For this review, we were asked to use WordUp! The Vocab Show From Compass Classroom. Earlier this year, we reviewed Visual Latin 1 who has the same host, Dwane Thomas. The boys loved the way he taught Visual Latin, so I knew they would enjoy the way he taught Latin and Greek roots.
What is WordUp!?
It is a new fun new show that teachers Latin and Greek roots.
Each Dvd or download set includes:
10 video lessons that go for 12-15 minutes each
20 Latin and Greek Roots
200+ English words
Links to online Vocabulary Flashcards
The episodes in the first volume include lessons on:
- Water – Aqua & Hydra
- Write – Scribo & Grapho
- Earth – Terra & Geo
- Many – Multus & Poly
- Place – Ponere & Thesis
- Time – Tempus & Chronos
- Good – Bonus & Eu
- See – Video & Skopeo
- Throw – Iacere & Ballein
- City – Urbs & Polis
In each episode, you are introduced to a Latin and Greek root. Dwayne then talks you through 10 English words that come from each of these roots, teaching Latin first before moving on to the Greek. While he is talking about these words, illustrations of the word he is teaching are shown behind him. Our boys loved as they were able to connect the word with an object or person.
What makes this program so much fun? It is set up like a tv show. Dwayne acts as the ‘well-educated host’ as well as the Latin and Greek Experts, all wearing different outfits, as you can see from the picture above.
While this was all fun and entertaining, Compass Classroom has provided reinforcement in the way of quizzes, flashcards and two games, Scatter and Space Race.
The Quizlet Tools can be found at Quizlet. To save your answers, you will need to sign up for a Quizlet account.
With the flashcards, you can see the word and then flip the card over to see the meaning. In the Learn tab, you are shown a word or the meaning (you can change the settings if you wish) to which the answer needs to be correctly typed. Our boys had a little trouble with spelling the longer words correctly. This was the same in the speller tab. The word was spoken, the meaning of the word is written to the right side and they had to spell the word correctly. In the test tab, there are 4 question types you can choose from. Once you have answered the questions, you can check to see how you went. Out boys loved this, especially when they got an A. It also gives your score as a percentage.
On the first day of the week, the boys listened to the episode, then on the third and fifth day, they would complete the quizzes. We found that this worked for us, though you can work faster or slower as suits you and your family.
Overall, our boys again loved the comedy and the relaxed method in which Dwayne teaches. They had lots of fun using this program and have learnt lots in the process.
Check out the trailer below, to see what you think.
The Quizlet Tools can be found here at Quizlet. To save your answers, you will need to sign up for a Quizlet account.
You can try two lessons for free here at Compass Classroom.
Details At a Glance!!
Name: WordUp! The Vocab Show
Website: Compass Classroom
Product: WordUp! The Vocab Show
Price: Currently on sale for $9.99US, usually $15.99US for both the dvd and download versions.
Ages: Recommended for ages 10 and up
Disclosure: I was given a download copy of this program for the purpose of reviewing. All opinions on this blog are my own and were not in anyway influenced by the product provided or by the company.
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