Etymology, Level II
2741
Prerequisites:
None. Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. This
course does not fulfill the three-year English graduation requirement.
This
dove-tail class is completely student driven.
That is, the class spends the first few weeks experimenting with a
variety of vocabulary building methods and word study activities. Following this
experimentation, class members and the instructor discuss the strengths and
weakness of the various activities and methods and develop a plan for study.
The class reevaluates this plan at mid quarter and the end of each
quarter to determine whether changes need to be made. Activities and methods
that previous classes have used include but are not limited to: the memorization
of roots, prefixes, suffixes and subjects; the study of cartoons and captions;
the reading of novels, short stories and poems with special attention to
vocabulary; the use of reading stations of current publications like The
New Yorker, Outside Magazine and Rolling
Stone; the use of vocabulary development games like Pictionary, Speed
Scrabble and Lexigon. Homework is minimal.
Even
though the class is pass/fail, frequent assessments are administered so that
students may track their progress and reflect on their word retention
percentage.
Teachers: