OK, so, what's up with me and 'word love' today, eh? Well, we played with thesauruses in my classroom today, and my students inspired me with their choices. You see, they had to come up with words to describe themselves,...but I told them that I didn't want just any old words, I wanted fabulous words - words that would be hard to resist. You know, the kind you just HAVE to say out loud and see how they taste!
We studied Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" poem, and they are having to make two masks. One mask uses words that describe the "mask" they show to the world (how other people see them). The other mask uses words that describes who they really are on the inside - how they see themselves. We discussed how Dunbar's powerful poem would not have packed such a punch without powerful words like "human guile" and "vile" and "myriad subtleties."My sixth graders did not disappoint me in their choice of words and, even better, they really had a good time with it! They couldn't believe some of the words they found and how much more wonderful those words were than the "basic" words (the words they usually use that really have very little flavor in them - mad, sad, happy, funny, lazy). They decided it was fun to dump the plain, old, tasteless words and choose some with a little more pizazz! :-D
Here are just a few examples of what they found and used:
lazy: slothful, languorous, lackadaisical
talkative: babblative, loquacious, multiloquious, loose-lipped
funny: jokester, quipster, zany
kind: amiable, gracious, cordial
shy: demure, timid, bashful, coy
brave: dauntless, greathearted, plucky, valiant
The word play today was really amusing, and the students' exuberance over their masks was a splendiferous wonder to behold!
(Yep, I love words...) ;)
That sounds like an awesome day! I just have to say that lackadaisical is a favorite of mine! I also like plucky...I mean who wouldn't like plucky? :)
ReplyDeleteI love those words, too, Laura! And...I can't even say "plucky" without smiling! :-D
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