PrepQWill

Pardon me if this is in the wrong topic.

Here, I would like parents or possibly students to recommend books to expand vocabulary for the SSAT. Or even basic knowledge that could be beneficial.

I chose this forum and category due to SSAT being involved with prep schools. With that being said, I'm positive that parents vocabulary is a bit more vast.

Thanks to all who reccomend!

Periwinkle

Read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and/or National Geographic. Your local library should have copies. You may expand your vocabulary, but even better, you'll increase your knowledge of the world.

Alexz825Mom

I second Periwinkle.....plus.....make notecards of words they come across that are new. Review these new words on a daily basis. Also look up the greek and latin derivations.

I believe "reading" is what helps the kids more than anything.

I am just putting this out there for parents that have younger children.....taking latin as young as 3 grade helps tons.

Just my 2 cents.....and a daughter who is an avid reader and scores extremely well on standardized exams.

GMTplus7

I third Periwinkle's newspaper list, plus I would add The Economist magazine. All these media titles are particularly well-written and can mostly be read online.

Also, go to a bookstore and look in the test study guides section for an SSAT study guide book. It will have vocabulary lists, practice tests, and test-taking strategies.

But do READ, READ, READ.

SevenDad

I second everything suggested above. I think a more natural expansion of vocab through reading is a more lasting way to build your word set than cramming flashcards.

That said, even if you are in a time crunch, I still do not suggest studying "word lists": I have read a few times about kids who did so only to see just a handful of the words they studied on an actual test.

FWIW, my 14 year old thoroughly enjoyed the Malcolm Gladwell books (Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink).

PrepQWill

I also recommend reading the classic novels and stories. Such as: Aesop's Fables or Hemingway

Common words from these stories are used in testing.

mountainhiker

Royal Fireworks Press has fantastic materials available for studying language arts: grammar, vocabulary, writing and poetics. Our kids specifically enjoyed (really!) the Caesar’s English and Word with the Word vocabulary curriculum.

PrepQWill

This also goes for SSAT Prep books that you found to be helpful.

Rose2014

My mother- age 70 plus- does not have any college and yet has an excellent vocabulary, far better than my own. She only reads romance novels. Why is her vocabulary developed? It is because she keeps a dictionary at her side. Any time that she doesn't know the word or the root of the word, she pulls out her dictionary.

My suggestion to you is to become friends with your dictionary. Look up words- even common words that you know but don't recognize the etymology of the word. This goes back to saying learning the Latin and Greek prefixed will help tremendously.

ballerina22

I love reading classic books. My favorites are Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights

EnemyOfTheSun

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a great book if you're in the mood for being pretentious.

spaceneedlesevie

I read Flipboard on my iPad and phone when I have the free time. I also read various news magazines like TIME and Newsweek. My favorite magazines of ALL time are definitely Reader's Digest and Mental_Floss. They are the BEST for gaining obscure knowledge in a fun, engaging way. My favorite types of books are "new classics" in YA fiction. These include The Fault in our Stars, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, See You At Harry's (Such a sad book, it's supposed to be for 10-12 but it's a very mature book that focuses on issues like death, homosexuality, and more.) The Steve Jobs biography was definitely a riveting read (but maybe that's because I almost worship him)... and how could I forget to mention The Help? The truth is, you can definitely ask your local librarian and he/she will DEFINITELY have suggestions based on your tastes.

EnemyOfTheSun

Thanks for the recs, spaceneedlesevie!

kidsparent

Have to second the advice to read. My son is a voracious reader, probably 2-4 books/ week, or he will bite into a long and deep book. He did no studying or prep for the ssat and had 99% on the verbal and reading sections of the test.

Build your vocabulary the natural way and so that it actually serves you in life rather than purely to do better on a test. I thought that was kind of the point of getting admitted to a BS anyway.

spaceneedlesevie

I agree about building vocabulary the natural way, but sometimes I'm way too lazy to pick up a dictionary while in the middle of a riveting read.( I may overuse that...) So I just use the context. But if I see a new word sometime outside, I will look it up on my phone dictionary app and then make it a point to use it twice that day. Its one of the most fun things!