by Donna | Jun 10, 2011
Now that we know how to spell the word Wednesday, we are going to add a new feature to Language Lady 365. If you desire to increase your vocabulary for professional or personal reasons; are preparing for standardized testing or college; or want to help your kids learn vocabulary better, you won’t want to miss Wordy Wednesdays! (Yesk I know it’s Thursday–I didn’t get this up last night!)
Wordy Wednesday will be a vocabulary-building day each week. Sometimes I will introduce a “word that everybody should know” type of word from test preparation or collections with these types of lists. Other times we will focus on prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Basically, all types of vocabulary learning—your weekly “shot” of wordsmith learning!
At the beginning of the year, I described the importance of roots and affixes in helping our children learn vocabulary: “Discussing words (roots, affixes, etc.) should be a part of our daily discussion with our kids. Even if our kids go to school, we have to look at ourselves as our children’s first teachers. There are so many things that we can teach them casually—homeschoolers or not.”
Not long ago in literature class, our son (Joshua, one of our TFT teachers) asked the students what words they knew that contained the prefix “pro,” meaning “for.” He got the usual answers—pro-life; prolific; pro-football, etc. And then his clever “little brother,” Josiah, said, “’Propane’—means that we are ‘for pain’!” Have fun with vocabulary building—and your kids will not forget it, for sure (nor will you)!
So today, we will start with a common root—a root that can help you unlock the meaning of many other words: gen.
GEN is a root meaning birth, race, or kind.
From this root, we get many common words that most of us are familiar with, including, but not limited to, the following list:
- Generous
- Generate
- Generation
- Genealogy
- Gender
- Genocide
- Generic
But roots are not limited to the beginnings of words—they are found buried within longer words as well. Consider the following words with gen somewhere in them. How does the meaning of gen—birth, race, or kind—fit into the meanings of these words:
1. Agency
2. Intelligence
3. Resurgent
4. Agenda
5. Allergen
6. Pathogen
7. Oxygen
8. Carcinogen
9. Divergent
10. Emergency
11. Degenerate
12. Negligence
13. Legends
14. Estrogen
15. Homogenate
16. Ingenuity
by Donna | Jan 17, 2011
Adding to the alluded/eluded and allusive/elusive quandary is the illusion/allusion Wacky Word pair! Again, looking at roots and affixes can be a great help.
Let’s start with allusion—since we had alluded yesterday. (Yes, you read that right—the roots are the same!)
1. Allusion (allude)
a. Related to ludicrous: Hint—“What he alluded to was ludicrous!”
b. Related to allusion—“He made an allusion to our previous conversation.”
c. If you remember the allude/ludicrous (What he alluded to was ludicrous!), you will also remember allusion—allusion is something you allude to.
i. Allude is the verb—“What did he allude to?”
ii. Allusion* is the noun—The thing—“What was his allusion to your situation?”
2. Illusion
a. Related to illustrate—See that root?
i. Illustration is a picture
ii. Illusion is an abstract picture
b. Used to mean a facsimile or something that appears different than it is
i. “The ride gives you the illusion that you are on a mountain.”
ii. “They used Kleenexes to give you the illusion of fabric.”
iii. “Her success is just an illusion.”
c. Illusion is also related to hallucination—seeing things that are not really there!
*Note: A more advanced vocabulary technique that you will learn this year on LL 365 is “illustrated” in suffixes—tion and sion generally signify a word is a noun.
by Donna | Jan 13, 2011
I am putting all of the roots and affixes I want to share (from our CQLA curriculum) together for two days (rather than dividing them up in two entries). Feel free to print them off, give a sheet to each of your kids, tape it on the fridge, work on a root or affix a week…however it can help you or your kids/students.
(a) GEN–birth, race, kind
generous, generate, generation, geneology, gender
b) DIC, DICT, DIT–tell, say, word
dictate, verdict, edict, contradict, predict, diction, indict
(c) SPEC, SPIC, SPIT–look, see
perspective, aspect, spectator, spectacle, suspect
d) SUPER, SUR, SUM–above
surpass, summit, supersede, superstition
(e) TENT, TENS, TEND, TENU–stretch, thin
tension, extend, tendency, tendon, tent, distend
(f) TRANS–across
transfer, transient, transitory, transgress, transport
(g) DOC, DUC, DAC–teach, lead
conduct, document, doctrine, induce, indoctrinate
(h) CO, CON, COM-with, together
company, collaborate, comply, congruent,
(i) VERS, VERT–turn
convert, revert, subvert, divert, diverse, extrovert, versatile
(j) LOC, LOG, LOQU–word, speech
eloquent, logic, apology, monologue, dialogue, prologue
(k) SEN–feel, sense
sensitive, sensation, consent, dissent, assent, sentiment
(l) DE–away, down, off
denounce, defraud, decry, deplete, devoid, defile
(m) NOM, NOUN,
NOWN, NAM, NYM–name, order, rule
anonymous, nominate, renounce, renown, misnomer
(n) CLA, CLO, CLU–shut, close
closet, enclose, disclose, include, conclude, seclude
(o) VO, VOC, VOK, VOW–call
vocal, advocate, vocation, convoke, revoke, avow
(p) MAL–bad
malicious, malady, dismal, malign, malevolent
(q) FRA, FRAC, FRAG—break
fracture, fraction, fragment, fragile, frail, fractious
objective, obsolete, obscure, obstruct, obstinate
(s) SUB—under
submissive, subordinate, sublime, subtle, subversion
(t) AB–from, away
abandon, abhor, abstain, absolve, abstruse, abstract
(u) GRESS, GRAD—step
progress, regress, gradual, digress, degrade, transgress
(v) SEC, SEQU–follow
second, sequel, sequence, consequence, prosecute
(w) PRO–much, for, a lot
prolific, profuse, prodigal, prtracted, prodigy, propensity
(x) QUE, QUIS–ask, seek
inquire, question, request, quest, query, acquire, querulous
(y) SACR, SANCT, SECR—sacred
sacrifice, sanctuary, sanctify, sanction, consecrate
(z) SCRIB, SCRIP–write
scribble, describe, script, prescribe, ascribe, inscribe
(aa) PATHY, PAS, PAT–feeling
apathy, sympathy, empathy, antipathy, passionate
(bb) DIS, DIF–not
disdain, dissuade, dismay, disparate, disparage
(cc) CIRCU–around
circumference, circulation, circumstances, circumvent
(dd) NON, UN, IN, AN, A–no or not
nonviolent, uncooperative, inappreciative, anonymous
(ee) AD–to
adhere, adjective, addict, adverb
(ff) INFRA–below
infrastructure, infraction, infrared, infra-bass
(gg) AMBI—both
ambidextrous, amibguous, ambition, ambivalent
(hh) EPI–on
epidemic, epic, epitomy, episode