Word Games
Stress Test
REcord the noun, reCORD the verb. Read a sentence and mark which syllable you stress — by ear. It works for a whole family of words: PREsent/preSENT, CONtract/conTRACT, OBject/obJECT. The reveal: you already obey this rule perfectly and were never once taught it — you just stated a theorem about your own speech. Solo runs + live whole-class races.
For Educators
Built for the classroom
Phonology, parts of speech, and the startling idea that students carry grammar rules they were never taught. English "diatones" are two-syllable words whose STRESS shifts with their job: the noun stresses the first syllable, the verb the second (REcord → reCORD). ~150 word-pairs obey this "initial-stress-derived nominalisation", and every native (and fluent) speaker applies it perfectly to words they've never analysed — without instruction. The game makes the rule audible: students mark the stress by ear, score high, and only THEN learn the law they just demonstrated. It also opens the bigger idea that stress carries meaning (GREENhouse vs green HOUSE; emphasis changing a sentence's meaning). The dataset (30 vetted kid-known diatones with example sentences) is validated by a test: every word splits into two syllables, appears as both a noun and a verb, and follows the law.
Grades 3+ · 30 vetted diatones with natural example sentences · a solo run is 10 words; score 9+ for the Linguist's Ear License · live races are 6/8/10-word quizzes, 3–6 minutes.
Three ways to play
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Play solo
Ten sentences; tap the stressed syllable of each by ear. Score 9+ to earn the Linguist's Ear License — then the reveal explains the rule you just proved you already know.
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Host a Race
The whole room gets the SAME word quiz on the projector; pick the length. Most right — fastest — wins. The server scores every answer against the law.
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Join on any device
Read each sentence, tap 1st or 2nd syllable. Trust your ear — you already know it. Most correct, fastest, wins.
Run a live class in 5 steps
- Open the Race — pick the quiz length and timer; share the 4-letter code / QR / link.
- Students join on any device; everyone gets the SAME diatone quiz.
- Each word: read the sentence, tap the syllable you'd stress. The server scores by the law.
- Ask the room afterward: did anyone study this rule? No — yet nearly everyone got them right.
- Reveal the law (noun → front, verb → back) and send the curious to the Dojo's Theorem.
Tip: host on a laptop or projector (the big screen shows the code, QR and leaderboard); students join on their phones or laptops.
