Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1

We are huge fans of The Critical Thinking Co. so I was thrilled to receive Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 to use with my daughter.

Like most of The Critical Thinking Co.books, the book was very self-explanatory and easy to use for the student so we were able to get started right away.

I took a look through and loved what I saw but then turned it over to my 14 year old and had her get started. She took a look and was happy to get started right away.

The more words you know, the more clearly and powerfully you will think…and the more ideas you will invite into your mind.
William Funk, author/poet

What Is Vocabulary Virtuosos

Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 is divided into 2 books. There is Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 and Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 2 –we received Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1.

The Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 includes 20 Vocabulary lists (aka 20 vocabulary lessons). Each lesson covers 9 words per lesson which are made up of 85% of PSAT or SAT word lists.

Interestingly, each list emphasizes a particular part of speech. For instance, Vocabulary List 1 is entitled “Amazing Adjectives” and has, you guessed it. a list of adjectives. Vocabulary List 2 is “Admirable Adverbs;” Vocabulary list 3 is “Volatile Verbs;” and Vocabulary List 6 is “No-Nonsense Nouns.” You get the picture.

Each lesson begins with a list of 9 words with a pronunciation explanation as well as a definition and sample sentence. Next, there are two pages with fill-in-the-blank sentences to work on synonyms and comprehension. The third activity is a Story Challenge which includes a word bank and a story to help the student learn to use the vocabulary properly.

The next lesson exercise includes a word scramble working with the student to read a sentence with an underlined word that is a synonym, idiom, phrase or definition of the word the student must unscramble. Next, the student chooses the word from a word box that describes the vocabulary word. And lastly, the student completes a sentence to practice understanding of the meaning of the underlined word.

After every fourth lesson, there is a review list that reviews the previous 4 lessons of vocabulary words. The review lesson has a crossword puzzle with the vocabulary words as well as a complete-the-sentence exercise and a word matching exercise.

What She Thought

My 14-year-old used the book on her own. She took a week to do the lesson as she worked on it several times throughout the week. Usually, she did just one or two of the activities at a time. Additionally, she made flashcards for the vocabulary words and studied them as well.

Here’s what my daughter had to say about Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1.

I really liked this book. It was pretty fun. The vocabulary words gave me a challenge, which I like. The unscrambling of the words is pretty fun too. My favorite part was the Story Challenge. I thought it was fun to figure out what word went into the story. The story was very fun!
-Student, age 14

What I Thought

I looked through the book before I handed it over to my daughter. I have to say that the lessons seemed thorough but interesting. I would have liked studying these words in this manner when I was a kid. In fact, I think this would be fun to use just to better my vocabulary.

My daughter willingly worked through the lessons and could work through them at her pace. She enjoyed the lessons and they seemed to motivate her to work through the vocabulary.

Overall

Overall, we liked Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 from The Critical Thinking Co. It’s a great vocabulary builder and I can see how it would most certainly help with the PSAT/SAT vocabulary section.

The Critical Thinking Co.is offering readers a great discount for orders now through the end of the year. Check out the below, use the code, and try out this or any of the curriculum on their site.