A Note from the Site Creator

Verbalworkout.com began with a book I was reading with one of my sons.

The summer before ninth grade, he was assigned The Count of Monte Cristo. I suggested that we both read it so we could talk about it together. I have always liked words, and when my children came across an unfamiliar one, I would usually pause long enough to explain it.

But The Count of Monte Cristo had too many unfamiliar words for that.

Stopping for every difficult word would have taken the pleasure out of the book. At the same time, I could see that some words were worth noticing. Some appeared again and again. Some helped explain important moments in the story. Some were the kind of words he was likely to meet later in other books and in school.

I wished there were an easy way to know which words were most worth a student's attention.

Years later, after retiring from database work, I built this site to help answer that question. Verbalworkout.com identifies vocabulary from literature and gives students repeated, context-based encounters with words that are likely to matter.

The site is not meant to replace reading, discussion, or good teaching. It is meant to provide a little vocabulary support alongside them.

If you have suggestions as you or your students use the site, I would be grateful to hear them.

Happy reading,

Jim Thompson