Language Arts Begins with Words
- May I have a word…with YOU**
- Joan Bauer “Words” PDF
- Main ideas from “Words” by Joan Bauer
- Gather for Peace PDF article
- Response to Gather for Peace PDF
- Anne Curzan TED talk What makes a word “real”
- “Tri-english” This is a cool, somewhat angry rap (a TED talk) but it’s a real discussion starter about “proper English”
- Word Classification PDF charts to fill in
- Susan Wooldridge PDF excerpts from poem crazy to enjoy and try for yourself (see Box of Words items in Projects… Fun and Educational Activities.)
- History of English Language in 10 Minutes
- Hobo Words Lesson**
- Hobo Signs
- Wikipedia Entry on Hobos
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
― Pablo Picasso
And GUMS (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Spelling)
- My students had yearly Grammar Funerals. Click to open for guides, samples, and a Vimeo.
- GrammarBytes
- Grammar Links
- FREE RICE is a super link, and not only for grammar, but also for vocabulary. Use it often as a default quiz site.
- Save the Words information
- Homophones PDF from an old Games magazine
- Refining Word Meaning PDF
- Let dead verbs rest in peace PDF
- English as the Official Language PDF
- Semantics: Connotation and Denotation
- Student Connotation Poems
- Talking Types
- Words with Multiple Meanings
- What’s Really Wrong with this Story, Clichés
- Gobbledegook…Pedantry Prevails
- Say What
Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
― Mark Twain
Knowledge of things and knowledge of the words for them grow together. If you do not know the words, you can hardly know the thing.
― Henry Hazlitt
Some vocabulary items may be fun and useful
- vocabulary.com
- Cheese or Font
- Quack SAT vocab (This is Vol 1. There are 4 more I’m hoping to find.)
- Quack SAT word list
- Our Polyglot Citizenry PDF
- Loanwords PDF
- PDF Foreign Phrases to Know and Use
- Foreign Words and Phrases (link)
- Assignments for Presenting Foreign Words and Phrases Used in English
- 3 Foreign Phrases Quizlet 1
- 3 Foreign Phrases Quizlet 2
- 3 Foreign Phrases Quizlet 3
- Vocabulary from Myth and History (powerpoint)**
- Vocabulary from Myth and History (word list)
- Word Play DVD links
**For powerpoint documents, click to download/save to your computer. Then open with a powerpoint viewer.