Learning Latin and building a strong vocabulary is very important to us. When we were asked to review Picta Dicta Vocabulary Builder from Roman Roads Media, I was thrilled. I was hoping this would help with those dreaded PSAT and SAT tests that are looming right around the corner for Michael and Therese. I was also hoping they might actually enjoy learning Latin.
Roman Roads Media are publishers of classical Christian curriculum. Their goal is to make high, quality curriculum that is accessible and affordable for the Christian homeschooling family. Roman Roads Media has used the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of many masters and teachers in the classical education community. Working together, they now are able to offer students a fantastic curriculum. The curriculum uses a variety of materials: books, the internet, and videos to help students learn. They offer a wide selection of courses for students of all ages.
For this review, Michael, Therese, and I were given the opportunity to work through Picta Dicta~ Vocabulary Builder. This course is geared for students in junior high school, high school, and college. Students will learn over 1,000 Latin words and concepts. They will focus on reading various vocabulary words. The words, they will work through, include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions. By working through the Vocabulary Builder course, students will be able to read Latin proficiently. This will help them with their language skills. The course uses a variety of tools to help students learn.... pictures, sounds, contexts, definitions, translations, lexical information, and so much more.
The course includes a few variations allowing for different degrees of difficulty. This allows students to find the right level for them. This allows students new to Latin and students more familiar with Latin to find the right path for them. Every student will be able to find the course challenging, but yet achievable.
The course cost $79, price is subject to change so please check the website for the most accurate pricing. Each additional student is $15.This fee covers a 14 month time period, so students get a little over a year to complete the course.
How We Used Picta Dicta Vocabulary Builder?
I set up an account for Michael, Therese, and myself. Each of us were able to have our own account that would keep track of where we were in the program. The program is broken up into campaigns. There are over 120 campaigns for the student to complete. Each campaign covers a specific topic. The first five campaigns, for example, cover the map. The next four campaigns cover Back to School. After these campaigns, students are then given two campaigns to review the vocabulary learned in the previous campaigns.
When learning about The Map, we worked through five campaigns.
Campaign 1~ Learn
Campaign 2~ Choose
Campaign 3~ Spell
Campaign 4~ Forms
Campaign 5~ Test Forms
The Learn section is were students are introduced to the word, the part of speech it is, various forms of the word, and of course, the meaning. Students should spend plenty of time reviewing this section. Reviewing and getting this section down will help them in the later sections.
The Choose section is were students get to put their knowledge to work. Students are shown a word and then have to select the correct picture the following page. If the student get the match correct/incorrect they will know immediately. If the word match was incorrect, the student will get more opportunities to get the match correct as the lesson goes on. The progress of the lesson is noted in the upper right hand corner. Students will know instantly where that are at. If they need a break no problem, just hit the arrow in the top right corner, save, and exit.
The next section is Spell. This is the most challenging (and frustrating) in my opinion. Students are expected to look at a picture and then be able to spell the Latin word. This is were working on the first campaign for a few days will come in handy. Some of the words are fairly easy. Students see a picture of water and have to spell aqua. Others are not so easy, especially for my non spelling kiddos. My suggestion is if they get frustrated just stop for a little bit. Just be sure to hit save when you exit.
Forms is the next section. This is were students will get to write the various forms out for the vocabulary word. This again requires some studying of the vocabulary words. I'd love to see an option to be able to print out the vocabulary words in a flashcard form.
The final section is Test Form. This section test what the student has learned. Once this section is completed, the student can move on to the next topic.
Students need to work through the lessons as they are scheduled. I haven't found a way to skip sections or to jump ahead. Students can go back a review sections that have been previously completed for further practice.
What Did We Think of Picta Dicta Vocabulary Builder?
Picta Dicta Vocabulary Builder is a solid course to introduce students to Latin. It immediately jumps students into the program. It's a little different from other Latin programs we have used.The first campaign seemed a little odd at first. Students were given words like man, small, sea, river, island, and a few questions thrown in. This was a little odd to me. After a few times working through the campaigns, it seemed perfectly fine. I think we just had to get used to a different style.
I do wish they had an option for the vocabulary words to be printed out, either in a flashcard style or a note page. This would be helpful for families with limited internet capabilities and for those crazy days when storms roll in an knock out the power. We've had a lot of that this summer and are currently facing the affects of hurricane season right now. Fun times!
Set Up was fairly easy. We did mess up at first. I couldn't figure out how to change in between the three of us. I had all of us working under my name. I finally realized how to get them logged in under their own names, so now they need to go back and complete the lessons under themselves. This will just allow for more practice, which I admit they need.
Want to learn more about the courses Roman Roads Media has to offer?
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Be sure to stop by to read what the other crew members had to share! The crew members also reviewed Picta Dicta Natural World and Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric.
Till Next Time,
Monique
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