Becoming a Vocabulary Virtuoso with Critical Thinking (A Homeschool Coffee Break Review)

This school year is winding down for us but we've found a little time to try out Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT/SAT Book 1 from The Critical Thinking Co.™ for this review. For us, it's a fun pastime to learn and use new words, but it's designed to help prepare students for the PSAT or SAT, so it's also very useful!

The Critical Thinking Co.™ publishes over 200 award-winning educational books, e-Books, and apps, and students of all ages have been using these products to improve their academic results in reading, writing, math, science, history, and test prep. All the lessons encourage critical thinking so students learn to analyze carefully, think deeply, and build understanding. The company defines critical thinking as "identifying and evaluating evidence to guide decision making". I think we can all agree that good critical thinking skills are something we all need, and are especially valuable for students in learning and applying knowledge.

There are products for all age and grade levels, so this spring Homeschool Review Crew members reviewed math and vocabulary books for a wide range of ages. We chose Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT/SAT Book 1 and used the e-book version.

Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT/SAT Book 1 is suitable for students in grades 8 through 12 and beyond. This book contains twenty nine-word vocabulary lists from current PSAT and SAT lists. Each list focuses on a part of speech (noun, verb, etc) and contains a pronunciation key, definitions, other word forms, and context sentences. Then there are several different lessons for the student to do which reinforce the vocabulary, and after every four lists there is a review. 

How did we use it?  Kennady wasn't studying for an SAT so she was able to use a relaxed pick-and-choose pace with this book. If she'd had a test scheduled, she would have worked on Vocabulary Virtuoso using a more structured schedule, and spent more time per day. But what we did seemed to work quite well for her.  We printed each vocabulary list she worked on to start. She studied the spelling and definitions of the words using that hard copy, and then kept the copy handy as she started doing the lessons.

Vocabulary List 1 - a hard copy to begin studying, and to reference

There are six lessons for each vocabulary list, and each one offers a slightly different way for the student to practice defining and using the words. Kennady's favorites were the fill in the blank lessons. The first one gives the word list at the top of the page, followed by sentences with a blank to fill in. Synonyms of the word are given. Kennady said this activity challenged her with even more vocabulary words so she had to think through the definitions of each of the words.

Lesson A - synonyms

The second lesson is a straightforward fill-in-the-blank activity, which she also liked.

Lesson B - fill in the blanks

I was a little surprised that she didn't particularly care for the Story Challenge lesson. This is also a fill-in-the-blank activity, but instead of random sentences, it tells a story. Kennady was impatient with the reading involved, because it's essentially a story about students in class learning the vocabulary words. There is something additional to be learned here though. For example, the Story Challenge for Vocabulary List 3 features the fictional English class learning all about idioms and their origins.

Lesson C - story challenge

Lesson D is mostly about spelling. The word that matches each the underlined part of each definition is given, but it is scrambled, so the student must spell it correctly.

Lesson D - unscramble the word

Lesson E gives the vocabulary words and the student must choose a synonym or phrase from the word bank to match each one. And finally, Lesson F has the student complete a sentence showing that they understand the meaning of the underlined vocabulary word in each. So in the example below, Sentence 3 starts out:

We could tell she had a grandiose sense of self-importance by ________________

Then the student would complete the sentence showing that they understand the word 'grandiose' in a sentence context, and by describing the 'grandiose' behavior, they define what it means.

Lesson F - Complete the sentence

 Since we had the e-book, Kennady worked on the lessons at the computer, saving us some paper! And speaking of 'saving', we found out that you DO need to save your work on the e-book regularly. It doesn't auto-save. We were also a little too slow to figure out HOW to type answers directly in the eBook. In the top left of the window, just above the Table of Contents is the Typewriter tool. Simply click that and you'll be able to type your answers right into the document.

Typewriter Tool

After four lessons, you'll find the Review. The student reviews the previous four vocabulary lists using a crossword, a multiple choice test, and a  list of fictional book titles that are definitions for the words. Kennady didn't get through the entire review, but this list of fictional titles was fun to try!

What we liked best:

• go at your own pace, studying hard and intensely; or take ten to fifteen minutes a day going over the vocabulary list.
• a broad choice of activities to reinforce the definitions of the words - do all of them or just the ones that appeal to you.
• vocabulary lists with words right from the current PSAT/SAT mean that students will be very well prepared for the tests.

What I need to mention:

• don't forget to save the answers if you are typing them into the e-Book!
• we suggest printing out the Vocabulary List to study and to reference.

Our bottom line: In just fifteen minutes or so each day, this book can help students prepare for the SAT/PSAT test or just improve English vocabulary and spelling. A valuable tool for students preparing the test, and for students who like to write and want to use strong and interesting words!

Would you like to become a vocabulary virtuoso? Here's what you need to know:

Visit the website:  www.CriticalThinking.com

Pricing: Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT/SAT Book 1 is available as a paperback or as an eBook for $16.99. 

Age recommendations: Grades 8 through 12 and up.

You can follow The Critical Thinking Co.™ on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Instagram, and on YouTube.


We previously reviewed a Whodunnit Forensic Mystery called Something Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha from The Critical Thinking Co.™ . You can read that review here: Critical Thinking About Something Fishy

The Critical Thinking Co.™ has also allowed Crew members to share this special freebie and coupon offer with our readers:

Free Critical Thinking Puzzles!

A $75 Value! Delivered weekly to your inbox. Choose PreK - Grade 8. Sign up now: CriticalThinking.com/toscrew

Special Offer from The Critical Thinking Co.™!

Free shipping + 15% off any size order when you use the coupon code: TOSCREW19 (This offer expires 12/31/2019)

Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog for more information and to read other reviews.

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