SAT Vocabulary Cards



SAT Word Schema Charts

Learning a bunch of vocabulary words quickly is extremely useful not only to L2 learners but also to high schoolers preparing for the SATs. Creative and meaningful integration of SAT vocabulary synonyms, antonyms, and related verbs illustrates how (with a little planning and knowledge of schema theory) instructional designers can greatly reduce the cognitive load which hampers learning. First, SAT vocabulary words were grouped by meaning and abstract categories such as amount-related words, or control vs freedom. Words in the left column are related to a lack, words on the right are synonymous with abundance, and verbs are placed in left or right-pointing arrows depending on whether they connote a decrease or increase in the abstract category, respectively. It could be argued that an existing schema is being enriched, or as Merrill, 2002 writes “Learning is promoted when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge” (p. 44-5). While this approach might appear rooted in the CIP learning strategy, it is also employing schema theory in that new vocabulary is being learned in the context of the known concept schema, such as “amount, gain, and loss”. Further, perhaps the schema of ‘peace of mind’ (see the last chart below) was “wired in” to a learner’s brain, but they had not thought of certain verbs as increasing or decreasing peace of mind.


 

certaintyprint.jpg

 

 


freedom.jpg

 

 


friendlinessprint.jpg

 

 


happinessprint.jpg

 

 


knowledgeprint.jpg

 

 


noveltyprint.jpg

 

 


peaceofmindprint.jpg

 

 


powerprint.jpg

 

 


preferenceprint.jpg

 

 


publicspeaking.jpg


supportprint.jpg

 

 


truthprint.jpg

 

 


uniformprint.jpg


SAT Vocab Cards - designed by Avi Megiddo