Words:

Diatribe- noun: a bitter attack against someone or something

They started a diatribe against the government.

Enamor- verb: to be filled with a feeling of love for

I am enamored by his good grades.

Gusto- noun: enjoyment and enthusiasm in doing something                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He puts a lot of gusto into his singing.

Abstruse-adj: difficult to understand;obscure



The woman was often abstruse with her directions.

Gossamer-adj.: refering to something light, thin, and delicate






We ate gossamer cookies that fell apart in our mouths.

Harry Potter! (Week 4)

With the help of http://www.squidoo.com/satpotter , here are week four's words Harry Potter themed!

Admonish - v. to caution or warn gently

Ron was admonished for getting his wand broken.

Derogatory - adj. disparaging; belittleing

Hermione was tired of Malfoy's derogatory remarks.

Rapacious - adj. ravenous; driven by greed

Harry and Ron were rapacious during the long train ride.

Sporadic - adj. irregular or unpredictable; infrequent

Many sporadic events of violence occurred throughout the area.








Spurious - adj. fake; counterfeit

Everyone was so upset to find out the horcrux was spurious.

imprudent- adj: not showing care for the consequences of an action

 She acted imprudently when she watched TV rather than studying for the test.

 

 

 

  eulogize- v: to praise highly in speech or writing

 

   They were eulogized in assembly for their exceptional grades.

prodigious - adj: remarkably or impressively great

The car required a prodigious amount of gas to run.

 

 

brazen- adj: bold or without shame

  

 

The man was brazen when it came to his pants.

abhor- v: to regard with disgust and hatred

The kids simply abhorred doing homework.

Week 2!

Hey, guys! So this is week 2 of SAT Vocab. This week is themed, too--synonyms to the words from last week (next week we'll do antonyms).

Words:

Sagacious- adj.: having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment



The man was sagacious enough to avoid the men in the alley.

Disparage- verb: regard or represent as being of little worth



The bully gave disparaging remarks.

Banal- adj.:so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring



The boys had an extremely banal summer.

Furtive-adj.: attempting to avoid notice or attention



The police man had a furtive lunch.








Revere-verb: to feel deep respect or admiration for



The English class revered their teacher. 











Oh, and for general SAT vocabulary practice, you can go here.

Agenda for 2/9

1. Review our goals, objectives, and activities
2. Introduce the words for week 1
3. Explain the SAT further
4. Do practice sentence completion test
5. Assign optional extra credit homework; write a short story using this weeks words, the most creative paper wins extra credit

What is the SAT? Why is it important?

The SAT is a standardized test used for college admissions. It takes around 4 hours. The test consists of three 800 point parts; math, critical reading, and writing. A perfect score is a 2400.

We will be focusing on the Critical Reading section formerly known as the Verbal section. The types of questions in this section are ones where you complete the sentence with the best word fit (sentence completion) and ones where you answer questions about a passage (reading comprehension). The questions in which you must complete a sentence use high level vocabulary. This is the vocabulary that we hope to introduce you to.

Practice sentence completion test:
http://majortests.com/sat/sentence-completion-test01

Week 1 Words

astute- adj: shrewd, crafty, sharp

 He is an astute business man.

   deride- v: to laugh mockingly at; to ridicule

 

   The other kids derided her because she was different.

prosaic (prose)- adj: ordinary, dull

 The clothes that worn by the man were extremely prosaic.

 

surreptitious- adj: kept secret because it would not be approved of; acting stealthily or secretly

 

She was a surreptitious girl and was always sneaking out at night.

 

venerate (venerable, venerability)- v: to regard with deep respect; honored

Dr. Martin Luther King is a highly venerated man.