i...

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May Round-Up 2021

3 Word Lists for May  For this month’s word lists, we looked at synonyms of funny, exceptions to the ‘i before e except after c’ spelling rule, and colours. There are lots of different ways you can use a Spellzone word list to help you practise your spelling – learn more about them here.     10 Words for…Fast In our 10 Words blog post. we shared alternatives for the word for fast. From breakneck, to hasty, to swift – we’ve got the word for you!   American English vs. British English: The School Edition   Semester or Term? Student or pupil? Math or Maths? Some ...

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American English vs. British English: The School Edition

This month’s American English vs. British English blog post theme is school.  Click here to read an overview of the main differences between American English and British English spelling, and here for more detailed information. Here are 25 American English school-themed words and their British English counterparts: break – holidays  cafeteria – canteen  college – university  elementary school – primary school, junior school  eraser – rubber  exclamation point – exclamation mark faculty – staff  freshman (college) – fresher (university) grade,...

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