The Word Within the Word: An Exploration of the Interior of Language for Academically Motivated Secondary Students, Volume 1, Teacher's Manual

by Michael Thompson

An Exploration of the Interior of Language for Academically Motivated Secondary Students

Volume

*Extensively tested in grades 8-12

* Appropriate for academically motivated grades 6-7 as well.

*Excellent for preparing students for SAT's and PSAT's

Here is a vocabulary building curriculum like no other. It is a system which heavily uses ETYMOLOGY not memorization. Words are presented as a system of thinking, a way of building, analyzing, spelling, pronouncing, using and choosing words. The beauty of this approach is that the student fully knows far more than the list of words encountered in this course; he or she knows the tens of thousands of words which are not listed, but which are expressions of the system.

This vocabulary study is intended as a weekly effort, built on a cumulative basis. Every test reinforces every list. Through constant review, ever increasing familiarity is built. This is a tremendously wonderful undertaking that combines learning and fun for the students.

There are 30 lessons in each book. In Book One there are 500 stems, both Greek and Latin, followed by 250 words made of those stems. (The term "stems" includes all word pieces: prefixes, suffixes, and roots.) Each lesson's makeup includes: a Stems List; a Sentence Page which is designed to show how example words should be used; an Analogies Page which promotes thinking and prepares students for PSAT's and SAT's; Mystery Spelling and Mystery Questions pages designed to be enjoyable activities to show and to practice that it is not just the word one studies that one knows; a Notes Page or Stem Close-up Page that takes a closer look at the list of stems and highlights special points or adds information; an Ideas Page that expands the brain's contact with the stems through activities of synthesis, divergence, analysis, evaluation, intuition, emotion and esthetics; an Inventions Page that gives the student the opportunity to create words just as scientists, writers and others do; and Flip Side Tests which give the definition and ask the term. Volume I covers lessons 1-30; Volume 2 covers lessons 31-60, and Volume 3 covers lessons 61-90.

We are very proud of this complex, demanding, erudite and witty curriculum. Schools and districts which have tried it are expanding their use of it and looking for ways to expand its use into lower grades. South Carolina had the lowest SAT scores in the country, and that state has embraced The Word Within the Word at the high school level and then pushed it into the junior highs. Now, many are attempting to bring the curriculum into fifth and sixth grades. There is wide-spread pleasure in the way the curriculum imposes a discipline in the classroom because of its structure and its intellectual demands. While the curriculum allows for humor in its content, it makes students work to keep us with the weekly demands. Word Within The Word makes the costly, time consuming, quick-fix/quick-forget tutorials of junior and senior high school years things of the past. Word Within the Word provides internalized, maximum, meaningful, impact at the time the students take PSAT's and SAT's.

Genres: Textbooks

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

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Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so excited to try the Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum with my kids this year. I have the complete sets for both 5th and 9th grade and am thrilled at the approach to language, grammar, vocabulary, and writing. Joyful learning and love of words are espoused and embraced. It feels complicated for this somewhat unstructured homeschooler, but I'm up to the challenge and so are the kids! More reviews in June 2011, when we will have finished the whole thing, I promise!

[Barbara Atlas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like that it coordinates with The Magic Lens, but have concerns that it is too dull and gray for my honors classes, but may figure out how to teach some of it this fall without violating copyright or buying expensive student workbooks.

[Alfred Winfrey]

It was good.