by Donna | Apr 17, 2013
The other day I looked down on my steering wheel to find these two abbreviations: accel and decel. I am sure that these are the formal abbreviations, and I also assume that the two are abbreviations for acceleration and deceleration.
The two words are perfect words for working on two of my favorite “wordy” sub-lessons: spelling and prefix/root studies.
As a self-declared bi-phonic woman, I love to point out spelling rules any time there is the slightest bit of phonetic consistency to them. And, it just so happens, that acceleration and deceleration have a little bit of consistency to their spellings:
1. Hard and soft c
a. ac/cel/er/a/tion
i. The first c says kuh because it is followed by a c. (When a c or g is followed by a, o, u, or most consonants, it says its hard sound—kuh or guh.)
ii. The second c says suh because it is followed by an e. (When a c or g is followed by e, i, or y, it says its soft sound–suh or juh.)
b. de/cel/er/a/tion–This word only contains one c, and that c makes its soft sound (suh) because it is followed by an e.
2. Both spelled the same from then on–syllable by syllable
a. After our cel phonemes, the remainder of each word is spelled the same.
b. Both can be spelled syllable by syllable at that point
i. er
ii. a
iii. tion
3. Thus, you can easily remember how to spell both words.
a. ac/cel and d/cel
b. er/a/tion (for both)
+Note: If acceleration only had one c, the first two syllables would look (“sound”) like this: a/sell (ay/sell).
+Note: If deceleration had two c’s, the first two syllables would look (“sound”) like this: dek/sell.
If you are not a lover of phonics or you learned to read and spell through sight words and memorization, you might be bored by now, so I will give you something you can take with you from this “wordy” lesson–deciphering meaning from roots and affixes (prefixes and suffixes).
First of all, remember this: You know more than you think you know!
Applying that to our two words: What do you already know about their meanings:
1. They have something to do with movement (on the steering wheel of a car; you hear them association with physics, etc.).
2. De is a prefix you are familiar with–it usually means the opposite.
a. de-frost–unfrost
b. de-value–not to value
3. tion–Tion (and sion words) words are usually nouns
a. nation
b. hypertension
c. limitation
If you already knew those things (and now you do!), take what you already know and add it to what else you might learn about these two words:
1. ac–Prefix meaning toward
2. In physics, these two words have much more technical meanings that we do not need to concern ourselves with for this lesson. (A part of learning is knowing what you do not need to know!)
3. In medical terms, these two words have to do with getting hurt via a collision (still retaining the general meaning of movement).
4. The suffix cel can have something to do with movement or an action
a. cancel
b. excel
Okay, you have all of the information to unlock the definitions (and the spellings, thank-you very much!) of these two words.
Acceleration/Deceleration
A. They have something to do with movement (cel)
B. They are nouns (tion)
C. One means forward (ac–toward)
D. The other means backwards or not or undo (de).
E. Acceleration means to move forward.
F. Deceleration means to move backwards (de) or not to move.
Wasn’t that fun? 🙂
*For complete steps on “dissecting” words, see the posts about Character Ink’s teaching methods we call Definition Dissection. Here is a list of prefixes to get you started: https://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/01/days-13-14-roots-and-affixes-list.html
by Donna | Apr 10, 2013
. Fill in each blank provided with the correct Wacky Word—their, there, they’re, wander,
wonder, scent, sent, farther, further, bear, or bare.
1. ________________ meeting us for lunch.
2. We are going to ________________ the nursing home to sing.
3. ________________ rarely on time.
4. ________________ lake is just ahead.
5. When we get ________________, we will eat.
6. We do not know what ________________ going to sing.
7. Ray and Donna parked ________________ car in the parking garage.
8. We should be ________________ after lunch.
9. Maelynn thinks she left her keys ________________.
10. ________________ going to drop off the food at noon.
11. I ________________ what time it is.
12. Please don’t ________________ around the woods too far.
13. We could ________________ all day without a map.
14. Jonathan ________________ what time it is.
15. I ________________ if the Reishes are coming.
16. Donna ________________ the card in the mail.
17. Jonathan ________________ Maelynn flowers for Valentine’s Day.
18. The dogs picked up the ________________ of the drugs.
19. Did she get the email I ________________ her?
20. The ________________ of the candle filled the room.
21. After church, he explained that concept ________________ .
22. The ________________ we go, the more lost we are!
23. We can discuss the matter ________________ when everyone gets here.
24. I believe the store is ________________ down the street.
25. That restaurant is ________________ than this one.
26. I hope we don’t see a ________________ while walking the trails.
27. She gave her sister a stuffed ________________ for Christmas.
28. You should put sunscreen on your ________________ skin.
29. The ________________ slept in the warm sun after his hibernation.
30. My ________________ feet are dirty from walking in the strawberry patch.
Answer Key:
1. They’re meeting us for lunch.
2. We are going to wander to the nursing home to sing.
3. They’re rarely on time.
4. Their lake is just ahead.
5. When we get there , we will eat.
6. We do not know what they’re going to sing.
7. Ray and Donna parked their car in the parking garage.
8. We should be there after lunch.
9. Maelynn thinks she left her keys there .
10. They’re going to drop off the food at noon.
11. I wonder what time it is.
12. Please don’t wander around the woods too far.
13. We could wander all day without a map.
14. Jonathan wonder what time it is.
15. I wonder if the Reishes are coming.
16. Donna sent the card in the mail.
17. Jonathan sent Maelynn flowers for Valentine’s Day.
18. The dogs picked up the scent of the drugs.
19. Did she get the email I sent her?
20. The scent of the candle filled the room.
21. After church, he explained that concept further .
22. The farther we go, the more lost we are!
23. We can discuss the matter further when everyone gets here.
24. I believe the store is farther down the street.
25. That restaurant is farther than this one.
26. I hope we don’t see a bear while walking the trails.
27. She gave her sister a stuffed bear for Christmas.
28. You should put sunscreen on your bare skin.
29. The bear slept in the warm sun after his hibernation.
30. My bare feet are dirty from walking in the strawberry patch.
by Donna | Apr 10, 2013
“Homophone, homophones, homophones…homophones!” (Veggie Tales)
Adults and children alike make homophone errors. They are probably some of the most common grammatical errors. We like to teach our students little tricks to help them remember which word to use in which situation. Below you will find some tricks–followed by a quiz! Smile…
Here are some serious and some funny tips to help you remember some homophones:
a. their—heir is in it; their shows ownership; heir shows ownership too
b. there—here is in it; here and there; use for there are and there is
c. they’re—contraction they are; say contracted words uncontracted to be sure that you are
using the correct word for the job
d. wandering—you wander in an area; you wander around
e. wonder—you ponder when you wonder
f. scent—cats have a certain scent when their litter box needs cleaned
g. sent—envelopes are sent
h. farther—farther refers to area (has root far)
i. further—further refers to understanding
j. bear—a bear is a creature
k. bare—ends in an e; when we bare something, we expose it
Part of being a good learner and a good student is knowing how you learn—and working in those areas. For example, the author of CQLA loves mnemonics and tricks. (Can you tell?) Other people are distracted by that type of learning.
What kind of learner are you? What helps you learn homophones the best? What helps you learn to spell difficult words? Work in those areas to help you learn better, faster, and more thoroughly.
by Donna | Mar 19, 2013
Is Five Guys only ONE Reader’s Pick? If many readers picked it, it should say Readers’ Pick…..wish I had, had my purple editing pen with me!
P.S. Don’t second guess on possessives all the time:
1. Write the word you want to make possessive first without even thinking about the possessive part {Readers}
2. Then ask yourself, “Does it end in an s?” {Don’t overthink this step and start asking yourself if it’s plural, etc….just focus on the final letter in the word.}.
3. If it ends in an s, simply put an apostrophe on the outside of the s. If it does NOT end in an s, put an ‘s.
Examples:
1. One reader picked it–the pick belongs to the one reader: reader’s pick
2. Many readers picked it–the pick belongs to many readers: readers’ pick
3. One dog owns the yard–the yard belongs to one dog: dog’s yard
4. Two dogs own the yard–the yard belongs to two dogs: dogs’ yard
by Donna | Feb 20, 2013
I try to use mnemonics, tricks, songs, and jingles to teach parts of speech, homophones, and any other grammar and usage tips that I can. Students (of all ages, including adults!) often remember usage better when a trick or tip is applied.
One of my students’ favorite tricks is for the confusing word pair (sometimes considered homophones, though they do have slightly different pronunciations) conscience/conscious:
The student’s conscience bothered him because he tried to con the science teacher.
He wasn’t conscious enough to enjoy the delicious treat.
In today’s assignment, my students had to write sentences using conscience and conscious (one sentence each). My amazingly clever students had fun with this! Three of them used both words in one sentence and included the “trick” in that sentence too!
1. I conned the science teacher while I was conscious, and my conscience bothered me.
2. He wasn’t conscious of the fact that he conned the science teacher; once he realized he had, his conscience bothered him.
3. He had a guilty conscience after he consciously conned the science teacher.
by Donna | Feb 18, 2013
Happy Presidents’ Day. Or is that Presidents Day? Or Presidents’ Day?
Well….it depends on which expert you ask! Here is the run down:
1. It is NOT President’s Day
a. President’s denotes one President…and this holiday honors Washington and Lincoln both…as well as all presidents
b. President’s Day says that it is the day that belongs to one President (singular)
c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (President) then if the word does NOT end in s, put apostrophe s (President’s Day)
2. Some say it is Presidents’ Day
a. The Gregg Reference Manual (my favorite handbook) cites it as such
b. This denotes many presidents all owning one day (or at least Lincoln and Washington)
c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (Presidents) then if the word ends in s, put an apostrophe on the outside of the s
d. This is the correct way to show possession of one thing to more than one “owner”—or any noun that ends in an s (glass’ smudges).
3. Some say it is Presidents Day
a. The Associated Press Stylebook cites is as such
b. This method does not denote possession, but rather uses the word President as an adjective (actually a “proper adjective” in that it is an adjective made from a proper noun–some of the time–we will not even get into whether it is (President) or isn’t (president) in this post!)
c. This is like saying that, that is a Grisham book (as opposed to a book that Grisham owns–Grisham’s book), and it is certainly not incorrect
P.S. Capitalize president when referring to a certain president or the holiday in question!
So there you have it! More subjectivity in our English language. Happy Presidents’ Day! And Happy Presidents Day!
