Vocabulary for Life
by Calvert School
Reviewed by Elliot Robinson
Purchase details:Vocabulary for Life CD-ROM for Windows, $25. System requirements: Windows 95, 98, ME; Pentium processort, 32 MB RAM, sound card, CD-ROM drive. This course is not compatible with Vista, XP, or 2000. Available only from Calvert School.
Calvert School's Vocabulary for Life is a Windows application for middle-school students. Equipped with a simple user interface and several types of exercises, this program helps make vocabulary fun.
When the program is opened, the student is presented with a login screen that allows scores to be kept for many users. Once the student has logged in, he can choose from five levels: Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and Honors (SAT preparation.) Some examples of vocabulary words are dormant, odious, and portmanteau at the Freshman level; and obesity, gauche, and prognostication at the Senior level.
The student can then choose from several categories of words including Latin derivatives, literature, and idioms. Each category contains text lessons followed by an exercise in which the student uses words learned in the lesson to answer multiple choice questions, spell out the correct word for a sentence, or choose synonyms. The student is then given a grade which is recorded on his transcript. Students and parents can view scores on the transcript, which may be printed out as proof of completion.
Recommendation: I found this program quick to install, easy-to-use, and fun to work with. Much more interesting than workbooks, this program will help any student expand his vocabulary. At $25 Vocabulary for Life is a bargain.
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About the Reviewer
At press time, Elliot is the 14-year-old son of Martha Robinson, the Review Page Editor for HomeschoolChristian.com. Very interested in everything electronic, he spends his spare time building computers, programming, and fixing his siblings' toys. At twelve years of age he got his Amateur (HAM) Radio license. When he isn't tinkering with electronics or talking on the radio, he is probably riding his bike through the woods or helping elderly neighbors.
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