Tracey L. Morris
- Reviewed on Friday, January 31, 2003
- Grades Used: 4th-9th
- Dates used: October thru January 2003 so far
The Vocabulary Vine
Written By Nancy Paula Hassler
Hi, My name is Tracey Morris and I have been homeschooling for 5 years.
I have had the great pleasure of finding a new book called The Vocabulary Vine! It is a spiral study of Latin & Greek roots. For those that do not know what spiral is when speaking about curriculum, it is simply building knowledge layer upon layer with each step planted securely upon the preceding step.
This book includes 108 study roots. The words are all familiar example words, no obscure ones. That's 3 per week for 36 weeks and as the introduction points out. by learning 50 key roots you can unlock the meaning of over 100,000 words. Imagine the improvement in reading comprehension and spelling! I have noticed a marked improvement in my 5th grader. There are games to use to reinforce on the off days and to include the entire family. It is totally Non-consumable so is very cost effective! Currently the price is $11.00 per copy. Also, The Elijah Company carries her book.
Grades: best for 4th through 9th. High schoolers? Yes, if they haven't studied roots yet. (See her Living Roots book if they have.) Younger than 4th? Yes, if the parent helps them compose the definitions (logic skills aren't as developed yet). I am using with my 2nd grader with minimal help on my part.
The introduction is well written simply with clarity & logic. My children immediately understood what roots were & why it would be so helpful to study them.
The instructions are clear and make it easy to sit down and start the program in just a few minutes. For older students they should have no trouble doing this program alone.
The root study list is well organized and easy to follow. I especially like the cross references which tie the prefixes & suffixes together.
Nancy Paula has taken a subject which can seem intimidating and time consuming and made it quick, easy, and inexpensive. My children enjoy the lessons and were immediately using their new found knowledge to understand new words.
The games are wonderful & make this a book that can be used for a very wide range of ages.
I highly recommend this book! It is a joy to use and the benefits far outweigh the small amount of time needed to use this program. I wish all my curriculum purchases could be this efficient, easy and beneficial! Thank you Nancy!
If interested, [see LINKS page--Homeschooling Businesses.]
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