Powerful Words

We listen to this poet talk about words.

So what about "foot"? The OED.

Next you read the handout.  Answer the questions on the back in your daybook.

Then I put you into groups and you discuss questions 3 and 4.

Finally, you do the handout -- practice in correcting homonyms -- the spell-check-proof words.

Homework:

1.  In your daybook, fill a page with a freewrite on the topic of question #3 from the group discussion.

2.  If we run out of time, do the Homonym handout also.

Why Is English so Hard to Spell?

Consider the words knight, night, through, though, bough, cough, rough, come, give, gone.

Take a short pretest about the history of English.  Look at this chart.


Old English spoken for us.


Anglo-Saxon art

Anglo-Saxons vs. Vikings  which leads us to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.


After Norman castles we come to Middle English.

 

Homework:


1.  Go to the "Glossary of Usage"  in The Everyday Writer, pages 243-252.  Find and read about  "loose, lose" and write a sentence using each of those two words correctly.  THEN choose three MORE pairs of interest to you, and do the same for them. You may have eight sentences when you are done, but if you can combine words in a sentence, you may do so. Underline the eight words of interest as you use them.


2.  Here is a link if you are interested in this stuff:  The BBC on the History of English

Welcome!

We look at the course information sheets.

You write in response to the first quote on this page.