Vocabulary Virtuoso: Primary School Vocabulary for Academic Success Workbook (Grades 2-3) by Nancy Forderer

This 224-page book uses lessons to teach 180 words that second and third grade students should know for reading, writing, and standardized tests. Each lesson includes a story involving elementary school students that introduces geography skills such as maps and landforms and creative writing skills such as symbols and poetry.

Each lesson contains definitions, pronunciation keys, parts of speech, and alternate choices for each word made up of synonyms, idioms, and/or phrases. There are several activities, including a story involving students in a classroom setting.

Students complete a variety of exercises requiring critical reading and writing skills to contextualize the words. The exercises deliberately use other forms of the words as different parts of speech, so that students learn to recognize these forms as variations of the original words— further expanding their vocabulary and enabling them to use the words in more contexts. The correct spelling of vocabulary words are emphasized with the jumble activity that asks students to unscramble the word before writing the correct spelling.

Whether used in the traditional classroom, as a homeschooling resource, or for independent study, Vocabulary Virtuoso is a highly effective and fun vocabulary resource!

Primary Level - 180 Vocabulary Words and These Concepts:

Geography Skills - map skills and landforms such as continents, islands, mountains, and deserts

Creative Writing Skills - symbols and poetry such as haiku, chinquapin, limerick, and free verse