Wordplay

I really enjoyed doing this project. At first, I hard a hard time getting started. I’m used to being told what to do and just getting it done. I am not used to having the many choices associated with free inquiry. According to Callison, in free inquiry, “Questions are drawn from the student’s personal curiosity at the time of the assigned activity and are strong enough to continue beyond the academic experience- a lifelong learning mystery.” (Blue Book, 100) I found something I was curious about, and I truly believe that the topic and the experience will help me succeed in lifelong learning. Once I got started, the assignment took on a new meaning- a more personal meaning because I owned the experience. I really hope to instill that same feeling in my students. That is the best part about this experience for me- that my students will benefit from my inquiry.

As I progressed back and forth throughout the 8 W’s, I realized the importance of evaluating resources and activities. Each time I looked back, it brought me forward.

I am from the generation where computers were not publicly available when I went to school, so I have never been ubercomfortable with technology. Having the chance to explore technology tools in a free inquiry model made the process less intimidating. I actually had fun. The technology components I have included in my project include:

a concept map of my inquiry- http://mywebspiration.com/view/193568a31af1

a Pathfinder of etymology resources in my library-

a Powerpoint presentation covering the Greek alphabet

an animation of combining roots to make meaningful words- http://goanimate.com/movie/0TE7G-6JEDUA/1

These technolgy components brought a new dimension to learning AND teaching. Kids these days are so computer saavy. As adults, we adults need to keep up. Overall, this experience has been a positive one. The readings and activities struck a personal note and a relevant chord. I was able to understand, make connections and use the information immediately. Wordplay is fun!

I have created a week-long set of lesson plans for my 5th graders. I get them for 35 minutes each day for 5 days once a month. So, I will be focusing on the following 5th grade Indiana Language Arts standard:
5.1.2 Vocabulary and Concept Development:
Use word origins to determine the meaning of unknown words.

I will begin the week on Monday by having the students research the origin and meaning of their own name. If they have an unusual name, they will be allowed to use a family member’s name. On Tuesday, I will present the book, “Cryptomania.” This book begins with an introduction of the characters based on the meaning of their names. This will be a nice transition from Monday. I will then have the kids perform a reader’s theatre based on the dialogue in that book. On Wednesday, I will show a Powerpoint showing the Greek alphabet due to the fact that the book, “Cryptomaina,” ends with a brief description of the Greek and Roman alphabet. On Thursday, the students will be working in pairs and exploring word roots while creating a concept map at www.visualthesaurus.com. As an introduction to this assignment, I will be showing the animation I made at www.goanimate.com. (I plan on contacting our technology coordinator to see if it would be possible to have the students create their own animation in the future.) On Friday, we will culminate the week’s activities by jigsawing. Each student pair will share the findings of their concept map. “The skills for 21st century learning are best taught through an approach in which the teacher guides the learners to construct their own understandings and to apply those understandings to any learning experience.” (Standards for the 21st Century Learner In Action, 18) The students construct their understanding of word roots, apply those roots to various words and teach what they’ve learned to other students. Other students will take notes pertaining to fellow students’ presentations.

In studying etymology, the students will not only be building vocabulary knowledge, but they will also be exploring the library (fiction, nonfiction, reference, and web-based resources). They will also be experiencing inquiry learning as is defined in “Curriculum Connections Through the Library,” by Barbara K. Stipling and Sandra Hughes-Hasssell, “Inquiry is not a collection of process skills and strategies; it is a relationship between thinking skills and content.” (6)

As students create their cocept map, they are using word roots to establish a variety of words that contain that root. The interconnectedness abounds as the students realize how many English words can be figured out by knowing a handful of roots.

This set of activities could be modified for sophomores/ juniors in high school These students are gearing up to take the SAT and ACT tests. It is common knowledge that etymology is an asset to the aspiring college-bound student taking these tests.

I am excited to give this lesson a try due to the fact that I, personally, have learned so much and had a good time doing it. I hope the students feel the same way.

I created a web using Webspiration to help organize my ideas and activities. I have noticed in the past that I tend to work backwards- starting with a product and then fitting it into the curriculum and or assignment, and this project is no different. I even read magazines backwards!! I start at the back and leaf my way to the front. I don’t know why. I just have always done that. Anyway, my web can be found at http://mywebspiration.com/view/193568a31af1. As I was trying to figure out where the arrows should go, I realized that there was a lot of interconnectedness throughout the project. I am creating and learning and teaching and teaching and learning and creating, etc. I probably could have added more arrows to show the connections, but I thought it was starting to become difficult to read, so I stopped. According to Callison in the Blue Book, webbing is “to be displayed for other teachers, students, and administrators to see the development of a critical thinking, problem-solving project.” (180) It really did help me to organize my thoughts, and I hope it helps others see the development of my thinking.

I have had some discussions with some of the 5th grade teachers, asking them how I can extend the topic of etymology from the classroom into the library. I think it is important to link studies in the library with studies in the classroom. In Curriculum Connections in the Library, Donna Shannon says, “Working with teachers as instructional partners is one of the most important roles of the library media specialist.” (80) Unfortunately, they are extremely busy and didn’t have much time to communicate. So, I took the few tidbits I’d gathered and decided to implement some of these ideas into a cohesive set of library lessons- kind of a trial and error. In the process, I have learned a great deal- about collaberation, teaching and etymology, in general. It is a fascinating and relevant subject. I hope to start wrapping all of my findings together this afternoon.

I am so excited. I just finished creating an animation about Greek and Latin roots on goanimate.com. It was so much fun. Check it out- http://goanimate.com/movie/0TE7G-6JEDUA/1. If I had more time I would have done more. I know the kids would love creating their own animation. As a matter of fact, I showed my 14 year old son and he is trying it out. Callison says, “Technology tools can also play an important role in effective analysis, synthesis and presentation of information.” (Blue Book, 87) Using this animation tool would be a great way to synthesize and present information. What a fun teaching tool! I am actually having fun learning about the Greek and Latin roots, and I really feel like I have a few ideas on how to make the learning fun for my 5th graders.

I was trying to to figure out how I was going to incorporate the four technology components into my project when I came upon a really cool website. It helps the user create scenes and animations. It is found at http://goanimate.com/. I really think the kids would love this, but I don’t know if I can pull it off. I’m going to try, though. Ideally, I would like to have the kids create their own animation, loosely based on the book “Cryptomania,” and incorporating word roots, but an e-mail account is needed to participate. It would be great if they could use my account. I’ll have to check in to it. Our school has so many blocks and filters that I don’t know if we can even access it from school. It would be great, if it works.

After reading the material I had acquired, I thought I needed to find some different info. After reading about all of the new literacies, I decided to focus on technology. So, I began searching on the web. In the book “Cyptomania,” the five kids who teleprted themselves back in time introduced themselves and gave a history of the meaning of their names. I decided to look into having the kids search for information on their own names. I found two websites- www.thinkbabynames.com and www.behindthename.com. These two sites give meanings, origins, popularity graphs and much more information associated to names. I thought this might be a fun way to explore word origins. I found out that my name means “good spear” and “noisy.” I also found that the popularity of my name peaked in 1965 (I was born in 1963). I was hooked, so I thought the kids might like it, too. I tried it with my 5th graders this past week, and I was right! They had a blast searching for their name. The next day, I posed a problem to them. I had them pretend that a relative was having a baby and needed help coming up with a name that had some significance in meaning. They were asked to help find an appropriate name. It, too, was a success. At random, the students were to look for a girl/ boy name. Some complained at first (a girl got a boy, etc.), but in the end, they all did a wonderful job and seemed to really enjoy the assignment. It seems that I am on a roll. I hope it continues.

Oops! I did my post as a comment. I’ll try it here- where it belongs.

As I am reading through my acquired literature, I am becoming overwhelmed. I don’t know how to narrow the information down. I want to be able to present something to 5th graders that compliments what their language arts teachers are presenting, and I want it to be relevant to their lives. So, I am going back and forth between stages. Some ideas I have for narrowing the topic, making it interesting, and making it relevant to 11 year-olds are:

1. Incorporating a studey of Roman architecture and incorporating word roots into that study.
2. Since finding out that Latin was a precursor, not only to English, but also to Spanish, I thought about comparing elements and words in the three languages. Our county has a large percentage of Spanish speaking citizens.
3. Using hands on activities to initiate a study of roots.
4. Creating a pathfinder for students to examine etymology independently through a variety of sources.

At this time, I am continuing to contemplate these possibilities.

I have decided to begin my inquiry by looking into books. I have acquired six texts that I think will help begin my search. I’m looking at Building Language, by Michael Clay Thompson, Ceasar’s English, by Michael Thompson and Myriam Thompson, and English from the Roots Up, Vol. I and II, by Joegil Lundquist. These texts rely on rote memorization, flash cards, pictures and quotes from literature to help teach the word roots, suffixes and prefixes. I find this kind of learning boring, so I began looking for something a little more conducive to my learning styles and the interests of the students I will be teaching. I am more of a hands-on learner. I learn best by doing. I found a book by Laurie Carlson entitled Classical Kids. It includes a variety of activities to help with knowledge of ancient times. I am also looking at an animated children’s book, Cryptomainia, by Edith Hope Fine. It follows five kids on a journey through time as they discover the meaning of words. I am interested in learning the material, but I am more interested in presenting it in a fun and innovative way. How can I make this entertaining? As I read through these books, I hope that I can access other materials and websites to help me do just that. I would like to connect this study of word origins to something the students already know, but how? In the past, I have used collaborative structures by Spencer Kagan, in Cooperative Learning to get the kids moving and engaged. Can I incorporate some of these structures into the mix so that the learning is not so “dry?” I guess I have narrowed my focus a bit- I will search for ways to make this topic interesting to the students through electronic sources and collaborative structures.

It seems like I spend so much of my time working in my elementary school library and taking SLIS classes that I don’t even know what I enjoy doing any more. My children are all teenagers and don’t have much time for me. It used to be that I lived for them. Now I live for my career. I am having a hard time coming up with a topic to blog about that isn’t related to my job. The fact is- I love learning how to be better at my job. So, I say to myself, “What is so bad about enjoying my work and striving to learn more so that I can get better?” Therefore, some topics that I am interested in learning more about all have to do with the kiddos at school.

* I spent most of my teaching career teaching 1st and 2nd grades, so I would like to learn more about new research as it pertains to teaching reading to young children.

* I would also like to know the best way to teach ENL students. I got our school’s first ENL student 2 years ago when I was teaching 2nd grade. I did my best, but I would like to know proven strategies. I have since become a mentor to this young man, and (I think) he has a bright and promising future.

* I’m interested in improving my Spanish-speaking ability, and possibly volunteering to teach English to Spanish-speaking adults in our community.

* There is one topic that is new to our elementary (and one that I would like to reinforce in the library) That topic is etymology. In order to reinforce the skills necessary to learn the building blocks of words, I need to learn more about word origins. I never had the opportunity to learn Latin, and I am very interested in the prospect.

So, I think I’ve made a decision- etymology, it is.