Saturday, October 11, 2014

We Like Words



I couldn't resist making a word picture of some of the 
wonderful words included in this terrific letter.


Recently I came across a rather well-known letter written by Robert Pirosh in 1934. Immediately I knew that I had to introduce it to my students!  As I suspected, they loved it! We are investigating many of the words used by Mr. Pirosh in this letter and each student is preparing a short presentation on their chosen word.  They will create posters depicting the meaning of their word, the word's origin, and other interesting information.  Students asked if they could also create Google Presentations about their words.  Why not?  What fun!  

As an example, I chose to research the word "estivate".  That led to an interesting discussion of lungfish and other creatures that estivate to escape heat and dry weather.

Fifth grade Common Core Standards for writing include:
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.4.A  - Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.4.B - Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., photograph, photosynthesis).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.4.C - Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

For more information about the letter itself, you can visit Letters of Note
  


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