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A+ Advice for ParentsBuild vocabulary for future successBy Leanna Landsmann Q: My son Troy is in middle school. His language arts teacher says it would be a good idea to work with him on expanding his vocabulary. She said it would not only help in reading but also improve his writing. The teacher says a strong vocabulary is important in doing well on the SAT. I have no idea how to help him. This is a boy who likes his video games, computer and little else. Any suggestions? A: Troy's teacher is on the right track. Students who develop a large working vocabulary during the middle-school years have an edge in high school and college that follows them into the workplace. A strong vocabulary helps students understand what teachers call idea-packed "complex texts" in science, math, history and literature. Today, middle-school teachers make a big effort to improve vocabulary knowledge to get students ready for high school work. How can you help Troy? Sandhya Nankani, editor of Writing, a magazine that helps middle and high school students polish their reading and writing skills, says don't try to drill Troy with a list of words out of context. "I'm not a big believer in rote memorization of words," says Nankani. "Instead, encourage him to read about things he's interested in. The best and most painless way to build up one's vocabulary is by reading and listening - reading everything from newspapers and magazines to listening to music, interviews and radio. If you can get Troy to read about and listen to topics that capture his imagination, you're halfway there. He'll meet new words and have to learn their meaning to figure out the gist of what he's reading or hearing. And, of course, it doesn't hurt to use the new words in various forms of writing such as letters, journals, reviews, homework responses and blogs." While simply handing Troy a word list is ineffective, learning a word a day as a family can be a lot of fun and can boost Troy's knowledge, says Nankani. "You can subscribe to daily vocabulary newsletters such as Anu Garg's popular A Word A Day at wordsmith.org/awad, which is all about the magic of words. This is a great resource: You receive a new word every day, along with its definition, a pronunciation guide and sample sentences. Some resources turn to pop culture and music to help middle and high school students improve their vocabulary, says Nankani. "The Princeton Review offers monthly Vocab Minute podcasts -- humorous and timely five-minute songs that feature vocabulary words." Their podcasts are available at the junior and senior level at princetonreview.com/vocabminute. A recent song about the movie "Snakes on a Plane" featured words such as cerebral, visceral, and perturbed. The Princeton Review Web site also offers free e-mail subscriptions to SAT Word du Jour. Troy also might like Flocabulary (flocabulary.com), says Nankani. "This New York-based duo creates catchy raps and SAT prep workbooks designed to improve vocabulary comprehension. The way they combine the power of music and rhyme to help students learn 500 challenging SAT words has landed them guest appearances MTV and CNN." Several books can help build word power. A good start is "100 Words Every High School Freshman Should Know," from the "100 Word" series published by "American Heritage Dictionary" (2004). Weekly Reader Publishing offers workbooks, including "Reading Practice Tests and Daily Vocabulary Practice" (2007). "Painless Vocabulary," by Michael Greenberg, part of the "Painless Series" published by Barron's Education (2006), presents vocabulary words in news articles. "Context is key to remembering a new word," says Nankani. "Ideally, you want Troy to learn new words and their definitions in the context of entertaining and lively reading." Since Troy is into games, encourage him to watch the interactive Game Show Network's and the Princeton Review's National Vocabulary Championship, a competition that rewards students who value a strong vocabulary. "GSN taps into our fascination with words in a whole new way through its 'Win With Words' campaign," says Nankani. The championship finale airs Sunday April 15, 2007, at 8 p.m. on GSN. Win with Words also provides study tools at its Web site, winwithwords.com. Next fall, volunteer to help Troy's school participate in the National Word Power Challenge, a competition for middle-schoolers organized by Reader's Digest. Finalists appear on televisions, and winners receive substantial scholarships. Writing Coach Tip Sandyha Nankani says having the whole family learn a word a day can be fun and productive. "Subscribe to daily vocabulary newsletters such as Anu Garg's popular A Word A Day at wordsmith.org/awad. You receive a new word every day, along with its definition, a pronunciation guide, and sample sentences. A Word A Day also partners with the Visual Thesaurus (visualthesaurus.com), to show the connections between words through word webs. Keep a family word journal or bulletin board. Pepper family conversation with the new words. If Troy doesn't understand what you're saying, he'll figure it out and learn a new word in the process!" Copyright 2007, United Feature Syndicate, Inc. A-PLUS ADVICE FOR PARENTS 4-2-07 Submission inquiries? Contact Dave Gladney at 856-241-7772 or dgladney@AEPweb.org.
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