Curated OER
Word Origins
Understanding a word's etymology can really help with decoding and building vocabulary skills. Readers compare and contrast words of similar origins but with different difficulty levels. They focus on prefixes, suffixes, and affixes....
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Who Invented English Anyway?
In these English lesson plans, students use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.
ReadWriteThink
Sonic Patterns: Exploring Poetic Techniques Through Close Reading
Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" serves as the anchor text in a five-part lesson plan that takes the mystery out of poetry analysis by modeling explicit strategies for pupils to employ to conduct a close reading of a poem....
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Etymology
Learners dissect and build words from parts like prefixes, base words, suffixes, and inflectional endings. Etymology skills help us find the meanings of words by identifying the different parts that constitute them. Class members use...
Curated OER
Etymology: A Mini-Lesson on Teaching a Word's History
As you're reading The Hobbit with your class, show them the etymology of the word attercop. This presentation would benefit with some additional examples or with a practice slide that offers a list of words from the book that pupils must...
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Mythological Word Origins
No wonder the ship was called the Titanic. An investigation of Norse, Roman, and Greek Mythology provides insight into mythological characters and corresponding words in the English language. A close look at roots, prefixes, and suffixes...
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Ancient Greece
Learners explore the origins of modern language. In this etymology lesson, students discuss the cultural influences of Ancient Greece on modern society. Learners design and complete charts that demonstrate the original and contemporary...
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Unlocking Word Meanings
Fourth graders investigate eponyms in the English language. For this eponym lesson, 4th graders participate in a teacher led lesson on the definition of an eponym. They complete a worksheet in which they determine which eponym became...
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Persuasive Text: Vocabulary Charades
Students play charades to act out vocabulary words that have recently been introduced in class. In this vocabulary lesson students may work in groups or in pairs.
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Spanish in English
What do the words alligator, armadillo, and cockroach all have in common? Each one is an English word with Spanish origins. Introduce young etymologists to the joys of discovering word origins with a lesson that asks them to create a...
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Root Words from Greek and Roman Gods' Names
Prepare a stack of index cards with a Greek or Roman god's name on one side and their description on the other. Then, use the worksheet attached to brainstorm as many words that contain the root from each card. Pupils also create their...
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Vocabulary Lesson-Pre-K Through Grade 2 and ESL
Students say the name of pictures of simple objects, people and places, choosing 15 to use for the lesson plan. Students glue pictures in a scrapbook and write the word for each picture beside it. Students complete word recognition...
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Language Change: The Origins of Names
In small groups or pairs, learners explore the origins of each others' names. An awesome idea, but you'll need to do the initial research to gather your class's names and their origins. Or, consider having each member of your class...
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Using Word Maps to Expand Vocabulary
Looking for a good lesson on dictionary and word definition skills? The lesson presented here is for you! In it, learners utilize a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to record a word's definition(s), etymology, multiple meanings, related...
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Dragonwings: Explore Chapters 1-5
If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...
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Moving With Your Roots
Students dissect common words to study the origins of those words. In this language arts lesson, students study the Greek and Latin roots found in many words within English language. Students use dictionaries to fill out worksheets...
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A Way with Words or Say What?
Learners examine Shakespearean language. In this word study activity, students investigate the meaning of words that Shakespeare invented. Learners draw and pantomime with the words prior to writing short stories that feature...
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Latin Roots spect, sta, vert: Synonyms and Antonyms
Advanced readers strengthen their vocabulary repertoires by pairing synonyms and antonyms with six words derived from the Latin roots spect, sta, and vert. A word bank of 24 possibilities provides support (each blank has two appropriate...
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Context Clues Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to four strategies of context clues. While reading, they use all four strategies in different sections of the reading to determine the meaning of words they are unfamiliar with. To end the lesson, they share new...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Charles Baudelaire: Poète Maudit (The Cursed Poet)
After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, learners work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations to see...
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Diversity of Languages
Learners interpret graphs and statistics to recognise and understand the cultural and linguistic diversity of Australia. They create a profile of the linguistic diversity of the class or school. Students discuss Australia's cultural...
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An International Menu
Students research etymologies using dictionaries. They explore the diverse origins of the common foods they eat after making a list of their favorite foods.
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The Renaissance Person: composing an Extended Definition Essay
Students recognize the characteristics of an extended definition. For this Renaissance person lesson, students read a collection of short stories. Students research the definitions of Renaissance and Renaissance person. Students write...
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Thermoelectricity
Students conduct a series of experiments on thermoelectricity. For this physics lesson, students investigate how thermocouple works. They determine the voltage generated when different conductive materials are held at different...