Vocabulary
Suggested Activities/Lessons
Overview
The vocab taught in this course includes the 52 most common GRE words, stems that show part of
speech, and a list of 35 common root words. In the evaluation section of the binder, there are two
vocabulary quizzes. So as not to give them too much weight toward the final grade, the quiz grades
were combined to give the students one vocabulary grade in the class. The following schedule
corresponds with the quizzes.
First Two Weeks :
 Stem words that show part of speech (List in binder)
 First 18 root words (List in binder. Meaning and examples in the back of the Kaplan book.)
 GRE top 12 words (Kaplan p.29)
Second Two Weeks
 Final 17 root words
 Remainder of top 52 GRE (Kaplan p.29)
Vocab Activities
1. Flash Cards- Create (or have the students create) flashcards for the root words. Use them in
class. Have a competition to see who can say the meaning first. The person to yell it out gets
to have the card. The person with the most cards at the end wins.
2. Mimic the test – Have students create Analogies and Sentence Completions based on the
vocabulary. Then, have them exchange papers and do each others.
3. Antonym Race (Works best in final two weeks) – Give them the list of words and divide
them into teams. Race to find antonyms for the vocab words. Team with the most correct
wins. This activity really helps you to find the gaps in their understanding of the vocab
words, and will really help them prepare for the final exam.
4. Write a short story – Put all words on a slip of paper. Have students choose a word. They
must write the first sentence of a story using that word. Then, have them pass their paper to
another student. After, have them choose a second word and write the next sentence to the
story. Pass the paper, choose again, etc.
5. Practice Worksheets – The binder contains practice worksheets that the students can use to
see the words in context and practice for the vocab quizzes.
*** Many of the Midterm and Final questions were chosen because they correspond with the
vocabulary learned in the class. The more they practice it, the better they will do.
*** The back of the Kaplan book has EXCELLENT vocab resources. Make sure to show students
these resources and teach them how to use them for future study.