SSAT Verbal (Upper): Grades 5-7

About this course

 The SSAT Verbal Section tests students’ ability to recognize word meanings and logically relate words to each other.  In this section, students will have 30 minutes to complete 60 questions: 30 synonym questions and 30 analogy questions.    Synonyms are words with similar or identical meanings; these questions will give students a word in capital letters and ask them to find another word that means the same thing.  Analogies are statements that ask you to find a relationship between two words, and then find another pair of words that demonstrates the same relationship (Ivy Global, SSAT Prep Set).

An entire section of the SSATs is dedicated to testing the strength of students’ vocabulary.  This course will help students build their repertoire of vocabulary words, as well as teach them practical skills to determine word meanings from root words, prefixes, suffixes, and context. Furthermore, students will be able to simulate the SSAT test taking environment via online assessments.  

What you'll learn

Students will learn specific strategies intended to help them improve their SSAT scores.  The following is a breakdown of what students can expect to learn from this course.  

Exam-taking strategies

• Time Management
• Multiple Choice Strategies such as:
• When to Answer, When to Guess, When to Skip
• Answering Questions Out of Order
• Process of Elimination

Verbal Strategies

• Decoding unknown words using:
• Context
• Connotation
• Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
• Analogical relationships
• Word Classifications

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Vocabulary Building

• 160 SSAT style words (10/class)
• Study Strategies

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1.5 hour Class Breakdown:

30 minutes: Review of practice questions/tests

30 minutes: Introduction to new strategy

30 minutes: Practice with SSAT-style questions

Materials & Homework

• A dedicated notebook for note-taking
• Email access for online assessments