11 Plus Exams Forum

Do you recommend the above (by S curran)? They come in a series of 1-12. If anyone has used these, then pls let me know .....because even though DC needs to improve vocabulary but the books are quite pricey.
... Or is there a cheaper way of regular vocab practice? Thanks all.

My DDs have a great vocabulary, and have never done any sort of workbook or app to improve it to be honest. That sounds like a recipe for making language and literacy a dreadful chore, to me.

The cheapest and best way is to go to the public library regularly, and get out lots of books of various types, and read them. Try to guess the meanings of new words from the context. That is all we have ever done-it works a treat and is not boring!

For an extra boost, buy a dictionary or use an app or internet if you prefer, to look up new words. Keep a notebook with the new ones, to revise.

Not useful. My DS picked strong vocabulary by reading good books and using dictionary.

I am a strong advocator of reading and conversation! But this has to start from babyhood. In the last year, I would recommend the AE books as a top up only. They are graded so do not start with 1, find a grade that is not too difficult and then work upwards. The books are not attractive looking but they are cross word based and use words in context. Can you look at somebody's old books? It will give you an idea.

On reflection, we used lots of different types of workbooks to boost our maths, as I and dds would run a mile rather than voluntarily do sums. So why not vocab workbooks? Maybe they do make it more fun, and you can see your progress more clearly.

if you go on their website you'll see sample pages from each of the vocab books - you can decide which level is correct for your DC and also whether you like the format or not.

I did look at these books but in the end went for andrew brodie spelling books. Dd does them intermittently and the books teach spelling rules as well as word lists.

sleepyhead

As others said AE vocab books are not very effective.
My son used AE vocab books. I dont think he remembers anything from those books.
I think vocabulary should be developed by reading books and making a list of words over a period of time along with their meanings.
My DS referes to his words list which he made throughout the year reading books before any test or creative writing exercises. I have never seen him refferring to AE vocab books.
As far as spellings are concerned, mugging up the spelling did not help him, but we soon realised there are so many tricks/ tips to spell words correctly.
for example FirstAID books gives a tip when to omit "e"before adding a suffix "ing" and when to keep it.
i before e and e before i rules and exceptions etc etc.

Removed my comments

Yes, this was what I was thinking. Where would you get the list of 2-3k appropriate 11plus words to choose from anyhow? There are an awful lot of words in the full English dictionary. Who defines which ones are suitable for the 11 plus?

I think the key is how much time you have and how you use resources to hand. When you come across a word in a book for the first time, you understand the meaning of a word in context. If you then come across the word used in several contexts, the word becomes part of your knowledge and you will never forget it. However, I do not advocate stopping the flow of reading to make lists or discuss a word you do not understand.

In the AE books, my daughter came across words she may have read once but was not completely sure of. In the AE books you immediately have a meaning and a use in context to reinforce what she already knew. When my daughter was doing VR papers, I found that she scored lowest on vocab sections so I thought it was worth putting the time in.

It is important to find a level where the child knows 50% of words (so the crossword starts like a game and they feel encouraged), can take a guess at half of the rest and then can learn the rest from scratch.