Vocabulary

   In the Robinson Curriculum books 4 - 150 have vocabulary words that go with the books. Some people think that a lot of those words are too hard for a eight year old to learn. BUT those words are taken from childrens' books that were written back in the early 1900's. If children back then could understand the meaning of those words, children of today still can also.
   The above poem was written by an 8 year old girl back in 1828. Her name was Fanny Crosby. This was her very first poem. She was blinded by an eye infection at six weeks old, and her father died when she was one year old. Her blindness did not hinder her attitude, or her faith in Christ.
    I think that this poem is a good example of the type of vocabulary that eight year olds had back in 1828. How many eight year olds do you hear using words like that now? As the years have gone by the standards of education have gotten lower and lower. Back in 1828, if you went through eighth grade, that was equal to a college education of today! Why hold our children back if they are capable of much more than the public school systems say they are. I encourage all parents using the Robinson Curriculum to let their children learn the vocabulary words -- even if the words seem difficult for the parents. You don't know what your children could learn until you let them try. It is quite surprising how fast many who use the Robinson Curriculum do learn those words -- especially if their parents and older siblings are learning and using those words also. Yes, at first it will start out to be slow -- but if you keep it fun, and don't push the child too much, they will get used to learning how to expand their vocabulary.

With part of the Robinson Curriculum you can print out flash cards for the vocabulary. One set has words on one side, and definitions on the other. The other set contains words on one side a sentence that comes from the book on the other side. Along with reading good quality books, and the use of these flash cards, eight years old are able to bring their vocabulary up to where it was years ago.
Version 2.2 of the Robinson Curriculum (which came out fall of 2002) now has printable puzzles for the vocabulary words. You can also purchase these puzzles pre-printed at their web site. These contain a list of the vocabulary words for the book, two word search puzzles, a crossword puzzle, and a matching quiz. These puzzles make learning vocabulary words more fun.

Note: If you want to buy a program where you can make your own puzzles or quizzes to add to the ones in the Robinson Curriculum check out these links:

How to learn the vocabulary words:

Print out the flash cards for your child, and the worksheets if you are using them.
The child can learn the words before or after reading the book the words go with. Some parents of older children have the child learn a certain number of words each day, and don't match up the words to the book their child is reading. I choose to have my daughter learn the words in order, as she reads that book the words go with.
My daughter can not move on to the next book in the list until all the words for the current book are learned. If the book is read faster than the words are learned, other reading material is supplied until the vocabulary words are learned. Here is a good place to read the extra books included in the curriculum for supplementary reading, books about science and history, or from other well written books that are not a part of the curriculum.
I set a reasonable time limit for when all the words should be learned by. The worksheets are spread out over this time period. For some children it may be a month (or longer), for others it may be a week. This will vary depending on what your child is capable of.
On the set day, have the child complete the last worksheet with the matching quiz. If they are all right, they can go on to the next book. If there are errors, they are to review the words until they are able to take the test correctly. (Here is where I use the Worksheet factory program so that my daughter can not memorize the answers without learning the words.)
I do not require my eight year old to recite the definition word for word. If she can do the matching quiz with no errors, I am happy. Every so often we do go back and review the past books to make sure she has not forgotten any words. As she gets older, I will require more out of her. She will in future years need to know how to spell the word correctly, be able to think of an original sentence for each word, and be able to write the definition for each word from memory. Right now she is too young for all that. (in my opinion)

TIP: While your child is learning their vocabulary, have them look up each word in a dictionary to make sure they are pronouncing the words correctly. Here is a dictionary on line where you can hear a person pronounce each word. Merriam-Webster OnLine Also, while your child is reading, encourage the use of the dictionary for those words that the child comes across that are not a part of the vocabulary list.

For the books your child is have a difficult time with: If you have a microphone on your computer, you could make wav files for each vocabulary word. First say the definition, then leave a pause, then say the word. Have a folder for each RC book to store these wav files in. Later when you go to listen to the recorded wavs, find a program that will enable you to make a playlist of the words from the book your child is studying. Most programs will also shuffle the order of the tracks so that each session will be a different order. During the pause have your child say the word. This is self-correcting for both the word and the pronunciation as the child will then hear the right word after the pause.

Other activites for learning vocabulary words :
(Do not use all of these ideas for every book -- it will be too much!)

Play matching games with the flashcards. Use both the sentence flashcards and the definition flashcards. Lay one set with the word facing up, and the other set with the word facing down. (Match the word to the definition, or the word to the sentence.) Have the child find the matching cards. Turn one card to see if both have the same word on them.

Have the child do copywork with the definitions, or the sentences.

Have the child come up with their own original sentence for the vocabulary words they are learning. To make this more fun, have them pick a certain number of new words a day, to use in the story or report they are writing for the writing time period.

Have the child mix up the vocabulary words and then arrange them in alphabetical order. They can check their own work from the list of vocabulary words in the puzzle worksheets.

For the words they are having a hard time learning, have them look up each word in other dictionaries, and then compare the definitions to what is on the card. Maybe the definition will be worded differently in another dictionary so the child can comprehend the meaning better.

Storage for Vocabulary flashcards:
I print out the flashcards in the 4.25 x 1 inch format. I then put a rubber band around each set of cards. I also print out a cover card with the name of the book, boo k number, and if it is a pile for the definitions or sentences. Then I print a 4.25 x 1.5 inch divider card with the top half inch of the card containing the number and name of the book. The cards are then stored in pencil boxes in front of the divider for the book. When it comes time for my daughter to get the next bundle of flashcards, a clip is put on the left hand side of the cards to form a book for her to page through. I like to work ahead and fill up a whole pencil box at one time. The box that my daughter is currently working on goes in the drawer of her desk. The other boxes will be put in storage until they are needed again for my younger daughter.