Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gaining Familiarity With Haitian Creole

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the concept of Haitian Creole. They first fill out a worksheet asking for prior knowledge. Then students compare and contrast the languages of English, French, and Haitian Creole. They define Creole and discuss its...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Technology's Influence on Language

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use Internet resources to examine the influence of technological terminology on English and other languages.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Just In: Exploreer Neets Wabanaki Indians

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students engage in a research of the Wabanaki Indians using a Social Studies textbook. Then the teacher reviews the information with the students. Then they work in groups to decipher the meaning of a primary source document and write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unearthing The Facts

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use agriculture related questions in order to build research skills. The questions are given and then they are expected to determine the best resource for finding the answers. The connection to the farmer is how they use...
Handout
Other

Online Etymology Dictionary

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The site, created by an avowed amateur, Douglas Harper, shares the origins of words. Students will type a word into a text box and click a "search" button to see the etymology of the word.
Handout
Other

Dictionary.com

For Students K - 1st Standards
Dictionary.Com is an online dictionary. It provides definitions, syllabication, pronunciation, word origin, and part of speech. It also provides a word of the day, word games, and much more.
Article
British Library

British Library: Language & Literature: Dictionaries and Meanings

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Article discusses the history of English dictionaries over a five-hundred-year period. Includes selections from Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 and the Oxford English Dictionary. With useful comments about the origins of words,...
Handout
Other

Etymological Dictionary: Influences on Astronomy

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
An interesting look at the meanings of many of the words in mythology that have been used in English astronomical field. This resource lists the word, etymological and mythological root or character, and modern English meaning.
Handout
Other

Vocabulary Workshop

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This vocabulary workshop will be helpful to anyone interested in brushing up on their skills. This site features a comprehensive look at root words, prefixes, suffixes and more.
Handout
Other

Zhongwen: Chinese Characters and Culture (A Genealogy and Dictionary)

For Students 9th - 10th
An excellent resource. Zhongwen's Chinese-English dictionary helps learners understand the origins of Chinese characters and their interconnections, with interesting information on character roots. In the readings section, English...
Graphic
Other

Dictionary of the English Language/image

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
See a Close-up image of an original page from Johnson's dictionary. It shows the definition and a usage example for the word "puke."
Handout
Other

The Phrase Finder: Home Page

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
"A professional writers' resource from The Phrase Finder for generating ideas for headlines, advertising copy, song lyrics, etc." Just type your word and the phrase finder will find a phrase to match it. L.9-10.4c References, L.9-10.4d...
Unknown Type
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Context Clues Worksheets: Context Clues 2.2

For Students 4th - 7th Standards
This site shares a context clues worksheet. Students will read each sentence, write original definitions of bolded terms, and then write the clues that help them determine the bolded words' definitions. Links for an answer key,...
Handout
Merriam-Webster

Merriam Webster: Anecdote/definition

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A good extensive definition of "anecdote" and the origin of the word.
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Haitian Creole

For Students 9th - 10th
A Wikipedia encyclopedia entry on the Haitian Creole language. Includes information about the African and European origins of the language and sample words and phrases. Additional links to a passable online dictionary, Radio France...