Module 2: Activities 1 & 2

Activity 1:

Complete Exercise #3c on page 58 in the text: first write a definition of each word listed. Did you notice yourself using any fairly consistent principle for determining what the words might mean? Discuss. Then read the first chapter of A Clockwork Orange to find the meanings of at least six of the words: http://www.ebooktrove.com/top_ten/AClockworkOrange.pdf. In each case, how do you finally determine what the word means? Combine this assignment with Activity 2 in this module. Create a blog post.

Definitions:  Before reading, I tried to determine the definitions of these words standing alone. I tried to look at the endings of the words to determine what part of speech the word may be. I also thought about words that sounded liked the words and hoped that these words would mean something related.

·         Deng—a loud sound

·         Tolchock—a vechile

·         Veck—a v-neck shirt

·         Viddy—funny

Definitions from reading:  After reading, I tried to see how the word was used in the sentence. I determined if the word was a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. I then used the context in the sentences before, the sentences after, the words before, and the words after to help determine the definition.

·         Deng—money

·         Tolchock—to steal from

·         Veck—man

·         Viddy—allow

·         Creech—Screeching

·         Droogs--dogs

Activity 2:

Read Exercise 7 on p. 85 and rather than showing it to an audience, complete the exercise yourself. Answer the questions, including the two at the top of p. 86. Combine this assignment with Activity 1 in this module. Create a blog post. Name this blog posting "Module 2: Activities 1 & 2."

1.     Who tried to read the words letter-by-letter?  Why not?

I did not read the words letter-by-letter. I didn’t do this, because I found if I did this, I was not able to blend the word together.

2.     Who tried to read the words mostly by chunking them into syllables?

 I tried to break the words down into syllables into read the words.

3.     Who tried to read the words by sampling the letters more or less all at one?

To read the word, I read each syllable all at once to determine how to say the word.

4.     What words do you know the meaning of, or think you know the meaning of?

The word “extravasate” sounds like a verb providing something in addition to. The word “dissepiment” sounds like a noun that is in a negative state.

5.     Did pronouncing the words give you insights into their meanings?

Yes, pronouncing the words gave me the ability to look at word endings to determine the part of speech. I also used prefixes that I recognized in other words to determine the meaning. For example, I know that “dis” typically is a prefix that is negative. So for the word “dissepiment.” I assume the word means something in a negative sense.

6.     How do you handle unknown words when you encounter them in normal reading?

When I am reading, I mainly use context to help determine the meaning of a word. I will look to see what words or sentences before or after can help give me clues as to what the unknown word means.  From this, I can usually determine the meaning of the word.

7.     What do you think are the implications of this experiment and discussion for how we should help students deal with unfamiliar print words?

I think this experiment was to show us that students can use their schemas to determine what an unknown word is by looking at prefixes and suffixes. In text, students can use the context around the word to help define an unknown word.