2/23/05

GETTING TO THE ROOT OF IT ALL

Can you guess the roots of these words? I call them Cool Connections because they came as a surprise to me when I discovered their association to a particular root. Each was a light coming on. Students usually love these words for the same reason, and - they never have to memorize these, as the learning just comes naturally. I selected those below from the 55 Cool Connections that appear in Volumes I and II. See how many of these coolest of the cool you can explain!

(1) carnation, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(2) dandelion, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(3) George, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(4) monk, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(5) Peter, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(6) rodent, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(7) Russell, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(8) squad, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(9) suspenders, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

(10) twig, from the root word __________ meaning _____________________

 

(1) carnation: carne-, meaning flesh, the color of the original carnation. (2) dandelion, from dent: tooth (dandelion in French is dent de lion - tooth of the lion). (3) George: of the earth and, therefore, a farmer, from geo- (earth). (4) monk: mono-: one. Once you hear this, you can easily see its relationship to one who leads a solitary life. (5) Peter: stone, seemingly from the biblical passage John 1, 42 - Thou art Simon the son of Jonah: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone. Thereafter Simon was known as either Simon Peter or as just Peter.

I'll let you dig out the roots of #6-10. If you couldn't pull them out, please ask me for help! I hope you enjoyed this stretching of your brain! If you did, won't your students also? It's this type of added element that I include in most lessons so that students will enjoy the work and will easily recall what they have learned.

Please contact me (emiller@seepub.com) with questions or comments. I'd love to know how you are making out with Word Web and how your students are doing!

That's my word for this time, Ellie

Word Web Vocabulary - recommended on Heidi Hayes-Jacobs' website,
moving vocabulary from the edge of language arts to its center