SAT Joy of Vocabulary II: Greek and Latin Prefixes and Roots

This will be the second set of five chapters in a series, but you do not need to have taken the Joy of Vocabulary I course to jump into this one. In this class, we will work from the vocabulary workbook The Joy of Vocabulary by Norman Levine, completing five chapters together. 

I have used this workbook in English classes for two decades and consider it the best tool I've ever come across for expanding understanding of the English language. Each chapter introduces a new set of Greek and Latin roots and prefixes, and provides a list of 18 to 25 words that show these word parts in action. For example, our first chapter's theme is "extra, inter, intra" words, which features a list of words such as "extraneous" and "interdependent" that put those prefixes to use. Next, each chapter gives sets of exercises on which the student may practice usage and meaning. Exercises are varied and creative, and include analogies, practice with concise writing, and sentence usage (to name a few). 

With root and prefix meanings internalized, students will be able to approximate the meanings of words they have never seen--just by knowing the meaning of the roots or prefixes. This is excellent preparation for the SAT and other exams that require understanding of advanced vocabulary. 

Our class will meet twice a week for five weeks, and complete one chapter in the workbook per week, for a total of five chapters. Each student will need to get a copy of the workbook for the class. 

In each first session of the week, we will discuss the roots and word list. I will add to the book definitions and provide examples and additional perspective on the words. At the end, we will play a quizzing game. The next step for the student will be to complete the exercises for the chapter independently; then, in our second meeting for the week, we will discuss the answers to all of the exercises for the chapter. 

Week 1: Chapter 9, Extra, Intra, and Inter words
Week 2: Chapter 12, Tom, Cid, Cis, and Sect words
Week 3: Chapter 13, Pre, Post, Ante and Meta words
Week 4: Chapter 22, Alpha-Privative words
Week 5: Chapter 23, Words dealing with words