The folks over at VocabAhead have products that will make learning common words that are on the SAT test, interesting, and at least in my house, quite entertaining.
The book is divided into chapters, that have a built-in review at the end. All of the answers are provided at the end of the book, making it easy for parents to grade. Each word is accompanied by a cartoon printed below the word and definition, but above several sentences that use each new vocabulary word in context. In our homeschool we used the Review first, to test our general ability to guess what the words might mean. We then read through the chapter, and re-tested the Review. It was interesting to see the close to 80% improvement over just guessing.
When you purchase the book it contains a web address that will entitle you to a free download of MP3s and Videos for you to keep on your computer. We easily loaded these MP3's onto our portable players, and could car-school our vocabulary while running errands.
Both the book and the DVD are backed by a wonderful website. In my opinion, this is where it all comes together. Here is the perfect balance for both visual and auditory learners. You can see the cartoon in full color, and then you listen to someone reading the information that is contained in the book. It is a great way for more than on person to work on vocabulary lessons at the same time. One child curled up on the couch, laughing, and the other on the computer laughing. The pictures are silly and make an instant connection with these words, putting familiar scenes together with difficult words, and making them easy to recall.
In the Study Room you can see videos, use flash cards, and take quizzes... It is the perfect supplement to the book.
While this book is geared to those who are in the high school years and preparing for the SAT, ACT, and GRE tests. It is a book that would make a great gift for any wordsmith you may know. My husband and I both enjoyed reading through this book. Everyone that has come over and seen it on the table, has picked it up, read a few words and chuckled. I think that kids as young as the 6th grade should begin to be exposed to these words.... that way by the time they are taking their big college tests, they are quite familiar with them.
I know this product works. I don't just say that because I have graded the Reviews that my children have completed, I say that because I hear them using these words in their conversations. They have had their own War of the Words and every word came straight from the time they had spent using this product. Another fun thing the kids did was use the words from the book to play Mad Libs. They had to find nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.... using only words they could find from the book. When they read the Mad Lib out loud, they would give the definition of the word.... It made for some silliness when the words were used wildly out of context.
For more information on how this product may suit the needs of your child, you may send an email directly to VocabAhead through their website contact page.
As always, opinions on products will vary. To read more reviews on this product, as well as reviews on the DVD-ROM product, head on over to the TOS Homeschool Crew Review page.
****Disclaimer****
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew I received a copy of the Book SAT Vocabulary: Cartoons Videos & MP3s free of charge from VocabAhead, for the purpose of this review. No other compensation has been received. All of the above opinions are my own.
Thanks for posting a detailed review on our Book, Julie. We are happy that you and your family found our book and our website useful. :)
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