let's talk Vocabulary....

[4pillars]

I am feeling like I need to add a vocabulary program to our school. We already do English From the Roots Up, but I feel like a regular vocabulary program would be good too. I was thinking of adding Wordly Wise. I would love your thoughts on this.

[Pegasus]

Vocabulary Cartoons have been well received here. We did a few of the Wordly Wise workbooks but it was too much busywork, in my opinion.

Pegasus

[GreenKitty]

What I've looked at/used/liked: VfCR, Worly Wise, Vocabulary Cartoons, also just started Vocabulary Vine.

I hope you find something you like!

Cheers:)

[Ferdie]

My 5ht grader bombed with Wordly Wise this year, and only made it through ch 5. We tried the 2nd edition Wordly Wise 3000, book 5. I was kind of disappointed becase I know vocab is really important for the SAT and I have heard nothing but great things about Wordly Wise.

My ds is a great reader, good speller and has a wonderful memory, but somehow WW overwhelmed him. I have put it away for now and am not sure if we should try it again next year or switch curriculums. I am going to be watching this thread for other opinions.

[angela in ohio]

I much prefer the older edition of Wordly Wise. I think it is an excellent exercise in vocabulary.

[ArwenA]

Wordly Wise didn't work here. DD9 has a good vocabulary and I tried level after level before giving up.
I've made my own vocabulary curriculum which I try to tie in with our other lessons. I also love Free Rice (http://freerice.com)

[Jenny in Atl]

I'm one of those odd ones that believes kids grow their vocabulary by reading and sharing good literature. Many of the vocabulary programs only give kids words in small snip-its and out of context. I found my kids have picked up a rich vocabulary by us listening to, reading, and discussing "vocab rich" texts. Audio bks are a great way to do this with mixed age kids; like listening to Treasure Island or Shakespeare. The more they hear, and read the more they will absorb the language. I even believe this when it comes to movies.

[Jules in MI]

and my son is doing great. We do just one chapter a week. Have you looked at WW? It introduces the vocabulary words, then has a true/false page, then a crossword puzzle that uses the words. We do not have the newer series, we are using the older series recommended by Sonlight and love them! My ds is an advanced reader though, maybe that is why he enjoys doing WW, it is not too hard for him.

[jg_puppy]

I'm one of those odd ones that believes kids grow their vocabulary by reading and sharing good literature. Many of the vocabulary programs only give kids words in small snip-its and out of context. I found my kids have picked up a rich vocabulary by us listening to, reading, and discussing "vocab rich" texts. Audio bks are a great way to do this with mixed age kids; like listening to Treasure Island or Shakespeare. The more they hear, and read the more they will absorb the language. I even believe this when it comes to movies.

I agree with what you wrote. You also reminded me that when I was in high school I had a teacher who would give us extra credit if we could find our vocabulary words in a book. We would study the definitions in class then it was just extra for whoever wanted to do it. Over 15 years later and I still think of her and that class when I see certain words. It helped make the words stick for me.

Jan

[Kathy in MD]

in ways I haven't seen with the other programs I've tried, other than the original Wordly Wise. I prefer Wordly Wise 3000 to the original, because 3000 uses fewer esoteric words and is laid out better graphically, making it more easily read.

My ds bombed the program a lot at first, until he learned to buckle down and focus on the multiple and subtle meanings of words. The most difficult section for him is the reading comprehension section. This section consists of reading a passage about 1 1/2 pages long and answering 15 comprehension questions correctly, utilysing the vocabulary words.

My ds still bombs the tests periodically, because he doesn't study adequately. (I do wait a month or two between the lessons and the tests to make him study and really incorporate the words) But I don't care that I could find an easier program that he could ace and then forget. My ds needs the training in subtlities he gets from Wordly Wise.

Now I do add other vocabulary work in. Vocabulary Vine I think is good to teach my ds how to decipher unknown words. Vocabulary Cartoons is just plain fun. There's a third CD program whose name escapes me at the moment that's good for fast aquisition. But I'll stick with Wordly Wise as my main program for it's detail.

[Kathy in MD]

in ways I haven't seen with the other programs I've tried, other than the original Wordly Wise. I prefer Wordly Wise 3000 to the original, because 3000 uses fewer esoteric words and is laid out better graphically, making it more easily read.

My ds bombed the program a lot at first, until he learned to buckle down and focus on the multiple and subtle meanings of words. The most difficult section for him is the reading comprehension section. This section consists of reading a passage about 1 1/2 pages long and answering 15 comprehension questions correctly, utilysing the vocabulary words.

My ds still bombs the tests periodically, because he doesn't study adequately. (I do wait a month or two between the lessons and the tests to make him study and really incorporate the words) But I don't care that I could find an easier program that he could ace and then forget. My ds needs the training in subtlities he gets from Wordly Wise.

Now I do add other vocabulary work in. Vocabulary Vine I think is good to teach my ds how to decipher unknown words. Vocabulary Cartoons is just plain fun. There's a third CD program whose name escapes me at the moment that's good for fast aquisition. But I'll stick with Wordly Wise as my main program for it's detail.

[Mel]

we use Wordly Wise and I really like it for my 4th grader - I use Classical roots for my 8th grader.