Print
EmailAfter that monstrous post the other week about online dictionaries, I have one that’s short and sweet. Have you heard of Freerice? It is a very basic site with multiple choice questions. You can choose from 21 different categories including English Vocabulary, English Grammar, and SAT test prep which are my three favorites.
Freerice would be great to recommend for higher level students who want some online activities for independent learning and practice. I say higher level students because despite having 60 levels in the English Vocabulary category, the words get hard very fast; I usually get stuck close to forty. Give it a try to see how well you do!
Anyway, you can also keep it in your bag of tricks in case you ever have an extra 5-10 minutes at the end of a class in the computer lab or want to try it as a class. Not only is Freerice fun for teachers and students, it is also part of the United Nations World Food Programme, so for every question you answer correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to help end world hunger. If you register for a free account, they will track how much rice you have donated for you. The site explains more in depth what makes this possible but the short version of Freerice is a great, easy to use website where students can learn and, at the same time, donate food to people in need. Let me know what you think!
We have used freerice.com regularly with our students. It is great especially during computer lab time, as it provides focus for students who have completed their work faster than others. This cuts down on the playing that can occur. We have even had contests between teachers and students to see how much rice can be donated. Now freerice.com has more categories, so kids who feel unsure about their vocab skills can step up in geography, art, grammar, and other subjects. Super fun! 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Karen! It’s great to hear that this site is being used so successfully at your school. I think your idea about a competition could be a good motivator for some students too. I’ll have to try that.
Dear Reader,
Two months ago, one of my favorite site was http://www.myenglishpages.com For those of us who teach structural grammar, reading comprehension, listening and speaking skills there are ready made texts which are easy to adapt (for Tanzanian syllabus). Some of our classes have more than 60 students and assessing each individual is not an easy task. Therefore I prefer group work. Each student has his own handout, but only one presentation per group is require. I usually have 6 students per group and the lesson lasts for a double period because we have to arrange and rearrange the furniture.
The lessons in http://www.myenglishpages.com are limited. Hence I want to congratulate Tara for introducing us to freerice.com because of the games that you can play at your own speed and level of understanding. The activities are so fascinating that one could easily get addicted. For once you do not have to be rich to be able to donate to a global organization. The more you participate on this site the more rice is donated to World Food Program. Any one who can log in and log out on a computer should enjoy the privileges of improving their vocabulary and comprehension on freerice,com.
Keep it up Tara.
Yours sincerely,
Salma.
Thank you for sharing another great site with us, Salma. I have never used it before but am always open to trying new materials. I like that you mentioned both how addicting Freerice is and also how wonderful it is to be participating in a good cause. I really think that these are really the best things about the site too. I hope you have the opportunity to try it out with your students.