How to best use VfCRoots

[Magic Wand]

I just received book A. It includes 16 lessons. Would you share what a typical day/week looks like for you. Do you make flashcards with the roots or work strictly from the workbook? I'm trying to get a feel for about how much time we'll be investing and what other things we can do besides the three exercises that are included for each lesson, or if we'll even need or want to do more.

 

Thanks!

[tjarnold]

I just ordered Vocabulary from Classical Roots A also, so I'll be interested to see how people like to schedule it.

 

Tiffany

[tjarnold]

Bump

[Rhondabee]

My ds was not learning anything using the flashcard technique. I have adapted the Teacher's Guide, and pretty much have a routine:

 

Monday - I use the Familiar Words and the questions in the teacher's guide to introduce the roots. I tend to make up questions for roots that aren't covered in the Teacher's Guide here. (Or, thankfully, most of them have been familiar from Latin.) DS records the roots (the shortened version of the root), the meaning, and a word that well illustrates both the root and its meaning on a sheet as described in WTM.

 

As we cover the roots, we read through the words and definitions together. I try to give him some idea of the connotations of the more obscure words. We don't read every jot and tittle of the student book, we just try to touch on each word. Sometimes I'll have him think of his own sentence using the word - but we don't write it down, all this is orally done together.

 

Tuesday - We do the Guided Practice in the Teacher's Guide. This is *very* helpful, and is where he really gets familiar with the words. (Some of these do require a little bit of preparation, but not most.)

 

Wednesday - He completes the Worksheet in the back of the Teacher's Guide.

 

Thursday - He does the exercises in the Student Text.

 

Friday - On odd weeks, nothing. Sometimes, on the even weeks we do some of the Review exercises - there are some in the Teacher's Guide and others in the Student Text. Some weeks we look at the test together. (The tests cover two lessons.) But, honestly, sometimes we do nothing on the even weeks, too!

 

This takes maybe 5 to 10 minutes a day. It does involve me, but my ds spends *much* less time on vocabulary each week than he was spending making the flashcards alone. And, he is remembering the words, seeing them in books he's reading and in the newspaper, and using them whenever he can insert a very formal word into a rather ridiculous situation, trying to make it even more ridiculous. (I guess we're weird that way - LOL!)

 

YMMV, IMO, and all that jazz~

[Corraleno]

Are the Teacher's Guides worth the extra money? I've just been buying the student books, since I didn't need an answer key. I'd love to know what other resources are in the Teacher's Guides (the sample pages on the EPS website only show answer keys from the TGs, not the content).

 

TIA,

Jackie

[Rhondabee]

Here is another post. I think I have some more details in that one.

 

ETA: I can't edit my old posts! So, don't look at the routine we followed there - I tweaked it to the routine above, which we still use. But, the old post will give you some idea of the activities that are available in the Teacher's Guide. Make sense?

 

hth!

Edited July 22, 2009 by Rhondabee

[Corraleno]

Thank you Rhondabee!

Jackie