Subtitled “A Spiral Study of Latin and Greek Roots.” I love it when you know exactly what you’re looking at, just by the title. This very straight-forward, no-frills root-based vocabulary study is exactly that, a guide to help students learn 108 roots, their spellings, and their definitions. The program is designed around a 36-week schedule, with three roots studied each week. Of course, it could be easily adapted to work at whichever pace you prefer. Each “vocabulary day,” the student will choose a root to study from the “main list” in the book. This list contains each root to be studied, several words using that root, a definition of the root, a definition of one of the example words, and the language the root is taken from. The student will create their own “root card” on an index card. To do this, they’ll record the root, its definition, and its source language on an index card. Then they’ll have to define the example words given for that root, paying particular attention to all roots used in the words, and using the root glossary as needed. If any unfamiliar words are encountered, they’ll begin new root cards for those roots, and set them aside to complete when they get to that root in their study. By the time they are finished with the program, they should have 108 complete cards. Because the student is doing much of the work himself, and starting cards each time an unfamiliar root is encountered, they will have seen many of the roots multiple times by the time the program is over. Though slim, this book contains plenty of information to get you started, optional games to make learning the roots a little more fun, and some good advice about learning roots, root glossaries, and an English-to-root-word glossary, divided by part of speech. The author also recommends using a good college dictionary to help you with your word research. This no-nonsense program expects students to do plenty of work in learning the roots, and contains no “workbook-y” root activities. However, the author has taken pains to include only words that directly relate to the root words, so the connection should always be clear to the student. Unlike other root-based vocabulary programs like English from the Roots Up, this one is more labor-intensive, but if your student is more hands-on, and enjoys creating their own study aids, this program might be a good fit for you. - Jess

Customer Review

 
Lori S. from Dallas wrote the following on 05/02/2008:
Great program, so easy to use that most older kids can just pick it up and use with very little instruction. One of the best root programs out there. It spirals so it builds upon itself. The cards are wonderful and a great reference. This is great for the kinesthetic and visual learner. It was worth every penny spent on it and proves that something doesn't have to cost a lot to work.