The Critical Thinking Co. - Vocabulary Book 2 - A Crew Review

How many times have you heard a company promise that their product, resource, supplement, will make learning (insert subject here) fun? I'm not sure that I've counted myself, but I have heard it quite a bit. Some ads are more persuasive than others, but I tend to take a wait and see approach before I make a conclusion. Take this review of Critical Thinking Detective-Vocabulary Book 2 from The Critical Thinking Co. , for example. They claim that this resource, and their products in general, make learning...fun! They've won awards, and the consensus from most is really, really good. But c'mon, are they serious? I should really wait for the last paragraph, but I'll put the spoiler out now...YES, this is a fantastic resource, and I love it, and the company.
The basics of the book: Vocabulary. That's it in one word. Students in grades 5th-12th will have their minds challenged with a slew of words that have been collected from a variety of sources, including SAT and ACT word lists. That may get the attention of those of you with kids preparing for college prep tests. Some may hear "vocabulary" and think that this may be a fluffy supplement, but they would be sorely mistaken. Some...many...okay, MOST of these words are hard! The length of the book itself is rather short, with just under 40 pages, and 12 separate activities. However, the assignments take some mental gymnastics, and students are advised to take their time as they work, in order to get the most out of the material.
Our book arrived in an E-Book format. If you go this route, you'll have to register the book in order to receive the license to use it. Once you set that up, this particular book has the option of using it directly from the computer, filling in the blanks, circling the words, etc. If that doesn't appeal to you for whatever reason, you are allowed to print off a personal copy for your students. It is important to note though, that this is copyrighted material, and is for use for one copy per family. You may not distribute it outside your circle.
What are the activities like? You are the detective, and there are 12 different cases to solve. At first glance, the work appears to be short and sweet, with only 2 pages per case. Don't be fooled. There are 2 parts to each case. For the first part, you will read the "testimonies", which include several truthful statements from the "witnesses". There are images of the suspects on the page that will help as you attempt to determine which description fits each witness account. Sounds easy, but the descriptions are filled with vocabulary words that you never knew existed, lol. The second part of each activity is a fill in the blank exercise, where you will decide which vocabulary word completes each sentence. Once again, it isn't as easy as it sounds. 

How did we use it? Unless you're a vocabulary whizz, you'll want a good dictionary handy as you work through these challenges. We happen to prefer old fashioned paper and pencil, so we opted to print out our book. Our strategy was and is to take an initial stab at guessing the meaning of the words and use a process of elimination approach. Then, if we still find ourselves stuck, we admit defeat and look it up, lol. I'm using this with my two teen daughters, who are 13 years old and 15 years old, respectively. Our general consensus is...this is fun! We all found ourselves laughing as we tried to solve the mysteries. I couldn't believe my ignorance regarding vocabulary. I do love learning new and unusual words, and I'm excited to share this with my fellow word nerds.This is a great supplement to your regular English/Grammar program. It would also be a great activity to use with youth groups, Sunday schools, Co-ops, as an ice breaker. Students can have a good time, and add new vocabulary to their repertoire. 
It's a great time to pick this, and other titles out from The Critical Thinking Co. , because right now, through 12/31/2019, you can get FREE Shipping, and 15% off any size order. Use the code TOSCREW19 Don't miss this one!

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