Words for the Classroom
Learn the core words you need for every school day. Discover how to talk about your tools, follow classroom directions, and connect with the people around you.
Like Duolingo, but for Words for the Classroom. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Tools on Your Desk and People in the Room. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Words for the Classroom
- A pencil uses graphite that can be erased cleanly with an eraser
- Drafts, rough sketches, and math exercises benefit from erasable marks
- Using ink for scratchwork or math makes correcting errors messy
- Pen ink binds to paper permanently and cannot be rubbed away
- Important school forms, signatures, and final keepsakes require ink rather than pencil
- Asking for a 'pencil' ensures you get a tool with erasable graphite
- Asking for a 'pen' will give you permanent ink that cannot be erased
- Clear classroom requests depend on naming the exact writing tool you need
- A wooden pencil dulls as you write and requires a pencil sharpener to restore the point
- A pen dries out if left uncapped or unclicked, ruining the ink flow
- A balanced three-finger tripod hold provides steady control for clear handwriting
- Gripping too tightly causes hand fatigue and cramping during long writing tasks
- Grip affects comfort and control, not the chemical permanence or lifespan of ink
- Phrases like 'open your book' cue everyone to get ready together
- 'Turn to page...' uses page numbers to bring the class to the exact same spot
- 'Close your book' signals the end of the book activity
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Words for the Classroom the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why would you pick a pencil when solving tricky math problems or sketching?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Words for the Classroom takes you
- 1
Tools on Your Desk
- Writing Tools: Pen and Pencil
- Using and Caring for Books
- 2
People in the Room
- Learning with Your Teacher
- Connecting with a Friend
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Words for the Classroom is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Words for the Classroom today.
Download Tomo, search Words for the Classroom, and play your first lesson in under a minute.