ProudGrandma Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 If so, which one and why do you love it. I am looking for a basic, independent program for growing students vocabulary. If you have that, or even know of one that I might like, please send me a link...or at least a name. thanks. Oh, I will have a 3rd, 5th and 6th grader next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatYoung17 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 oh, please anybody? I am wondering if the lack of response means that most parents don't teach this...maybe it isn't THAT important? Maybe I am thinking I need to do something, I don't. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I love, love, love Michael Clay Thompson's Caesar's English I and II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 excuse me, but what does MCT stand for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I have never tried MCT but hear great things about it. We love Wordly Wise and you can do it online for free. WordlyWise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 duh...ok. thanks. We have tried Wordly Wise...and didn't like too much...so I was looking for something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsMama Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I got a scholastic dollar days book "vocab cartoon of the day" that is fun and easy. They have a bunch of vocab books. At least if you hate them you aren't out much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I have just got Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop for dd and I love the looks of it. It is based on word lists. It has a passage to read (with audio available online) where the vocab words are highlighted. Then it has the student using the words in a different context (different sentences, same meaning). Then there are exercises on synonyms and antonyms. Finally, it augments the student's understanding of the words through usage exercises. I can't really explain that last part well, but, as an example, the first lesson includes words for taste (bitter/salty/etc) and then has the student classifying various foods into those taste groups (to further clarify what the word precisely means). There are extension exercises/activities online. I also have several Greek and Latin root-based vocab programs, and that is also a good approach. I would suggest English From The Roots Up as a non workbook based program and Creative Teaching Press' Greek and Latin Roots 1 and 2 as a workbook based program. MCT's vocab books are also good, but I haven't had a chance to use them with dd yet. I think a combination of both (word list based and root based) will be best for my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Haven't read the replies, but we LOVE caesar's english from MCT. I used it for my 5th and 7th graders last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We LOVE Vocabulary Cartoons. In our house, it truly does what it says- once you say it you don't forget it! My kids LOVE this. They learn the cartoon and it seems the word and definition is engrained in their brains! (though the definition is sometimes followed by the mnemonic ;)) There isn't much to it. They read their word(s) of the day. I tell them to try to find times in everyday speaking to use their words appropriately and at the end of school I tell them to write sentences with their word(s). My oldest does a few words a day, my 4th grader does 1 (next year will start 2 a day, 6th 3 a day and so on) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joani Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 My oldest has used Sadlier-Oxford's Vocabulary Workshop for the last few years and really likes it. nansk gave a good description of it and you can see samples here. We've only used B, C and D, but will be trying the elementary levels in the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Apparently research suggests that vocabulary (unlike most subjects) is best learned implicitly, with words being introduced in context of real situations. Also, reading books aloud to kids which are higher than their reading levels and explaining the difficult words as you go along is one of the best ways to build vocabulary. Besides that, I think my kids have learned more vocabulary by watching Word Girl on PBS than with the vocaulary programs I have used so far. (Dynamic Literacy's WorldBuild is pretty good, but I didn't like Wordly Wise so much.) All that said, I am planning on trying Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop next year since many people have written good reviews for it and have had good results with the SAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I love, love, love Michael Clay Thompson's Caesar's English I and II. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahkay Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We've used Evan-Moor Word-A-Day which does what the title says plus a very brief, interesting application exercise to do with the day's word. There's also a multi-choice "review quiz" each week. The kids had no complaints about it. I bumped up a grade or two for a more difficult level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahkay Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We've used Evan-Moor Word-A-Day which does what the title says plus a very brief, interesting application exercise to do with the day's word. There's also a multi-choice "review quiz" each week. The kids had no complaints about it. I bumped up a grade or two for a more difficult level. Forgot to mention it's 100% independent. And about your concern if vocab is important....yes, I think it is. My kids are waaaaay verbal. And I credit that to all our reading and vocab study. They have a mighty word bank to draw from when they write and speak. Vocab provides for specific word choice and rich diction in a child's writing. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Apparently research suggests that vocabulary (unlike most subjects) is best learned implicitly, with words being introduced in context of real situations. Also, reading books aloud to kids which are higher than their reading levels and explaining the difficult words as you go along is one of the best ways to build vocabulary. I started formal vocabulary study when I found my DD was getting frustrated because she didn't understand what she was reading. She could decode anything but it might as well have said The garglezonk fribbered the snarfblatt. If the reader doesn't know what the unfamiliar words mean, the decoding skills won't help much. I started DD with MCT's Caesar's English series which we both :001_wub:. However, I didn't care for the looks of the middle school series (Word Within the Word) so she recently started Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Excavating English Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 We LOVE Vocabulary Cartoons. In our house, it truly does what it says- once you say it you don't forget it! My kids LOVE this. They learn the cartoon and it seems the word and definition is engrained in their brains! (though the definition is sometimes followed by the mnemonic ;)) There isn't much to it. They read their word(s) of the day. I tell them to try to find times in everyday speaking to use their words appropriately and at the end of school I tell them to write sentences with their word(s). My oldest does a few words a day, my 4th grader does 1 (next year will start 2 a day, 6th 3 a day and so on) there is only one level of this book, yes? Looks fun, but what if you have kids in different grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 My oldest has used Sadlier-Oxford's Vocabulary Workshop for the last few years and really likes it. nansk gave a good description of it and you can see samples here. We've only used B, C and D, but will be trying the elementary levels in the fall. I would love to see this, but for some reason, I am unable to get the pages to load...what am I doing wrong? can I see them anywhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Crimson: Why didnt you like Word within A Word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I would love to see this, but for some reason, I am unable to get the pages to load...what am I doing wrong? can I see them anywhere else? Link to the 6th grade vocabulary workshop sample http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/701c50e3#/701c50e3/1 5th grade sample http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1fff8ae8#/1fff8ae8/1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 We absolutely love the RFWP materials, and have really enjoyed Caesar's English. Love, love, love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeemama Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Sadlier's Vocabulary Workshop. We've used both the elementary levels (green, orange, blue) and levels A&B. My youngest found green quite easy last year (she's an avid reader) and skipped to blue this year in 3rd grade. My son in 5th grade is using orange level (which is lower) and that is the right level for him. Be aware that there is a sizable jump in difficulty from the blue level to level A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 We have, and love, A Word a Week. I thinks it's just a scholastic book. I got it used in some teacher giveaways on free cycle. It has one or two words per page, and then a story about the word. Maybe also a little poem, some questions, some roots, and describing the word really well. I just read it aloud. Sometimes it leads to discussions, sometimes not. We've been using it since last year. A thin book, maybe 1/4 inch, but plenty of words. Edited to add link. Just saw it on amazon. This is the exact one we use; I have third graders. The words they chose have been in much of the literature we have read or listened to this year. The kids love running across the words they've learned.http://www.amazon.com/Word-Week-Vocabulary-Program/dp/1576905160 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful_Journey Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I love Vocabulary Workshop - the exercises are terrific and the kids' retention is great! We've also used Caesar's English, English from the Roots Up, and Vocabulary Cartoons at various points in the past. Really liked all of them. The only programs we've tried and didn't care for were Wordly Wise (not exactly sure why my dd detested it so much) and Vocabulary Vine (the kids preferred English from the Roots Up instead). Honestly, I can say that one of the biggest influences on my kids use of more "sophisticated" language is my own use of it. The more I incorporate higher level vocabulary into my own conversations with them, but the more likely I am to hear those same words being used in their writing and conversations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Where is everyone purchasing Vocabulary Workshop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful_Journey Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 You can buy it through Kolbe Academy - they only sell the teacher's manuals with answer keys to registered families, but I haven't found a need to have the teacher's manual anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I'm with Mrs. Twain--but I have a suggestion! McGuffey 1879 readers, the 3rd reader and up have vocabulary defined after each reading passage. My daughter's vocab level went up 3 grade levels after not quite a year working through the last bit of the 3rd reader and most of the 4th reader. However, most of her problem was that she is very literal and was not good at gaining vocab through context. I started out having her read the vocab words before and after and think about how she could figure them out from the sentence. Then, I had her read them just after once she got good at figuring out how to "guess" from context. It only took a week or two for her to get good at this, after that she simply read a passage or two 4 days a week. For someone who is good at intuiting vocab in context, it might not be quite as helpful, but is still a good, easy to use resource. The set is still fairly cheap, it is $45, usually it is around $50. You can view the pdfs online at gutenberg press, and most libraries have a set.http://www.amazon.com/McGuffeys-Eclectic-Readers-William-McGuffey/dp/0471294284/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395980735&sr=1-3&keywords=mcguffey+readers You also get in a variety of reading passages from poetry to nonfiction to fiction, most of it well written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietchapel Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 We are reading through the dictionary. When we find a word the dc can't readily define, I write it down. Once we have a list, they have to look up the words and write out definitions along with origin. It's pretty basic and works very well here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Where is everyone purchasing Vocabulary Workshop? Wondering the same thing. I see Kolbe academy has been the only suggestion so far. Are there others? I would like to find the orange level. It's a little confusing looking at all of the editions on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I just bought 180 Essential Vocabulary Words from the Scholastic dollar days sale. The have one for grades 3-6. Looks good enough for $1! We also study vocabulary as we read together but this will be an easy way to sneak a bit more in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Reading aloud great litertature 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week. Reading lot of great literature to themselves an hour or two a day at least almost every day of their lives. Latin and Greek Roots all the way through. Mine have a vocuabulary that's off the charts and all my kids have had excellent vocabularies for their ages. My kids said college level vocabulary was never hard even when it was new because they could figure it out between the context and breaking down the Latin and Greek Roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I usually buy Vocabulary Workshop directly from the Sadlier-Oxford.com website, though I bought one new workbook from a used book seller (Abe Books or Alibris--can't remember which one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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