Parents often wonder what they can do to help their children get ahead and prepare for college, especially if the students are not being challenged in their classes to improve their English or math skills. For students in their last year of high school, there are often opportunities to partner with local universities and community colleges, and take classes there for college credit. You can check with the advisers at your local high school to find out about the resources available in your area. If that is not possible, or if you want to provide your child with even more college preparation, the College Board’s online AP (Advanced Placement) classes will provide them an excellent head start, and possibly some college credit as well.

To improve a student’s ability to understand and use advanced English vocabulary, we recommend the AP English Literature and Composition course. This online course provides a wide range of reading materials and helps students learn how to read and analyze texts of various kinds. The courses are designed to prompt students to consider the history of the period in which the text was written and the role of society and its impact on the author, as well as the stylistic techniques and prose forms used.

Once students have read the texts, they are challenged to write about them in a thoughtful and critical manner. Students will be required to look both at the language the author uses and the manner in which he or she uses it, and to discuss how this use of language affects the content and its impact on the reader. Students are given tests to see how much they understand and comprehend about the content of the work, as well as the author’s motivations and goals.

By reading excerpts from a broad spectrum of English literature past and present, and by learning how to discuss what they’ve read, students are given the opportunity to learn new vocabulary words and then to use them in context. While having a large and expressive vocabulary is important, it’s equally as important that a student can use their vocabulary in clear and effective communication, so any vocabulary study needs to include many opportunities to use the vocabulary in writing.

Whether you help your child find a classroom or an online course, you know you’ll be helping them prepare their way for a prosperous and word-rich future!