In This Series Word Within The Word. Volume I Word Within The Word. Volume I. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL Word Within The Word. Volume I. Teacher Manual Word Within The Word. Volume 2 Word Within The Word. Vol 2. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL Word Within The Word. Volume 2. Teacher Manual Word Within The Word. Volume 3 Word Within The Word. Vol 3. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL Word Within The Word. Volume 3. Teacher Manual Word Within The Word. Alternative Test Book A Word Within The Word. Alternative Test Book B

Vocabulary, Word Within The Word Program, by Michael Clay Thompson

For a complete overview of our Language Arts Curriculum go to: Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum.

Word within the Word, by Michael Clay Thompson, is our middle and secondary level, vocabulary-building curriculum that is like no other and of which we are very proud. It is a complex, demanding, erudite and witty curriculum and schools and districts that have tried it are typically expanding their use of it.

It provides internalized, maximum, meaningful impact at the time students take PSATs and SATs. The SATs now include an extensive grammar section and students having both Word and Magic Lens in their background have a substantial advantage. The program makes the costly, time consuming, quick-fix/quick-forget tutorials of junior and senior high school years, things of the past.

Building Language and Caesar's English provide the elementary level curriculum.

To maximize the learning value of Word, the student books are designed to work in lock-step with The Magic Lens, a high-level grammar series by the same author.

It is a program that uses etymology, not memorization. Latin and Greek stems are presented as a system of thinking, a way of building, analyzing, spelling, pronouncing, using and choosing words. In consequence students will know far more than the list of words encountered in this course—the tens of thousands of words which are not listed, but which are expressions of the system.

The series is extensively used in grades 8-12 and is also appropriate for academically motivated grades 6-7.

The Word program is intended as a weekly effort; built on a cumulative basis from Volume I. 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; Volume I covers lessons 1-30; Volume II lessons 31-60, and Volume III lessons 61-90. In Volume I 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.)

Lessons include: a Stems List; a Sentence Page designed to show how example words should be used; an Analogies Page which promotes thinking and prepares students for SSAT'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.

See sample lessons below

See a video clip of the author's sometimes controversial views on teaching Vocabulary.

Go to our Practice Workbooks series to see the new supplements to all our vocabulary and grammar programs. These low-cost, consumable workbooks provide in-depth instruction with 100 practice sentences for four-level analysis.

Support Groups for users of Michael Clay Thompson's Language Arts series

Homeschoolers and parents are invited to join the Yahoo! Group: MCTLA
Teachers and educators in schools are invited to join the Yahoo! Group: MCTteachers

Michael Clay Thompson Course Packages
We have made available special packages of the curriculum to help make your ordering easier and to help you save money. Includes student book and teacher's manual for each stage of the curriculum: Homeschool Packages | School Examination Packages

Recommend this series to a friend or colleague

Word Within The Word. Volume I

Class sets of 25 or more: $18.00 each; includes free teacher manual. (Order Code: 5868S) Add to Cart

This is the first of our middle and secondary level, vocabulary-building, curriculum that is complex, demanding, erudite and witty. It provides internalized, maximum, meaningful, impact at the time students take SSATs and SATs. It is a program that 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 students will know far more than the list of words encountered in this course, the tens of thousands of words which are not listed, but which are expressions of the system.

Lessons are intended as a weekly effort; all the succeeding volumes build on a cumulative basis from Volume I. Every test reinforces every list. Through constant review, ever increasing familiarity is built. This is a tremendously wonderful undertaking that combines learning and fun.

Volume I covers lessons 1-30 with 500 word stems, both Greek and Latin, followed by 250 words made of those stems. The term "stem" includes all word pieces: prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

Lessons include: Stems List; Sentence Page designed to show how example words should be used; nalogies Page which promotes thinking and prepares students for SSAT's and SAT's; Mystery Spelling and Mystery Questions to show and to practice how it is not just the word one studies that one knows; Notes Page or Stem Close-up that takes a closer look at the list of stems and highlights special points or adds information; Ideas that expand the brain's contact with the stems through activities of synthesis, divergence, analysis, evaluation, intuition, emotion and esthetics; Inventions that give the opportunity to create words just as scientists, writers and others do; and Flip Side Tests which give the definition and ask the term.

Lesson 10

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Word Within The Word. Volume I. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL

Excellent for preparing students for SAT’s and SSAT’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 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 covering 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 SSAT’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.

We are very proud of this complex, demanding, erudite and witty curriculum.

This book supplements the Student Manual. It does not replace it.

Word Within The Word. Volume I. Teacher Manual

Word Within The Word. Volume 2

Class sets of 25 or more: $18.00 each; includes free teacher manual. (Order Code: 6928S) Add to Cart

Volume Two, extensively refined and improved in 2007 includes:

• a better (visual) way of indicating whether a stem is Greek or Latin
• flip-side questions on every weekly test
• word-creation exercises in every list
• explanations of the interaction of different kinds of thinking processes
• an exciting range of creative and imaginative activities
• extensive references to the language of classic literature
• guides to pronunciation
• Spanish word lists
• lots more fun ways to look at words and language but still in a rigorous curriculum context

Lesson 40

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Word Within The Word. Vol 2. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL

Word Within The Word. Volume 2. Teacher Manual

NOTE: This book is for sale only to teachers; we will ship only to school addresses.

Also completely revised in 2007.

Word Within The Word. Volume 3

Class sets of 25 or more: $18.00 each; includes free teacher manual. (Order Code: 2044S) Add to Cart

Lesson 70

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Word Within The Word. Vol 3. HOME SCHOOL PARENT ANSWER MANUAL

This book supplements the Student Manual. It does not replace it.

Word Within The Word. Volume 3. Teacher Manual

Word Within The Word. Alternative Test Book A

Word Within The Word. Alternative Test Book B