Vocabulary Freshman Honors English

[Pages:2]Vocabulary Freshman Honors English

"All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time."

---- Ernest Hemingway

Vocabulary instruction serves several functions. First, it helps your reading comprehension as you will encounter increasingly more challenging vocabulary in the texts you read in high school, college, and beyond. Thus as your vocabulary grows, your reading rate and level of comprehension will grow as well. Secondly, a rich vocabulary will give you more options in your writing. As Mark Twain states, "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter?'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." Expanding your vocabulary makes it more likely that you can find that perfect word in your writing. Finally, you want to get into college and the SAT and ACT tests are a fact of life. You need to expand your vocabulary to do well on these tests.

During the course of the year, I ask that you engage with words in meaningful ways. The second half of your writer's notebook will be devoted to your interaction with the magical world of words. First off, you will record assigned words in your notebook. You will write the word, the part of speech, the definition and synonyms of the word. Then I ask you to write the word in a sentence that is somehow connected to you. Finally I ask you to draw a picture (stick figures are fine!) illustrating the word. We are very visual people so often the picture will be what will spark your memory of the meaning of the word.

In addition, feel free to write down new words that you encounter in your reading in the same way. Periodically I will ask you to share some of your new words with the rest of the class so that we can learn from each other.

Finally, I ask you to begin using these words in your speaking and writing. This is necessary to add the word to your vocabulary. Otherwise, I fear that you will learn words for the quizzes and then forget them the next day. Our goal is mastery!

The following resources can help you improve your vocabulary. First, I ask you to sign up for the word of the day from Merriam Webster online. This service will send to your email the word of the day. This will include the pronunciation, definition, meaningful sentences, and etymology of the word (often a fascinating story!). Find the link at . The instructions for signing up to receive it in your email can be found on this page.

Another invaluable site is px where you will find short videos of each of the words on the vocabulary lists below. I advise you to use these videos as a study tool. Later in the year, you will begin to make some of your own vocabulary videos. I also found an App for my ipod called SAT vocab 2 put out by the Princeton Review.

List One abdicate abstruse altruism bantering gaffe garish maelstrom malapropism meticulous obstreperous panache sycophant wistful zealous zenith

List Two abridge acerbity acumen baleful bastion bedlam begrudge cajole candid careen dabble debilitate obeisance obfuscation obstreperous

List Three edifying endemic espy harangue harry jaded jaundiced jettison jocose knell kindred paean palliate rabid raconteur

List Four jingoist jargon juxtapose labyrinth lackluster languish laudable quagmire quasi quixotic ramification rampant rapacious saccharine saga svelte stringent ubiquitous unbridled unrequited

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