Daily Skill Building: Vocabulary - Grade 8
Finally a vocabulary curriculum that is simple AND effective!
My daughter had a perfect score in vocabulary on her standardized tests this year. I am owing that vocabulary score specifically to your curriculum she used this year!
She loved using it. She thought it was actually fun. It kept her engaged. Her personal vocabulary has exploded in every day usage and it is obviously reflected in those scores – 100%! – Lindsey Stomberg
A robust vocabulary is crucial for the development of verbal and written communication and lays a foundation for reading comprehension and writing skills. Daily Skill Building: Vocabulary is designed to lay a strong foundation in bite-sized steps over 36 weeks for students in grades 1-8.
This simple, straight-forward approach to vocabulary building is easy-to-use and encourages independent study. The format is designed to be flexible — meaning you can assign more than one word a day if you wish to complete it sooner.
Daily Lessons & Weekly Review
Each week presents four new words (one per day) with a weekly review on day five. Your student will be asked to define the new word using a dictionary, use it in a sentence, and list synonyms and antonyms. Every 4th week includes an additional review using the most recent 16 words studied plus a short writing assignment (for grades 1-3 this is 2 sentences and an area to draw an illustration. Grades 4-8 require more writing). You can see the sample of the unit review for this level by clicking the button above.
Dictionary & Thesaurus
For your convenience, we include a glossary of words by week and order studied. Students may use either the glossary for their daily assignments or a dictionary. We recommend the Webster’s For Students Dictionary/Thesaurus set as well as thesaurus.com and dictionary.com.
No Teacher’s Guide Necessary
Daily Skill Building: Vocabulary is so simple to implement you won’t even need a teacher’s guide. Your child will learn 144 vocabulary words along with their synonyms and antonyms, as well as how to use a dictionary and thesaurus in an engaging and independent format. Just open and go!
Skills taught:
- 144 vocabulary words
- Synonyms and antonyms
- Dictionary skills
- Thesaurus skills
- Learning to use new words in a sentence
- Independent study
Vocabulary Cards
There are two formats for the Vocabulary Cards that accompany each Volume of Daily Skill Building: Vocabulary. The first format includes the word, along with the week and day for easy reference, as well as the definition. The second card has the word, along with the week and day and blank lines for the student to write the definition. The Vocabulary Cards can be laminated for durability and used for retention and review.
Daily Skill Building: Vocabulary is available in 8 volumes:
Denise Rodriguez –
We are using the Vocabulary alongside the Spelling Companion and could not be happier! The Vocabulary is set up to be done over 5 days over 36 weeks. The four days you define words, use them in a sentence, and look up synonyms and antonyms. You would need access to an online dictionary and thesaurus or physical copies. On the 5th day you review the 4 words you have learned. We printed and laminated the vocab words and pull one a week to try to use as much as possible. Highly recommend getting both the Spelling and Vocabulary together!
Lynn –
I love the format of this vocabulary curriculum! It has a good range of vocabulary words (eg, fortuitous, ubiquitous, venerate, jaded, grapple), with exercises, flashcards and reviews all worked into the course to help students learn and retain meanings. Four words are presented per week (one per day for four days), with a recap on day five. For each word, students write a definition, use the word in a sentence and note synonyms and antonyms. At the end of every four weeks there is a short writing assignment as a review of the previous four weeks’ words. A helpful glossary is contained in the back of the book to be used alongside, or instead of, a dictionary when writing definitions. This is a well-presented and easy to use vocabulary-building course and I would recommend it!
Katherine Tanyu –
It is recommended to do this vocabulary level with the corresponding spelling because the words are the same. The difference is that the vocabulary curriculum is more “thinking”-intensive. The student needs to use the words correctly in a sentence and then match the definitions afterward.
As with spelling, there is a lot of writing and research. The dictionary and thesaurus will become their friends. I believe vocabulary is retained when used repetitively or exposed in literature. So I think it is also a good idea to have the parent’s involvement here. Like challenging the child to use the word in everyday conversation (at least for that week). Or to use the word in writing (in other subjects). But again, this curriculum is more of an exposure to new vocabulary words. So it is one tool to use in increasing vocabulary words.
Included in this product are vocabulary cards which can be laminated. With the affordable price and easy implementation (just a few minutes a day!), Daily Skill Building Vocabulary is worth a try in your homeschool.