Customer Reviews

Picture These SAT Words in a Flash

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Reviewer: Sue Alpaugh, English teacher from New Jersey

I was very pleased with my students' responsiveness to Philip Geer's book Simon's Saga, and with its effectiveness as a tool for learning and recalling the meanings of advanced words.

Recently I've been trying out Picture These SAT Words! and its set of flashcards - Picture These SAT Words in a Flash - with my classes. The pictures and accompanying puns that integrate the sound links for word recall are very creative and funny. My students really like the zany ideas behind them, and also appreciate the rhythm and rhyme of the puns. Another excellent thing about this method is that the sound link itself comes as close as it possibly can to the actual sound of the word.

One favorite is the difficult word "iconoclastic." The sound link is Ike Kono's class. The picture shows a teacher, Mr. Ike Kono, writing on a blackboard. His students are seen being "iconoclastic" (attacking cherished traditions). One student is sticking pins into a small Santa Claus doll. Others are raising their hands to suggest the abolishment of schools, tests, and Thanksgiving. The pun below the picture reads:
Iconoclastic students in Ike Kono's class.

Another example that really amuses my students is "soporific," a difficult word which means "marked by sleepiness." The sound link given is soap horrific. The picture shows an alert old man sitting in a bathtub scrubbing himself, surrounded by little devils and snakes rising up out of the water. On the floor in front of the tub is a discarded soap wrapper upon which is written "soap horrific." From the bathroom door two old ladies look in on this scene. One says "He used to fall asleep in the bath until he tried Soap Hoffific." The pun below the picture reads: He isn't soporific when he uses Soap Horrific.

As with Simon's Saga, I would rate Picture These SAT Words! and Picture These SAT Words in a Flash very highly as advanced vocabulary building tools. The book teaches 300 important SAT words, and the box of flashcards is a selection of 200 words from the book. Both are fun and both have their advantages. The book has excellent exercises after each unit that reinforce the sound link and ensure that the words are learned. The set of flashcards offers the added dimension of fun and games.

I would recommend this to children in elementary school. Pictorial definitions are fine for this age, however older students should have surpassed the dumbed down comic book approach. The pictorial representations fail to take into account the shades of meanings of words. The definitions offered will not stand up in most situations because of this narrow view of a word definition. This is where the product fails to deliver. Again, if you want to enhance your vocabulary, use a text based definition that takes into account the nuances of word meanings otherwise you are simply taking your chances with a quick cram job that is too surfacy. You will fail miserably when given a word on a standarized test in a context driven situation due to the narrowly focused definitions.

As a junior in high school, I am constantly looking for tools to help me study for upcoming SATs. Using these flash cards, I was able to memorize the words quickly and effectively. The comic that is included with every word is a great visual aid as well. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wishes to improve their SAT vocabulary! Great product!

I bought these for my daughter who will be taking her SAT's and really think that these flashcards are very helpful. You are able to visualize how the word is being used in a sentence with the cartoon drawing that is on each card. I wish that there were more words. Though I think this is a great tool for someone who struggles with vocabulary, to pass the SAT's you need more words to work with.

I use these with my high school AVID students to help them learn vocabulary for the SAT test. The pictures and examples really help them learn the words.

I disagree with this approach to learning vocabulary. The pictures have absolutely nothing to do with the language roots of each word. Yes, they serve as clever mnemonic crutches, but the end result is that the mind will forever carry around superfluous and inaccurate associations. I mean, really, asking you to think of someone "prodding a gull" to learn the meaning of "prodigal"?

I guess people are more interested in their SAT score than in learning for the long run. For short term gain, if skills with English mean nothing to you for the remainder of your life, these cards are novel.

this is a great idea and my daughter has been loving learning this way..

The pictures really helps, esp. if the person is young, I guess. Our daughter started "big" words very early -- she is nine. She loves these cards and remembers the vocabularies very well with their help.

Iwas please with my item and the price was just right. I checked around and amonzon price was considerible the cheepest. I was very please with the cutomer service. Thank you so much

The mneumonic and picture don't really tie well to the words definitions. There are much better study helps than this