ISEB vocab help...

[NiftyGreenEagle]

DS is bright and has done well in his CAT scores, GL assessments, Bond books etc. Some recent VR vocab homework from school he got less than 50%

I thought his vocabulary was good for his age, but some of the words I really wouldn't have expected him to know. How important is vocab for the ISEB? Is the level expected really words like 'ineffable', 'burgeon' and 'austere'? What do I do? Is there a good app/ website for learning these words? Any ideas on how much of the score they make up?

The answer is it depends on the year. The vocab is frankly ridiculous. There are vocab packs of cards you can buy or you can make each word into a card with a picture. We found it helped to put them up around the house in appropriate places. House looked absurd for a year but it worked!

@Moglet4 Ha - yes, I agree it's totally absurd/ preposterous/ farcical

I feel like a bad Mum now for only leaving it until now ..

Don’t feel bad. I’m an English teacher and even I feel it’s absolutely ridiculous. If it makes you feel any better, my daughter did GL this year and absolutely none of it turned up on the exam 🤦‍♀️ You just can’t guarantee it though. Putting it around the house really helps though. Even if they don’t necessarily remember the word, they remember what it’s associated with (perforated on the toilet roll, pungent above the toilet, acute on the kitchen knives, gluttonous on the chocolate box etc) Theytgen stand a better chance of picking out the right in multiple choice

@NiftyGreenEagle having been through the independent 11+ process twice now, with good outcomes (from state), I really don't think you need to go to these extremes! I would suggest lots of reading for enjoyment and i also really like First News. Both my kids really enjoy reading that each week. Atom (although pricey) is great for ISEB practice. I wouldn't go to extreme lengths on the vocab! Good luck.

Vocabulary Ninja Word of the Day is a decent free resource if you don’t mind printing it out, though only some of the words are a high enough level I’d say.

vocabularyninja.co.uk/word-of-the-day/

Developing a strong vocabulary is an area that takes time and exposure. My daughter's tutor suggested Mrs Wordsmith practice materials - Storytellers Word a Day for kids boosts vocabulary - Mrs Wordsmith UK.

I bought both sets of materials years ago, and tried to get her to do one word per school day, but that failed miserably - ie it was hit and missed effort, mostly missed/skipped due to other activities/homework, but I put it down to a lack of focus or priority.

It wasn't until I took up the responsibility to guide her during the 11+ preparation, and exams it highlighted her weakness in vocab. Her vocab was average or even good, but some of the English modules in Atom Learning showed us the expectation for some of the target schools was much higher. There were words I've never encountered nor will ever likely to, but with experience can mostly reverse engineer based on context, which is not an option for her.

Though we are at the end of the 11+ journey, I've requested she continue with the "Word of the Day" exercises to keep developing her vocab.

It really depends on which school and future path your child wants to pursue (STEM vs Languages) will determine how much time and energy he will need to spend on vocabulary.