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What’s in a Word?
Sarah Lynn
The standard approach to learning a new word is to define it, pronounce it, and then use it in a sentence, but words have many more dimensions. We remember words by context, by collocation, by sound, by spelling, even by movement (tracing the letters). I use the following list to remind myself of the many ways students can learn a new word.
| Ways to learn a word: |
Questions to ask: |
| define |
What does it mean? |
| listen |
How many syllables does it have?
What does it rhyme with? |
| pronounce |
Are there any tricky sounds?
How does the mouth move when pronouncing the word? |
| trace |
How do you draw the letters of the word?
Can you write the word with your finger? |
| spell |
What are the letters in the word?
Does it follow any special spelling rules? |
| visualize |
Close your eyes. How many letters does the word have?
What’s the first letter? What’s the last letter? |
| analyze |
What part of speech is it?
Does it have a root word?
Does it belong to a family of words? |
| personalize |
What does it mean to you?
Can you describe someone you know with the word? |
| associate |
Where do you hear it: at work, at school, at the doctor’s office?
Is the word often used with another word? (For example: save time, save money, save a seat) |
| categorize |
How is it different from similar words?
Is it more formal or informal?
Is it used for more for men or women? |
| generate |
Write a sentence with it.
Use it in a role-play. |
Do you have other ways to teach words? Share your ideas at the Teacher2Teacher blog
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