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14 min read
Vocabulary & Reading Insights for Parents and Educators
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Step into Kids Vocabulary Quest, where captivating tales, playful challenges and catchy tunes make vocabulary exciting and memorable. Whether you love to listen or watch, explore the episodes and songs below and head to YouTube or Spotify to start the adventure and never miss a new release.
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17 min read
Does AI Actually Help Children Learn? The Research — and How We Built Around It
At Mrs Wordsmith, we use AI tools in how we work. We’ve been open about that. But “using AI” covers an enormous range of practices, and the difference that ma...
5 min read
How Holland House School Supercharged Vocabulary Learning with Word Tag
At Mrs Wordsmith we believe that vocabulary is one of the strongest predictors of future academic success. Holland House School shares that belief. Their teac...
5 min read
Carnegie Mellon Study: Word Tag Boosts Kids' Vocabulary Scores by 22% in Just 6 Weeks
What if your child could grow their vocabulary by nearly a quarter in just a few weeks all while playing a game?That’s exactly what researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) disco...
6 min read
The Power of Spaced Repetition: Unlocking Your Child's Learning Potential
Have you ever wondered why some information sticks while other facts seem to slip away? The secret lies in a powerful learning technique called spaced repetition, and it's changing the way we appro...
7 min read
What Is Summer Brain Drain (And How Can You Avoid It?)
Summer is a special time for kids: it’s full of sunshine, adventures, and a well-deserved break from the classroom. But as wonderful as summer can be, it can also bring an unwanted guest: summer br...
7 min read
Reading changes lives... and we’re here for it.
Did you know that children who read for pleasure don’t just do better in English – they tend to excel across all subjects, even maths? That’s the incredible power of reading. Back in 2016, beloved...
8 min read
Why Vocabulary Matters (and How Schools Can Make a Difference)
Words are more than just tools for communication. They’re the very foundation of learning, confidence, and future success. But not every child has the same access to the rich vocabulary they need t...
5 min read
Early Words Matter: Why Every Child Deserves a Word-Rich Start
Words are more than just building blocks for sentences – they’re the keys to unlocking a child’s imagination, confidence, and future. But right now, too many children in the UK are starting school ...
6 min read
Fewer American Children Are Reading (and Here’s Why It Matters)
At Mrs Wordsmith, we believe every child deserves the joy of getting lost in a story. But new data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the US, highlighted by Pew Research...
8 min read
Why Aren’t Children Reading in Their Free Time? Facing the Reading for Pleasure Crisis
The latest research from the National Literacy Trust [1] in the UK is a wake-up call for every parent, teacher, and advocate for children’s learning. In 2024, just 1 in 3 children aged 8 to 18 said...
7 min read
US Literacy in Crisis: Why Action Can’t Wait
At Mrs Wordsmith, our mission is simple: to help every child become a confident, joyful reader. But recent US literacy statistics are a wake-up call for all of us. According to the 2023 National As...
9 min read
Why Vocabulary Matters: Closing the Word Gap for Every Child
Words are the building blocks of opportunity. They start stories, unlock knowledge, spark imagination, and empower children to express themselves, connect with others, and succeed in school and bey...
6 min read
What the Latest Data Tells Us About Reading and Writing in England
The Department for Education (DfE) in the UK has released the latest Key Stage 2 (which is equivalent to Grades 3-6 in the US) attainment statistics for the 2023/24 academic year, offering a detail...
9 min read
Strong Foundations in the First Years of School: What Ofsted’s Latest Report Means for Early Education
The earliest years of a child’s schooling are critical. Ofsted’s (Office for Standards in Education in the UK) October 2024 report, Strong Foundations in the First Years of School, shines a spotlig...
5 min read
How Illustrations Can Support Children with Reading Difficulties
Reading difficulties, such as dyslexia, can pose significant challenges for children, often affecting their ability to process and retain information. However, research shows that pairing words wit...
5 min read
The Power of Print: Elevating Comprehension with Mrs Wordsmith’s Engaging Learning Tools
In an era where digital screens often dominate the educational landscape, the humble printed page is making a compelling comeback. According to The Guardian, reading in print significantly boosts c...
6 min read
Unleashing the Power of Play: Accelerating Children's Learning through Game-Based Education
In the world of education, one thing remains constant: children learn best when they're having fun. As a primary driver of cognitive development, engaging activities have proven to be pivotal in fo...
4 min read
Is Reading The Secret to Happiness?
What if the key to happiness was as simple as picking up a book? Good news: science says it just might be! Table of contents: The Surprising Science Behind Reading and Happiness How Reading Lifts...
6 min read
Why Handwriting Practice Is Still Essential in the Digital Age
In today’s tech-driven world, it’s tempting to think of handwriting as an outdated skill—one that’s been replaced by typing and touchscreens. However, research continues to show that handwriting is...
5 min read
Why Words Matter For Children’s Social Development
Have you ever watched a child go from calm to a full-blown tantrum in a matter of seconds? There’s real neuroscience behind these emotional rollercoasters—and as it turns out, language is the secre...
6 min read
The Power of Context: How to Truly Learn New Words
To understand and use a word effectively, it takes a lot more than being able to remember what it means. Context is key. It provides the critical clues that help us grasp meaning, retain knowledge,...
5 min read
Why Storytelling and Characters Improve Children's Learning
Humans are natural storytellers. Stories shape how we understand the world, inspire action, and even drive societal change. But did you know that storytelling can also be a powerful tool in educati...
5 min read
Early Reading and the Brain: Insights from Neuroscientist Dr Carolyn Strom
Here at Mrs Wordsmith, we’re big fans of Dr Carolyn Strom and her research on the physical transformation of the brain as we learn to read [1]. Why? Because it’s an area we’ve been researching ours...
4 min read
The Surprising Benefits of Writing on Well-Being
Whether it’s jotting down your thoughts in a journal, crafting a story, or simply making a list, writing is more than just a way to communicate—it’s a powerful tool for improving mental health and ...
5 min read
How Confident Readers Are Made, Not Born: A Helpful Report on The Science of Reading
Some things come naturally to humans. When something is too hot, we pull our hands back. When a baby wants to communicate, they’ll babble (long before they can speak). But unlike these actions, rea...
5 min read
The Five Building Blocks of Reading
Learning to read is one of the most transformative skills a child can acquire. It opens doors to knowledge, creativity, and lifelong learning. At Mrs Wordsmith, we focus on the five building blocks...
6 min read
Game-Based Learning: How To Transform Education Through Play
At Mrs Wordsmith, we're committed to exploring innovative ways to improve children's literacy and overall learning. In recent years, researchers have increasingly highlighted the signifi...
6 min read
Read, Play, Learn: How We Made Phonics Fun with Readiculous
Here at Mrs Wordsmith, we're passionate about making literacy fun. We believe learning to read should be an adventure, not an arduous chore. That's why we created Readiculous, our early literacy le...
5 min read
How the Brain Learns to Read: Unlocking the Secrets of Literacy
Understanding how the brain learns to read is crucial for helping children become confident readers. The journey from identifying single letters to reading fluently is a remarkable process that inv...
4 min read
How Shared Reading Changes the Brain: Unlocking the Power of Literacy
Reading is one of the most powerful tools for shaping young minds. In particular, shared reading (i.e. when you read together with your child) has been shown to have profound effects on children's ...
6 min read
The Power of Visual Learning: Unlocking the Secrets of Effective Vocabulary Acquisition
Imagine you're a teacher trying to teach a set of new words. You’ll see some students scribbling notes furiously, while others will be staring blankly back at you, struggling to grasp the meaning ...
2 min read
The benefits of learning through characters and narrative
Engaging narratives and relatable, larger-than-life characters are proven to be perfect vehicles for learning. Lovable characters improve engagement with - and retention of - educational content....
4 min read
Reading difficulties? Illustrations can come to the rescue
Combining words with illustrations has various learning and memory-related benefits. These benefits are even greater for children with dyslexia because they often need to rely on a visual learning ...
3 min read
The importance of visual learning
According to research, children learn better visually, and not only those with a visual learning style. Illustrations are such an effective way to learn because visualization helps to clarify mean...
16 min read
Why Learning Games Should Be Fun-First
Do your kids spend hours building entire worlds out of virtual blocks on Minecraft? Is it practically impossible to pull them away from the user-generated game world of Roblox? You might cynically ...
19 min read
Level Up Learning with Educational Games
The Mrs Wordsmith team is passionate about the amazing opportunities afforded by games. Founded on the power of storytelling and visual language and with two award-winning card games already, we’re...
1 min read
The benefits of shared reading according to neuroscience
Reading with your child is literally “brain-changing".Innumerable studies have shown that shared reading between a child and an adult has many important benefits for children. Shared reading causes...
5 min read
What it means to learn words in context
There is little point in learning new words outside of context and there are good reasons for this. Placing a word in context is crucial for the comprehension of its meaning as well as for clarifyi...
5 min read
Writing makes you happy
Research shows that writing helps us make sense of our thoughts, feel better about past negative experiences, and feel more optimistic about the future. Table of Contents: Why does writing bene...
2 min read
Why storytelling and characters improve children's learning
Nothing is more effective than a good story for driving children’s learning. That’s because storytelling captures the imagination like little else.[1][2] Table of Contents: Stories are incredib...
5 min read
The science of humor: why laughing helps you learn
When something is funny it’s much more memorable. From an educational standpoint, the solution is obvious: use humor to help children learn better. Table of Contents: What's the difference betw...
4 min read
How does handwriting practice reinforce reading skills?
Handwriting practice helps develop reading skills. It is a crucial skill for children as they move through their early school years, beginning with individual capital letters in Pre-K all the way t...
1 min read
What is word consciousness and how can it be built?
Table of Contents: What is word consciousness? How is word consciousness built? What is word consciousness?Word consciousness is what emerges when children are given rich enough information ...
5 min read
The importance of direct vocabulary instruction
Table of Contents: Reading is great, but not enough for learning new vocabulary What is direct vocabulary instruction? Why does direct vocabulary instruction work? What's next? Reading i...
3 min read
The link between vocabulary and intelligence
The more words a child knows, the more effectively they read and the more effectively they learn – whatever the subject. Vocabulary is so influential, in fact, that educational psychology pioneers ...
2 min read
What is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is the awareness of the sounds in spoken words, as well as the ability to manipulate those sounds. Phonological awareness describes the set of skills involved in identifying ...
3 min read
Sight words: The difference between irregular and high-frequency
High-frequency words are words that appear commonly in children's books. These are also worth learning by sight. Examples of high frequency words include words such as are and she. Many high-freque...
3 min read
Why don’t children just learn whole words?
Research favors phonics for kids because the “whole word” approach is inefficient. Children cannot store tens of thousands of words in their memory. Eye movement research has shown that, when readi...
5 min read
The five blocks of the Science of Reading
Learning to read is a complex process that requires systematic instruction and practice. Here is a summary of the skills that a child needs to acquire in order to master reading. Table of Con...
5 min read
Why words matter to kids' social development
Believe it or not, kids actually have an innate desire to behave well and please their parents - it’s just certain impulses that sometimes get in the way! [1] Interestingly, a big contributor to s...
7 min read
Teach challenging words early to accelerate lifelong learning
Table of Contents: It's never too early to learn a word, even if it's a challenging one Young brains are capable of absorbing complex words, as long as they are taught in the right way But, ...
3 min read
Why word context is crucial for children with dyslexia
Table of Contents: Word pairs are a word's most common context Why word pairs and familiar context is useful for our 'lazy' brains Word pairs are a word's most common context The context of...
7 min read
Why is teaching vocabulary so important?
Table of Contents: Why words matter Words can open doors... And close achievement gaps... Words can be soothing... Does my child need to learn "hard" vocabulary words? Words feed your ...
9 min read
These are the words kids should know at every age
Over the last couple of years, we’ve been working with machine learning engineers, data scientists, lexicographers, and teachers to identify, analyse, and present the words kids need to know at ea...
5 min read
Make the most of reading time: advice from a headteacher
As teachers, we have a whole host of aims as far as pupils’ literacy is concerned. From the age of seven onwards, we want them to develop fluency and independence, to develop comprehension and unde...
6 min read
How does the brain learn to read?
We aren’t born knowing how to read. In fact, when we are born, the brain is missing the neural networks that are necessary for reading. Download our brain infographic to see the changes that our b...
5 min read
How to help children develop phonological and phonemic awareness
Table of Contents: What are phonlogical and phonemic awareness? Why are phonological and phonemic awareness important? Tips for helping children develop phonological and phonemic awareness ...Not sure where to start ?
We recommend diving in with these research papers
3 min read
Sight words: The difference between irregular and high-frequency
High-frequency words are words that appear commonly in children's books. These are also worth learning by sight. Examples of high frequency words include words such as are and she. Many high-freque...
3 min read
Why don’t children just learn whole words?
Research favors phonics for kids because the “whole word” approach is inefficient. Children cannot store tens of thousands of words in their memory. Eye movement research has shown that, when readi...
5 min read