Spellzone October Round-Up

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20 Idioms About Air

Autumnal October, with its crisp chilly air, seemed like the perfect season to continue with our series of idioms about the four elements. From castles in the air, to airing your dirty laundry, to walking on air, this article translates a variety of idioms about air into plain English.

If you’re interested in other idioms about the four elements, click here for idioms about fire and here for idioms about water. And – of course – keep your eyes for the final instalment: idioms about earth.
 


10 Word for…ANGRY

In September we continued with our 10 Words blog feature by sharing alternatives to the word 'angry'.

In these articles, we choose a word and give you 10 other words that you might be able to use in its place. The alternatives aren’t always direct swaps so make sure you read the example sentences to learn about how to use each new word in context.

If you’re learning English, or just bored of using the same word over and over again, this is the series for you. Click here for alternatives to 'happy' and here for alternatives to 'hardworking'. You may also be interested in our three tips for expanding your vocabulary

 

New Spelling Games

Spelling games are great way to warm up at the start of a lesson, or to take a break with when you’re beginning to lose focus. At Spellzone Headquarters, we’ve been busy developing a whole host of new games to keep you busy. Help a shark catch his dinner, collect raindrops in a bucket, protect your rocket from asteroids – whatever you're in the mood for, there's something for you.


Five Spooky Spelling Lists

What’s better than a spooky spelling game for Halloween? A spooky spelling list to go with it, of course! We’ve been busy collecting haunted, hairy, and downright horrible words to help you brush up on your Halloween vocabulary. Play them with our Spooky Spelling game today, or with Which Witch once the Halloween season is over.


Word for Wednesday

How could we resist a spooky Word for Wednesday for Halloween week? Did you know the word 'aghast' once meant ‘frightened by a ghost’? Learn more about the word here.

The rest of this month’s words have had some weird and wonderful origins too – we hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them. What does the word 'genuine' have in common with your knee? Is the word 'vape' as recent as we think? When did the word 'flood' start being used figuratively? Was the word 'quizinvented by a theatre owner? Follow the links to find out!
 
To those of you celebrating Halloween today, we hope you have a terrifying evening!
 


31 Oct 2019
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One of the students has put in a huge amount of effort in completing Spellzone at least 3 times a week since his arrival with us in January. Looking at his scores after the latest GL testing, his standardised score has risen from 99 to 131. This is a truly phenomenal result. I just wanted to share the best result I have ever seen.

Terrie Penrose-Toms, Casterton College

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