VOCABULARY

General and Multiple Approaches to Building Vocabulary
Building Vocabulary with Prefixes and Root Words
Building Vocabulary through Context, Puzzles, and Visual Mnemonics
Building Vocabulary through Context and Content

Images with blue borders can be clicked to enlarge them.

GENERAL AND MULTIPLE APPROACHES TO BUILDING VOCABULARY

Increase Your Word Power: Using Your Senses to Improve Your Vocabulary by Dorothy A. Fontaine. Barron's 2007. This writer uses Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences to help you increase your vocabulary for academic success. She applies Gardner's theory to help you learn words, recognize them in your reading, and know how to use them in speech and written exercises. Every section introduces 125 new words, with a definition, part of speech, and an example sentence. At the back of the book is a master list of 1000 words and a Parts of Speech chart. At the beginning is a Multiple Intelligences Inventory so you can determine your learning strengths and weaknesses. A variety of quizzes throughout the book help you see your progress. 383 pages. BTH-3433. $13.46-D

  Key Words for High Achievement by R & R FitzGerald, Teacher Created Resources, 2006 reprint. This challenging book for grades 6 and up is intended to prepare students for the SAT and Advanced Placement tests. it contains 36 independent units, each of which included a pre-test, word modeling, a quick match, and answer keys for the pre-test and quick match. The words have been taken from vocabulary expectation lists for honors students and from books on the reading list for the Advanced Placement test in English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition. At the front of the book there is a long list of common root words, prefixes, and suffixes, along with their meanings and examples of words they appear in.  Even I, a former English teacher, found plenty left to learn in this book.  Reproducible. 304 pages. BTH-3841.  $22.49-D

Vocabulary Skills from Steck-Vaughn: These reproducible books help readers build a rich vocabulary as they also learn word analysis strategies that increase reading comprehension skills. Available for grades 2-6, each book contains the following:

20 high-interest stories with new vocabulary words in each one.

• 100-160 new words

• a variety of activities that help students learn to use the words properly

• word analysis strategies such as using base words, prefixes and suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots

• writing activities requiring the use of the new vocabulary words.

Wordly Wise: My all-round favorite choice for all ages who can read. Start in first or second grade and go all the way through high school.

BUILDING VOCABULARY WITH PREFIXES AND ROOT WORDS

Greek and Latin Roots: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callella. ©2004, Learning Works. 144 pages. For grades 4-8. This book helps students learn to break down the parts of words they don't know in order to figure them out instead of just skipping over them. The activities in this book incorporate all levels of literacy so that students will be able to transfer the vocabulary they learn to their speech, writing, and reading comprehension. This book has 15 units. Each unit has two lessons, each of which takes a week. There is a suggested lesson plan for each day of the week. Each lesson has four activity pages for students: a take-home word list to study; a sets of hands-on vocabulary sort cards to match up for practice; a set of Read-Around-Review cards for small group review, and a brief quiz.  Every two weeks there is a Review Test. Students learn one new root every week and ten new words that contain that root. Teachers may reproduce pages for student use in the classroom. Answers for exercises and tests are provided. BTH-1552. $17.09-D

More Greek and Latin Roots: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callella. ©2007, Learning Works. 144 pages. For grades 4-8. This book follows the same organization and format as the book above and introduces another 30 root words.  BTH-3834. $17.09-D

Prefixes and Suffixes: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callella. ©2004, Learning Works. 144 pages. For grades 4-8. This book helps students learn to break down the parts of words they don't know in order to figure them out instead of just skipping over them. The activities in this book incorporate all levels of literacy so that students will be able to transfer the vocabulary they learn to their speech, writing, and reading comprehension. This book has 15 units. Each unit has two lessons, each of which takes a week. There is a suggested lesson plan for each day of the week. Each lesson has four activity pages for students: a take-home word list to study; a sets of hands-on vocabulary sort cards to match up for practice; a set of Read-Around-Review cards for small group review, and a brief quiz.  Every two weeks there is a Review Test. Students learn one new prefix or suffix every week and ten new words that contain which contain it. Teachers may reproduce pages for student use in the classroom. Answers for exercises and tests are provided. BTH-1553. $17.09-D

More Prefixes and Suffixes: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callella. ©2007, Creative Teaching Press. 144 pages. For grades 4-6. This book continues where the book above left off, introducing 37 new prefixes and suffixes.  BTH-3835. $17.09-D

Red Hot Root Words 1: Vocabulary with Prefixes, Suffixes, and Root Words. Like the companion book (below) for older students, this book helps students in grades 3-5 improve their mastery of the English language and acquire the keys for understanding thousands of words. Each lesson presents a prefix, suffix or root word, five new vocabulary words, sample sentences, and worksheets. The teacher's section also has additional activities and listings of supplementary words. This is one of the most complete useable presentations of vocabulary development using word part you will find available. 120 pages. Reproducible for classroom use.BTH-174. $15.26-D

Red Hot Root Words 2: Mastering Vocabulary with Prefixes, Suffixes and Root Words. This new reproducible book helps students become familiar with Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes and roots -- the building blocks of the English language. They are grouped by similar meanings and concepts so that students may see the related Greek and Latin components with their applications in the English language. The lessons cover the most commonly-used terms -- the ones that appear most often on standardized tests. A more complete list appears at the end of each section, with terms that were not covered, their meanings, and sample words.

Each lesson introduces at least two prefixes, root words, or suffixes. The first part of each lesson introduces the word parts with their meanings and sample words. The second part presents ten words,   their parts of speech, definitions, and usage in a sample sentence. This is followed by a one-page reproducible worksheet with exercises to help reinforces the new learning. There are 54 lessons in all.

Information for the teacher at the front of the book includes brief lesson notes which summarize the word parts and new vocabulary; some additional lesson ideas; and some reproducible patterns for word study, word building blocks, parts of speech chart, root word pyramid, and a word quilt. For grades 5-9. 158 pages. BTH-175. $17.96-D.

Vocabulary Development Using Roots and Riddles by Claudia Vurnakes. Frank Schaffer Publications. For middle and high school students. These are great fun for secondary students who need to build vocabulary with  root words. A variety of riddles and other word play activities will challenge students to be creative as they learn these roots: voc, bene/bon, min, port, gens, vid/ vis, scrib/scrip, nom/nym, mitt/miss, chron/temp, geo/terra, ,ject, carn/corp, ped/pod, manu, arch, primo/proto, mater/pater, spec/spic, mono/uni, bi/du, number roots, sym/syn.

Here are a few examples of riddles with their answers:

    A harmless complaint: A benign whine
    What kind of gas does a tiny car use? Minuscule fuel
    Which bird is known for its admirable deportment? A behavin' raven

Other activities involve rewriting sentences to make them longer or shorter    Using the provided word list, students are asked to reduce sentences like this one into six words or less:

    He was able to stay alive because of the good yield that he harvested from his garden.

There are a variety of other activities than involve more words than I can quote here. But they are all fun, and many even challenge me. Try this. Your students will like it. BTH-2963. $11.69-D

Vocabulary from Classical Roots: this one is designed for junior and senior high study.

Words on the Vine: Thirty-six Vocabulary Units on Root Words by Claudia Vurnakes. Instructional Fair, 1998. This 36-unit program is based on common Greek and Latin root words. Each unit introduces students to ten vocabulary words and traces their definitions back to a common meaning. Three reproducible activity pages that offer practice with the words each have a memory-jogging picture on a top corner that symbolizes the root. Many of the activities are hands-on, involving cutting and pasting, drawing, or using reference books. There are also multiple choice, matching, and other usual types of exercises. Master word lists, extra words, and enrichment exercises are at the front. 116 pages. For grades 5-8. BTH-4605. $11.69-D

Articles: How Do I Teach English, Part I / How Do I Teach English, Part II
Spelling / Writing