Of all the subjects we’ve not been able to squeeze into our schedule, I feel the most guilty about neglecting vocabulary. Our kids read so much that their vocabularies are way beyond their ages, yet I still feel that I should be doing something to make sure they understand all those words they read and use. When given the choice of materials from Education Diagnostic Prescriptive Services, I jumped on Roots and Fruits: A Comprehensive Vocabulary Curriculum Covering Grades K through12. It is truly a curriculum (“a course of study”) covering over 673 roots and prefixes, with 1716 vocabulary words.
The teaching procedure is quite simple: introduce 1-2 roots per week, with the correlating vocabulary words. She suggests spending only 15 minutes each day. Our routine, as outlined in her instructions, has been:
- Day 1: Introduce root 1 (7yo and 5 yo will only work on this one this week) and root 2 (10 yo will work on this one as well). Copy from poster onto index cards for games and practice. Look up words in the dictionary (with lots of help from mom for the younger two)
- Days 2-3-4: Review words, make sentences, play one to two activities as time allows. She includes 14 different games, most of which use materials we have around the house-jello, Scrabble, scrap paper.
- Day 5: make new sentences using all three words; play one of three games to reinforce knowledge.
EDUDPS prides itself on “fluff-less” materials and I would have to agree this is free of any fluff. The instructions to the parent are matter of fact and straightforward. The teaching process is easily understood. The roots and prefixes are arranged alphabetically, with words for younger students marked with an asterix. However, because it is rather spare, you will have to create the worksheets, posters with the roots and vocabulary words, and any of the fourteen games she lists for practicing the words.
The author, Jill J. Dixon, holds a Bachelor of Science in English Education (magna cum laude) and a Master’s Degree in Special Education (summa cum laude). Her teaching experience spans twenty-seven years and includes working with students from pre-school age to adults in public, private, and home school settings.
What I think...
- Easy to work with “from the box” with a little preparation time (probably an hour a week at the most)
- Will last me several years at the rate we are moving through it, but that’s ok, since they are all young
- It covers vocabulary words that appear on the SAT
- More teacher intensive than a workbook--Andrew Pudewa would say this is a good thing!
- With the e-book, they restrict printing this to two times. The way things get spilled around here, I am guarding this copy very carefully.
Overall I am pleased with this and looked forward to using for the long haul. Even at the full price of the printed, bound copy, it is worth the $19.98 for a non-consumable vocabulary curriculum that can be done in 15 minutes a day.
Roots and Fruits is offered in three formats: e-book, pages only, or comb-binding. The downloads do not work on a Mac, so the pages only would be the option for those of you with Macs.Before you purchase an eBook please read Special notes for all eBook purchases.
- eBook:
$14.98On sale a limited time for $11.25 (25% off) - Pages Only - No Binding: $17.48
- Comb-binding: $19.98
