Introduction to Structured Word Inquiry | 4.5 Hours/$250
Time: 5pm-5:45pm
Dates: September 9, 11, 16, 18, 23 and 25
Online/Zoom - Link will be provided at registration
In this course, we will be using the beautifully written and illustrated book “The Cloud Spinner” by Michael Patchwork as a context for investigating the interconnected aspects of meaning, spelling and phonology of English. Teacher-led investigations, discussion, explicit instruction, and visual models will be used to introduce students to the structures that govern English orthography.
Expected outcomes include increases in reading, spelling, and writing skills. Students will learn processes for determining the structure of words, leading to increased depth of understanding about the cohesiveness of English. Students will begin using domain-specific language such as grapheme, morpheme, phoneme, base, suffix, and prefix to explain their thinking. Students will learn a process for investigating the chronological and diachronic etymology of words, deepening their understanding of how a word’s spelling is related to its meaning.
Our goal, in hosting this class, is to light students up in the process of discovering the meaning-based connections hiding just below the surface of our language. Examples include understanding why there is a <g> in <sign>, being able to explain the spelling of <does>, and learning abut the connection between <one> and <onion>. Nothing motivates like understanding - come have a blast learning about how English works!
