Vocabulary Musings...

[Sunshine State Sue]

Not exactly a curriculum question, but I felt it was more related to curriculum than what shows up on the general board...

 

I do not think of myself as having a terrific vocabulary. I'm perhaps average.

 

1.5 years ago, at the end of 6th grade, I gave ds the ITBS and he scored 11.7 grade in vocabulary. It was the only thing he scored above average in except math, and I have a degree in math, so the math score was no surprise. I was surprised about the vocabulary score because we never formally worked on vocabulary. I attributed this score to several things: reading good books, studying Latin (and his tutor at the time always gave him English words to look up that were related to Latin words he was learning), and Megawords, which includes some vocabulary. I plan on giving him the ITBS again at the end of this year. I'll be curious about the vocabulary score because we dropped Latin a year ago. :crying:

 

Anyway, what I noticed about ds is that perhaps his reading vocabulary is above average, but his speaking and writing vocabulary is definitely not. In his writing, in particular, he is terrible about using what Write Shop calls "weak" words - fun, have, good, big, look ,went, "to be" verbs, etc.

 

I have been pondering this difference and wondered if anyone else notices it and if it is typical. I don't know that I am necessarily wanting to "fix" anything. I just wanted to discuss it. I imagine it is somehow similar to young children being able to understand books that are read to them earlier than they are able to read those books themselves.

 

Thoughts?

[IsabelC]

I understand that it is completely normal to have a passive vocabulary that is significantly more extensive than one's active vocabulary. If you think about it, you yourself can probably identify some words that you would not write or use in conversation, but you have a good idea what they mean if you read them.

 

I think the 'weak words' thing might be a separate issue. A lot of kids start off by writing nice/good/fun also because it's easier to write, not only because they don't know any alternative words. I agree with your theory that plernty of exposure to high quality writing, as well as learning another languare is likely to be beneficial.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Hotdrink

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks. Active vs. Passive Vocabulary. It's nice to put words to it.

[swimmermom3]

Sue, I have been thinking about this issue with regards to my middle child. His situation is similar to your son's. For my ds, I believe a poor understanding of basic grammar contributes to an inability to incorporate a higher level of vocabulary into his writing. My ds chose to join his db in homeschooling in the middle of 7th grade. He took the Easy Grammar pretest and was able to answer only a handful of questions in 45 minutes.:tongue_smilie:We spent 1.5 years drilling grammar, then he returned to ps this fall for his freshman year.

 

I saw a recent grammar test which indicated that his grammar skills were still subpar even though he had done well with Easy Grammar. My plan is to afterschool him utilizing the MCT LA program his brother uses. My hope is that if he is able to see how grammar, vocabulary, and writing are all interconnected, as opposed to being separate subjects, his skill level will deepen.

 

This same child could ace his spelling tests but would write "thair" on a paper. It's a context issue, if that makes sense.

 

I know you use Analytical Grammar so grammar is probably not the issue. I do offer extra points on writing papers for utilizing vocabulary words correctly.

 

Anyway, I don't think the problem is uncommon from what I've read, just frustrating.