Welcome,
to Mr. Kearney's SAT PREP page for period 4. All HW is highlighted in green and all classwork is highlighted in yellow. 
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Proverb
An Insider’s Guide To The New SAT
Surprising no one in the test preparation industry, College Board’s newly released details on the revised SAT reveal the significant impact the Common Core Standards will have on one major college admissions test.
What do I need to know?
First, these changes aren’t happening right away. If your child is planning to take the test before March of 2016, he or she will take the current version. If your child is in the class of 2017 (or later) and plans to take the SAT, these changes will probably affect you. So if you have a 9th grader at home, he or she may be among the very first to take the new SAT.
What should my child do?
1) Don’t leave anything blank The new test eliminates the ¼ point guessing penalty. Answer every single question, even if you have no idea. Don’t leave a single question blank.
2) Ditch the vocab cards Way less to memorize but there’s a catch: plan to see words with more than one meaning. Which meaning is correct? Well that will depend on context. Tricky. The solution: read, read, read.
3) Get comfortable with lots of interactive content Graphs and charts will illustrate information in an adjacent passage, for example. Students will be required to interpret and synthesize information from a variety of sources on the page, not just part of a passage.
4) Write a whole different kind of essay Gone are the days of writing ridiculous essays filled with made up historic battles and novels by fictitious authors. Writing the essay will now be more like writing one for an AP exam. You’ll be given a document and asked to analyze and explain it. That sounds hard! However, “The essay prompt will be shared in advance and remain consistent. Only the source material (the passage) will change,” states College Board. So knowing the essay prompt ahead of time and preparing ways to answer it will be crucial. You have more time now too, 50 minutes instead of 25. Oh and its optional (but most competitive universities will still require it).
5) Say goodbye to the 2400 It’s back to the old 1600 maximum score many of us remember from the olden days. This will better enable those who were familiar with the old test and never quite got the hang of the March 2005 onwards scoring system to return to their comfortable roots. But with extensive recentering and curving, it won’t be easy to compare a 1200 in 2018 with a 1200 in 2000.
6) Count on more challenging math The 2005 revamp increased the difficulty of SAT math problems, a trend that will only continue on the new exam. From CB’s description, there will be more higher-level math on the test in areas such as Problem Solving and Data Analysis. The use of a calculator will no longer be allowed in certain parts of the math test, a huge shift that will have many students weak at mental math quaking in their sneakers. Students who are able to think about math abstractly will be rewarded over those used to approaching problems in rigidly defined steps.
7) It’s not all about book smarts, get ready for “real-world” contexts Students will be reading passages and interpreting data about issues they might encounter in real life. Like what? Hopefully topics like choosing a summer job or understanding the way sales tax changes affect local communities.
8) Re-read Dr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Each SAT will contain “an excerpt from one of the Founding Documents or a text from the ongoing Great Global Conversation about freedom, justice, and human dignity.” This is a really interesting change. It could spark new conversations about civic engagement and what it means to be a good citizen. It could also mystify foreign students who are less familiar with how the Bill of Rights, for example, influences contemporary law and policy here in the US.
9) Keep your pencils sharpened The new SAT will still be administered on paper, but there will also be a (I predict rather slow) roll-out of an online version of the test taken on a computer. (ACT has made similar announcements about moving to an online version of the test). While it seems like a no brainer to administer tests on computers in today’s highly-connected, technologically advanced society, computers remain significantly more rare and expensive than pencils and paper. Most tests administered on computers take advantage of technology that allows for more accurate scoring despite administering fewer questions. Test takers who answer a question correctly subsequently get a harder one. Answer that one wrong and you get a slightly easier one. But tests like these are expensive to design and administer. GMAC’s GMAT, for example, costs each student $250 per administration. So don’t expect the SAT to go wholly online anytime soon.
10) Take advantage of free online preparation A deal with Khan Academy will provide all students with access to free tutoring resources. While affluent families will still hire tutors for their children, more preparation material provided directly from College Board than ever before will be available online. Practicing on real material created by the makers of the test is the best way to prepare for the SAT, so this change is great news for students around the world.
SAT Vocabulary List
Word list - (11/19)
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS FROM GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2
HW: WRITE TWO POEMS USING ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 1 AND ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 2.
Group 1
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Bigot |
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Counterfeit |
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Enfranchise |
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Hamper |
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Kindle |
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Noxious |
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Placid |
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Remuneration |
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Talisman |
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Group 2
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Bilk |
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Covert |
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Engender |
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Hangar |
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Knotty |
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Nuance |
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Plagiarism |
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Renown |
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Tangent |
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Word list - (11/20)
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS FROM GROUP 3 AND GROUP 4
HW: WRITE TWO POEMS USING ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 3 AND ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 4.
Group 3
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Billowing |
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Cower |
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Enhance |
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Harangue |
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Labyrinth |
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Nullify |
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Plaintiff |
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Replete |
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Tangible |
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Group 4
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Blasphemy |
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Credible |
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Enigma |
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Harbingers |
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Labyrinthine |
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Nuzzle |
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Plaudit |
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Reprehensible |
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Tardy |
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Word list - (11/23)
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS FROM GROUP 5 AND GROUP 6
HW: WRITE TWO POEMS USING ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 5 AND ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 6.
Group 5
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Blatant |
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Creditable |
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Ensconce |
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Hasten |
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Laceration |
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Obdurate |
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Plausible |
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Reprieve |
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Tawdry |
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Group 6
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Blighted |
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Credulous |
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Enshroud |
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Haughtiness |
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Lachrymose |
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Obfuscate |
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Plethora |
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Repudiate |
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Tedium |
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Word list - (11/23)
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS FROM GROUP 7 AND GROUP 8
HW: WRITE TWO POEMS USING ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 7 AND ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 8.
Group 7
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Blithe |
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Crepuscular |
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Enunciation |
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Headstrong |
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Lackluster |
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Objective |
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Pliable |
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Rescind |
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Temper |
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Group 8
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Blunderbuss |
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Cringe |
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Envenom |
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Hedonism |
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Laconic |
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Oblique |
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Plumage |
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Resignation |
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Tenacious |
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Word list - (11/24)
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS FROM GROUP 9 AND GROUP 10
HW: WRITE TWO POEMS USING ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 9 AND ONE VOCABULARY WORD FROM GROUP 10.
Group 9
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Bolster |
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Cryptic |
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Ephemeral |
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Hedonist |
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Lamentation |
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Obliterate |
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Plummet |
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Resolution |
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Tentative |
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Group 10
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Bombast |
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Curtail |
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Epicure |
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Heed |
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Lampoon |
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Oblivious |
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Podium |
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Resonant |
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Tenuous |
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SAT VOCABULARY WORDS: http://www.majortests.com/sat/wordlist-01
SAT VOCABULARY WORDS (11/30/15)
abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enfranchise
epiphany
enervate
Vocabulary Words All High School Students Should Know
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/100words/ (SAT VOCABULARY WORDS)
SAT PREP:
STUDENTS SHOULD REGISTER ON COLLEGEBOARD.COM. TO GO TO COLLEGEBOARD.COM JUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
ONLINE SAT PRACTICE EXAMS:
https://www.vocabtest.com/vocabulary_word_test.php?grade=11&unit=1
https://sat.magoosh.com/flashcards/vocabulary/decks (SAT VOCABULARY FLASH CARDS)
SENTENCE COMPLETION:
Manage your time
You may want to work on sentence completion questions first. They tend to take less time to answer than the passage-based reading questions. All questions are worth the same number of points regardless of the type or difficulty.
WORKSHEET 12/1/2015
SENTENCE COMPLETION
1. Because King Philip's desire to make Spain the dominant power in sixteenth-century Europe ran counter to Queen Elizabeth's insistence on autonomy for England, ( ------- ) was (-------).
Answer Choices : (A) reconciliation . . assured (B) warfare . . avoidable
(C) ruination . . impossible (D) conflict . . inevitable
(E) diplomacy . . simple
2. There is no doubt that Larry is a genuine (-------) : he excels at telling stories that fascinate his listeners.
Answer Choices : (A) braggart (B) dilettante (C) pilferer
(D) prevaricator (E) raconteur
3. A discerning publishing agent can (-------) promising material from a mass of submissions, separating the good from the bad.
Answer Choices : (A) supplant (B) dramatize (C) finagle
(D) winnow (E) overhaul
4. Although some think the terms "bug" and "insect" are (-------) , the former term actually refers to (-------) group of insects.
Answer Choices: (A) parallel . . an identical (B) precise . . an exact
(C) interchangeable . . a particular (D) exclusive . . a separate
5. The novel's protagonist, a pearl diver, naïvely expects that the buyers will compete among themselves to pay him the best price for his pearl, but instead they (-------) to (-------) him.
Answer Choices : (A) venture . . reward (B) pretend . . praise
(C) conspire . . reimburse (D) refuse . . cheat
(E) collude . . swindle
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6. The addition of descriptive details to the basic information serves to (-------) the book by producing a fuller account.
Answer Choices: (A) invalidate (B) objectify (C) incite
(D) celebrate (E) enrich
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7. Ramona had never visited Niagara Falls, but she could appreciate their splendor (-------) through the descriptions of others.
Answer Choices : (A) vicariously (B) heedlessly (C) innocuously
(D) mystically (E) voluminously
__________________________________________________________________
8. Members of the research team were initially so adversarial that (-------) seemed impossible; the project's inauspicious start made its final success all the more (------)
Answer Choices: (A) concentration . . incidental
(B) disagreement . . incongruous
(C) collaboration . . predictable
(D) hostility . . dazzling
(E) cooperation . . remarkable
9. Joshua's radical ideas were frowned on by most of his coworkers, who found them too (-------) for their conservative tastes.
Answer Choices : (A) heretical (B) meticulous (C) precise
(D) incoherent (E) sagacious
HW for 12/2 - 12/4 DUE: 12/8/2015
SENTENCE COMPLETION: Questions 1-25
INTRODUCTION:
1. She had not eaten all day, and by the time she got home she was ______.
a. blighted b. confutative c. ravenous d. ostentatious e. blissful
2. The movie offended many of the parents of its younger viewers by
including unnecessary ______ in the dialogue.
a. vulgarity b. verbosity c. vocalizations d. garishness e. tonality
3. His neighbors found his ______ manner bossy and irritating, and so they stopped inviting him to backyard barbeques.
a. insentient b. magisterial c. reparatory d. restorative e. modest
4. Steven is always ______ about showing up for work, because he feels that tardiness is a sign of irresponsibility.
a. legible b. tolerable c. punctual d. literal e. belligerent
5. Candace would ______ her little sister into an argument by teasing her and calling her names.
a. advocate b. provoke c. perforate d. lamente e. expunge
6. The dress Ariel wore ______ with small, glassy beads, creating a shimmering effect.
a. titillated b. reiterated c. scintillated d. enthralled e. striated
7. Being able to afford this luxury car will ______ getting a better paying job.
a. maximize b. recombinant c. reiterate d. necessitate e. reciprocate
8. Levina unknowingly ______ the thief by holding open the elevator doors and ensuring his escape.
a. coerced b. proclaimed c. abetted d. sanctioned e. solicited
9. Shakespeare, a(n) ______ writer, entertained audiences by writing
many tragic and comic plays.
a. numeric b. obstinate c. dutiful d. prolific e. generic
10. I had the ______ experience of sitting next to an over-talkative
passenger on my flight home from Brussels.
a. satisfactory b. commendable c. galling d. acceptable e. acute
11. Prince Phillip had to choose: marry the woman he loved and ______ his right to the throne, or marry Lady Fiona and inherit the crown.
a. reprimand
b. upbraid
c. abdicate
d. winnow
e. extol
12. If you will not do your work of your own ______, I have no choice
but to penalize you if it is not done on time.
a. predilection
b. coercion
c. excursion
d. volition
e. infusion
13. After sitting in the sink for several days, the dirty, food-encrusted dishes became ______.
a. malodorous
b. prevalent
c. imposing
d. perforated
e. emphatic
14. Giulia soon discovered the source of the ______ smell in the room:
a week-old tuna sandwich that one of the children had hidden in
the closet.
a. quaint
b. fastidious
c. clandestine
d. laconic
e. fetid
15. After making ______ remarks to the President, the reporter was
not invited to return to the White House pressroom.
a. hospitable
b. itinerant
c. enterprising
d. chivalrous
e. irreverent
16. With her ______ eyesight, Krystyna spotted a trio of deer on the
hillside and she reduced the speed of her car.
a. inferior
b. keen
c. impressionable
d. ductile
e. conspiratorial
17. With a(n) ______ grin, the boy quickly slipped the candy into his
pocket without his mother’s knowledge.
a. jaundiced
b. nefarious
c. stereotypical
d. sentimental
e. impartial
18. Her ______ display of tears at work did not impress her new boss, who felt she should try to control her emotions.
a. maudlin
b. meritorious
c. precarious
d. plausible
e. schematic
19. Johan argued, “If you know about a crime but don’t report it, you are ______ in that crime because you allowed it to happen.”
a. acquitted
b. steadfast
c. tenuous
d. complicit
e. nullified
20. The authorities, fearing a ______ of their power, called for a military state in the hopes of restoring order.
a. subversion
b. premonition
c. predilection
d. infusion
e. inversion
21. The story’s bitter antagonist felt such great ______ for all of the other characters that as a result, his life was very lonely and he died alone.
a. insurgence
b. malevolence
c. reciprocation
d. declamation
e. preference
22. It is difficult to believe that charging 20% on an outstanding credit card balance isn’t ______!
a. bankruptcy
b. usury
c. novice
d. kleptomania
e. flagrancy
23. The ______ weather patterns of the tropical island meant tourists
had to carry both umbrellas and sunglasses.
a. impertinent
b. supplicant
c. preeminent
d. illustrative
e. kaleidoscopic
24. Wedding ceremonies often include the exchange of ______ rings
to symbolize the couple’s promises to each other.
a. hirsute
b. acrimonious
c. plaintive
d. deciduous
e. votive
25. Kym was ______ in choosing her friends, so her parties were
attended by vastly different and sometimes bizarre personalities.
a. indispensable
b. indiscriminate
c. commensurate
d. propulsive
e. indisputable
SONGS THAT HAVE SAT VOCABULARY WORDS IN THEIR LYRICS
SAT SONG : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGuPbCWiuPY
SAT SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHT_5tusRF8
SAT SONG FROM THE FILM, "FROZEN": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xR_yvxQTQo
Ten Songs that Use SAT Vocab Words!
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of words, a flurry of phraseology! I have been swept up and carried away by a veritable, formidable tornado of terminology!
“How can this be?” you ask. Well, here at Sentia we’re working on assembling a most excellent vocabulary course for students to work through online, on their own time. The course will cover 250 of the highest-frequency SAT words. We’re also coming up with funny and original mnemonic devices to help students understand and retain the meaning of each word.
All of this has made me think back to my old SAT-studying days. Back then, I really appreciated when vocab words popped up in popular songs. I’ll never forget a word I can put to a tune.
Since we’re not using song lyrics as mnemonic devices in our vocab course, I figured this strategy for vocab study deserves a blog entry of its own. Below, I list 10 awesome songs that include SAT-level vocab in their lyrics. Can you think of any others?
1.) Fidelity by Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor’s songs are so pretty! To find the vocabulary word in this song, you need look no further than the title. “Fidelity” means “loyalty.”
2.) The Past is a Grotesque Animal by Of Montreal
Of Montreal is another band you’d have to be crazy not to love! Additionally, A LOT of their songs include SAT-level vocab.
The Past is a Grotesque Animal is a really beautiful (12-minute!) song that will teach you the words “lilting” (meaning: “rhythmic swing or cadence”) and “grotesque” (meaning: “fantastically ugly or bizarre”).
3.) A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left by Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is a big fan of big words. When you listen to A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left, be sure to keep an ear out for “bereft” (meaning: “deprived; lacking”), “banal” (meaning: “cliché; unoriginal”), and “imbibe” (meaning: “to drink”).
4.) Vicarious by Tool
Tool was my favorite band in high school—I just couldn’t get enough! This was great news for my vocabulary, as the band’s lyrics often use SAT-level words.
Listening to “Vicarious”—the hit single off Tool’s most recent album—is a great way to acquaint yourself both with Tool and the high-frequency SAT words, “vicarious” (meaning: “felt through imagined participation in the experience of others”) and “credulous” (meaning: “gullible”).
5.) History by Mos Def (Feat. Talib Kweli)
By listening to this classic rap song, you can learn the vocab words “ubiquitous” (meaning: “existing everywhere; omnipresent”) and “ephemera” (meaning: “things that exist for only a short time”).
6.) Born this way by Lady GaGa
Although Lady Gaga’s songs don’t exactly promote… erm… school-friendly activities and values, Born this Way will at least teach you a vocabulary word! Listen to the catchy, feel-good tune to learn “prudence” (meaning: the quality of being cautious or wise with regard to practical affairs.)
7.) Naïve by The Kooks
A bittersweet song, “Naïve” became popular when it was played in the movie 17 Again (2009). The word “naïve” is important SAT vocabulary and means “unsophisticated, inexperienced, and innocent.”
8.) Testify by Common
In this song, Common tells a chilling tale of murder and betrayal, so it’s no surprise that he’d make use of such an tyrannical, fear-inducing vocab word as “stifling” (meaning: “suffocating; oppressively close”).
9.) The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel
I’ve recently become obsessed with this 1960s duo, and, in my rapacious listening, have learned that they use TONS of great SAT vocab words!
The Boxer is one of my favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs and includes the word “squander” (meaning: “to spend wastefully”).
10.) Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins
A childhood classic. I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious,
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
(“Precocious” means “unusually advanced or mature in development.”)
SAT Writing Practice Questions:
Improving Sentences
1.) Scenes from the everyday lives of African Americans, which are realistically depicted in the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.
SAT Essay Prompts
Essay prompts from the most recent SAT administration
Below are essay prompts from the most recent SAT administration in November 2015.
Prompt 1
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Society places great value on being well-informed. People who keep up with current events in their communities and the world at large are generally proud of their knowledge. But often the news is bad, and, worse still, we usually cannot do anything to change the situations or circumstances we learn about. In that case, isn’t it better not to know what’s going on?
Assignment: Is it better not to know what is going on if we cannot do anything about it? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Prompt 2
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
The common idea that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion is just plain wrong. People often voice opinions that are based on emotion rather than logic. Such opinions may reveal a serious ignorance of the facts. Of course, free expression should not be suppressed, but factually incorrect opinions are not worthy of respect, no matter how passionately they are uttered.
Assignment: Are emotionally based opinions worthy of respect? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Prompt 3
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Most people believe that individuals should be judged strictly by their actions. If their actions have negative results, it does not matter whether they meant to do good. Other people, however, believe that individuals with good intentions should not be judged as harshly as those who deliberately intend to do something bad. After all, motivations should be taken into account when people's actions are being judged.
Assignment: Do good intentions matter, or should people be judged only according to the results of their actions? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Prompt 4
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
The old saying "Don't reinvent the wheel" means that it is foolish to spend time and effort to come up with something that already exists. In facing an urgent problem, for example, we should simply use a solution that has already proved to be effective. However, some people would argue that, like the original stone wheel, existing ideas, solutions, and products need to be improved or even reinvented.
Assignment: Is it foolish to develop or improve an idea or product that already exists? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
VOCABULARY GAMES
http://www.vocabulary.co.il/twelfth-grade-vocabulary-games/
https://www.vocabtest.com/vocabulary_word_test.php?grade=11&unit=1
GAMES
This site is full of games about vocabulary, story telling, creative writing (creating your own comic strip), and more.
https://sites.google.com/site/gameonlearning/la-high-school-games
- pretentious -- (adj) pretending to be important, intelligent or cultured
- procrastinate -- (v) to unnecessarily delay, postpone, put off
- prosaic -- (adj) relating to prose; dull, commonplace
- prosperity -- (n) wealth or success
- provocative -- (adj) tending to provoke a response, e.g., anger or disagreement
- prudent -- (adj) careful, cautious
- querulous -- (adj) complaining, irritable
- rancorous -- (adj) bitter, hateful
- reclusive -- (adj) preferring to live in isolation
- reconciliation -- (n) the act of agreement after a quarrel, the resolution of a dispute
- renovation -- (n) repair, making something new again
- resilient -- (adj) quick to recover, bounce back
- restrained -- (adj) controlled, repressed, restricted
- reverence -- (n) worship, profound respect
- sagacity -- (n) wisdom
- scrutinize -- (v) to observe carefully
- spontaneity -- (n) impulsive action, unplanned events
- spurious -- (adj) lacking authenticity, false
- submissive -- (adj) tending to meekness, to submit to the will of others
- substantiate -- (v) to verify, confirm, provide supporting evidence
- subtle -- (adj) hard to detect or describe; perceptive
- superficial -- (adj) shallow, lacking in depth
- superfluous -- (adj) extra, more than enough, redundant
- suppress -- (v) to end an activity, e.g., to prevent the dissemination of information
- surreptitious -- (adj) secret, stealthy
- tactful -- (adj) considerate, skillful in acting to avoid offense to others
- tenacious -- (adj) determined, keeping a firm grip on
- transient -- (adj) temporary, short-lived, fleeting
- venerable -- (adj) respected because of age
- vindicate -- (v) to clear from blame or suspicion
- wary -- (adj) careful, cautious