Grade Level: 10-12 Course # 1066 Length: One Semester Credit: One Diploma: Core 40, Academic Honors Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in previous English classes.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course encourages students to become curious about the English language and should enable students to increase vocabularies preparing them to perform well on the PSAT, the SAT and other standardized tests. Etymology provides instruction in the derivation of English words and word families from their Latin and Greek origins. Pure root etymology deals with the exact origin of the word. Folk etymology is the study of how words have changed due to connotative and denotative associations, euphemisms, cliché’s, idioms, etc. This course will look at other foreign origins as they pertain to loanwords from those countries. Students will study both areas of etymology, including prefixes, roots, suffixes, and reasons for language change. The study of word history and semantics will be incorporated through an analysis of some literary texts. (This course will not satisfy any of the eight semesters of English.)
COURSE OUTLINE:
I. Historical Background A. Word histories Standards 1, 2 B. Word analysis
II. Etymology A. Pure Root Etymology Standard 5 1. Latin origins a. Prefixes b. Roots (bases) c. Suffixes 2. Greek origins B. Folk Etymology 1. Denotations/connotations Standards 2, 4, 6, 7, 14, 2. Euphemisms 3. Cliché’s (figures of speech) a. metaphors b. similes 4. Synonyms/antonyms/homonyms 5. Analogies 6. Context
III. Loanwords (Borrowed words) Standard 5 A. Germanic/Anglo-Saxon B. French C. Spanish D. Russian E. Italian F. Japanese G. Dutch H. Arabic I. Yiddish J. Hungarian
IV. Nineteenth Century and after Standards 6, 11, 12, 14, 17 A. Puns B. Punctuation 1. hyphenated words 2. apostrophes (omission of letters)
V. Word Associations A. Eponyms (name associations) 1. Local/place 2. Baptismal 3. Functional 4. Nicknames B. Places C. Professions D. Sports E. Religion F. Human Body G. Food H. Animals
VI. Verbal Skill Mastery A. ISTEP B. PSAT C. SAT