Vocabulary Workshop: Level B

I am a big fan of these series as I used them myself for a couple of years as a teenager and wish I had used them throughout my highschool years. I greatly prefer them to the Wordly Wise and have recommended these as a teacher to parents for extensions in a school which does not do vocabulary soon enough. I plan to use these when I have my own children as I am planning to homeschool.

Best vocabulary book for 7th grader

This edition of the Vocabulary Workshop series is the best. I have used Level A in my tutoring lessons for years, but the newer edition of Level B is an awkward size for photocopying and the students don't have to think as hard to match synonyms and antonyms as in the 1st edition. So happy to add Level B to my library.

英検準一級合格まではとくにボキャビルを意識してやることはなかったが、合格後気合いをいれてボキャビルしてみようと思い、洋書ボキャビル本はInstant Word Power,５０４などを購入してみたものの３日坊主に終わった。自分の継続力のなさもあるが、５０４は簡単過ぎ、Instant word powerは接頭辞を使った覚え方は良かったのだが語彙レベルが雑多だったからだ。その点、本書は私の希望を見事に叶えてくれた。Vocabulary WorkshopはＡ〜Ｈの８冊にレベル分けされており（これがまず向上心を誘う）、本書Ｂはおよそ英検準一〜レベルだと思われる。１５個のUnitから成り、１Unit見出し語２０語、１語につき約５個のsynonymsとantonymsがついて一冊でおよそ１５００語学べる（antonymsとsynonymsを完璧に覚えるのは効率が悪いだろうから、それらは未知語でなくなる程度を期待すべきかも）１Unitの構成は・Definition（定義、例文、synonyms,antonyms）・Completing the Sentence(Definitionで学んだ語を文章中の空欄に書き込む。順番はランダム)・Synonyms,antonyms（Definitionで学んだSynonyms,antonymsを元に見出し語を書かせる）・choosing the word （文章中の単語選択問題）・Vocabulary in Context（見出し語を含む長文問題）３Unitにつき１つ復習Unitがある。私は全部音読した。流れの通りにやれば、未知語でも苦労せず記憶できる。やはり問題を解くというアウトプットが記憶を強化するのだろう。英文中にでてきた出現頻度の高い単語を辞書を引いて理解してもさらさらと頭から流れ出てしまうのはあなただけではない。ボキャビルで悩める方に是非。

As a teacher and a dad, I have found that this series is a great way to teach vocabulary and is a great way to learn. Words have the pronunciation(which is also online in audio form), great definitions/synonyms/antonyms, and great exersises. There is a review every 3 chapters in each book and a review/test at the end of it too. Each book has about 12 chapters with 20 words to learn. Great to do weekly. As a teacher I would advise testing weekly 10 of the 20 words with spelling, meaning and using them in a sentence. I would then give them 5 additional words from any earlier chapter to keep them reviewing. These books are great. My students (from 6th-11th grade) all love them. After a few chapters students will comment how they can understand more when they read. It is also very cool to hear your kids learning these words in their daily lives.

As a test prep tutor who specializes in exams which test vocubulary knowledge - the SAT, SSAT, ISEE, SHSAT and others - I am always on the lookout for helpful vocabulary-building tools. This series, while not particularly exciting, is excellent; I use the full set. Students in lower grades can start from the lower levels and work their way up. Each word list is accompanied by a good variety of review and reinforcement drills: sentence completions, mix-n-match, passage readings, etc.Since this series is often used in schools, my luckier students get their test prep and school vocabulary homework done simultaneously!