Night Elf Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 My dd17 has started an online prep course from the College Board who administers the SAT test. She took the pretest and didn't do nearly as well as we hoped. As she is working through the online prep course, she is finding many of her wrong answers were due to not understanding the vocabulary of the questions and answers. We have the Wordsmart software but it doesn't seem to help the words stick in her mind. Is there any way we can help her learn and/or understand unknown vocabulary in the next 4 months before the SAT test date? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have heard good things about this book but have not used it yet. It's called Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student, and I believe it uses different strategies to teach students how to approach the vocabulary portion of the SAT. Unfortunately, I checked both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and this was the best link I could find! However, if you scroll down on the website provided, you should be able to at least get the ISBN, and from that you can search different sources, like e-campus.com or Alibris or addall.com. I've used these secondary sources before with great success. We used a combination of Vocabulary from the Classical Roots and Wordly Wise, and we did one book each semester---VCR in the fall and Wordly Wise 3000 in the spring. However, we did that for quite a few years, and it really helped. That, plus a lot of reading on the side! Nevertheless, I think this book may be a good fit for your situation, as you're trying to prepare for the vocab. portion within four months. But, as I said, I have not personally used the book, but have read good things about it on these forums. Good luck to you and your dd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I have heard good things about this book but have not used it yet. It's called Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student, :iagree: That, plus a lot of reading on the side! :iagree: Good luck to you and your dd! :iagree: DS will be taking the SAT again in October and he's determined to read lots of books this summer --- classics not twaddle. For some reason he decided that reading Shakespeare will also help improve his vocabulary. Well, I know why. It is the only author he has read where he claims to have encountered unfamiliar vocabulary. Now this is a child that is an avid reader to begin with and most kids would be delighted with his March SAT eading score. Since he is retakiing the SAT in Oct he decided to work on this area some more by doing tons of reading this summer. Good luck to your dd in her studies. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 My dd is very visual.... I have her working in a few vocabulary programs (Vocab from the Classical Roots and Vocab for the College Bound) but her FAVORITE has been Vocabulary Cartoons- SAT Word Power This book is FUN and she says she has learned many new words with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitneyz Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 that assumes that they are looking up all those words that come across in their reading, right?????? I know my daughter doesn't like to stop reading to look up words. Comments.... Thx, Whitney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titianmom Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 On her own, mine wouldn't look up anything, either, because...well....she's a bit...ah...okay; I'll say it: LAZY. :) But when we read together, we usually have a dictionary nearby to look up words and talk about them. The other day we were reading <gasp> a Hardy Boys from 1929. Yes, way back when kids could actually read and write well, and even though these are dime novels done on the cheap, they actually have some decent vocabulary in them. Sigh. Enough lamenting over the current teen novels out there with a reading level of, say, 3rd grade. Anyway, we came across the word "pugilistically" (pugilism) and took a guess as to what it might mean without finishing the paragraph. Then we looked it up together and laughed that we had the definition *so* incorrect. Anyway, not pushing the old kids' series, but we found 3 words in one chapter that we didn't know. Yes, we read classics, also, together and do the same thing. Kim that assumes that they are looking up all those words that come across in their reading, right?????? I know my daughter doesn't like to stop reading to look up words. Comments.... Thx, Whitney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 You can pick up a lot of vocabulary from context -- so extensive reading does help improve vocabulary even without the help of a dictionary (though obviously using the dictionary would speed things up!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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