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This curriculum addresses what the publisher calls the "growing consensus among educators regarding the need for direct teaching of academic vocabulary in a systematic program." The course involves kindergarten through grade 12 vocabulary series that includes reproducible tests and an online test generator. The entire program introduces over 3,000 words, and exercises become more challenging for upper grades. The course materials include a student workbook, teacher guide and CDs for each grade level.
Website: Wordly Wise
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(14 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: None
Grades Used: 3rd
We have really enjoyed using Wordly Wise for 3rd grade. The lessons are usually quick and painless. My daughter has known some of the words, but she has also learned many new ones. The reading comprehension sections can be a little tricky. Not all of the answers are found in the text and will require inference on the child's part. This has been hard for my daughter, but Wordly Wise is giving her great practice on this skill. You could easily complete more than one level in a school year if your child is advance. Others also use this for spelling, but we chose a separate spelling program. This is one curriculum I will use again next year for all of my children.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 7th, 8th
My daughter liked Wordly Wise very much. She enjoyed the short assignments with each lesson. She seems to be remembering the vocabulary words and the meanings also.
Cons: Pull-out Pages are mismatched
Grades Used: 8
My autistic son has reading comprehension problems, so the last segment of each lesson (read a story, answer questions) he finds extremely difficult. BUT the vocabulary words are appropriately challenging and there are several smaller lessons to work on the meaning of the words. Unfortunately, I need to pull the papers out to turn into our charter school as work samples and they always make the last page of the lesson on the flip side of the first page for the next session. Probably sounds like a small thing, but it gets to be a hassle to remember to copy the page before we turn it in to the teacher. Overall, it's a great workbook that I'll buy again next time.
Cons: last lesson too long, not much fun
Grades Used: 4
Wordly Wise is useful, with challenging lessons but the longest lesson comes last. The longest lesson coming last does make sense (thus the child is familiar with the words) , but by the end of the week kids are ready for a quick review of what they have learned. Overall, it is a good program.
Cons: too much busywork
Grades Used: 1,3
I found this curriculum to be a lot of busywork and the definitions weren't sticking for my kids. I liked the younger levels, and my child enjoyed doing them. But once you get to the 3000 level and up it just became a lot of busywork with view benefits IMO. We dropped it after one year.
Cons: heavy load for early learners
Grades Used: 6,7,8
My kids actually feel challenged. They feel smarter when they can answer correctly and discover right away if they are correct.
Work independently-which is helpful for me.
Cons: Difficult to grade
Grades Used: 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th
I really like Wordly Wise. My kids enjoy it also. It has a very good variety of vocabulary words. Each workbook lesson gives the student an excellent understanding of the words.
The only negative thing I have to say is that it is sometimes difficult to grade. There have been countless times that my kids have chosen answers to questions that appear to be correct to me only to find out the answer key says it is wrong. In those instances, I use my own judgment. If I feel it is correct then I mark it so.
Cons: can be too easy for a quick/advanced learner
Grades Used: 1st-3rd
We used Wordly Wise from 1st to 3rd grade as part of the K12, Inc. curriculum. It was used for the vocabulary language arts thread. It was very easy for my quick learner (already working two years ahead). However, he did enjoy it and learned enough to fill in some gaps. It is inexpensive to use and the answer keys are clear and easy to understand.
Grades Used: Variety
My oldest has used this for the past few years and her understanding of what she reads has expanded greatly. She is asking me less and less what a word means.
It is very easy to instruct and then allow the student to work on their own.
We will be continuing this all the way through high school and my other children will be picking it up as they need it.
Cons: My kids dislike it
Grades Used: 3
While this was easy to use, my kids disliked it intensely. It was the subject no one wanted to do. I have one child that consistently scores very high in vocabulary on other tests but I could hardly get her to work on this. It was a struggle every single day.
Cons: Minor issue but wish it came in a case
Grades Used: K
The stories are interesting. It is easy to use. My son is learning and is enjoying it. What more could you ask for.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 4th & 7th
We have really enjoyed Wordly Wise. After some initial instruction, the student can work independently. The kids really enjoy spotting words they have learned in other applications. We use the test book, but if your child is doing well with the lessons, you could do without it.
Cons: I don't have any.
Grades Used: 2nd through 7th
My kids used this series when they attended school and so when we started homeschooling I just continued with the next year. There have been many times when a word is used in a book or newspaper and my oldest son will state "That was one of my Wordly Wise words and this is what it means!". I find the stories to be very interesting too!
Cons: quick and too easy, not challenging
Grades Used: 3rd
A little to basic for my 3rd grader.