Express yourself (correctly!)

Good vocabulary is indispensable. 

I am sure that all of you are aware of the widening vocabulary crevice  between underprivileged  and wealthy families.  Fact: children who come from a lower-income families may hear 30 million fewer words than those who come from wealthier families (read more here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201402/tackling-the-vocabulary-gap-between-rich-and-poor-children ).

Good vocabulary is also important when expressing yourself. There’s nothing worse than (OK, maybe the use of a wrong homophone is worse) not being able to use the correct word to show your point. I have seen many students not being able to write their essay because they were looking for one word which would express their argument appropriately.

Today’s post is all about using and knowing more complex words. If you do not know these then it’s a good way to start to use them. Also if you are a teacher or a parent, perhaps it would be a good idea to share these words with the children? Let’s inspire others! 🙂

1. Insurgent (noun) means a rebel. “I am an insurgent!”

                       (adjective) to have a rebellious characteristic. “The insurgent child roared at the teacher”.

2. Ascertain (verb) to learn with certainty, to be clear. “They could ascertain that he came from Austria”.

3. Pious (adjective) religious, dutiful, respectful. “Pious literature should be read”.

4. Beseech (verb) to beg desperately. “Ms G realized it was time to beseech children for their homework”.

5. Accede (verb) to take up a new position or to approve/agree. ” Joffrey Baratheon acceded to the throne”

6. Ominous (adjective) threatening. “The ominous dog was watching the children”.

7. Usurp (verb) to take over control with force (to take something which isn’t yours illegally) “Scar tried to usurp the throne”.

8. Venerable (adjective) impressive (due to age), old, in Catholic religion it can also mean holy. “A venerable church”.

9. Confer (verb) to discuss with one another, to consult. “People confer all of the time”.

10. Divergent (adjective) different, unlike something. “They all had a divergent viewpoint”.

So spread these words and remember in doing so you are trying to depress the vocabulary gap.

Have a good day!

ggontyte

For book lovers only!

Love reading but sometimes you are not sure what you should read next?

Today I was standing in the book shop for what seemed like an eternity (oh those similes!) and yet I left empty handed…I  felt disgruntled. But how can you spend a small fortune on books that you have never head of? What if you are dissatisfied?

Fear no more! I have found a great website where you can read detailed book reviews. This might help you to find your next favourite book or your next book adventure. The best thing of all is that these book reviews are updated frequently.

http://www.thestaffrecommends.com/

Problem solved! 🙂

Regards,

ggontyte

Austen’s Pride and Prejudice chapter 4 and 5 revision video

This video is aimed at secondary school students who are studying Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

This video contains:

• Notes on characters and events
• Themes
• Tips
• Areas for further consideration
• Important quotations

Please share this post with students who might need some extra help when studying this novel.

Hope you enjoy it!

Regards,

ggontyte

The brilliance of Shakespeare

Over the past couple of years, I have been hearing the cries of dissatisfaction when it comes to learning about Shakespeare. “Why should we study Shakespeare?” is the most asked question in a classroom. Students find it outdated, irrelevant and very difficult to relate to. Of course many parents and certainly teachers disagree.

People are aware of the fact that William Shakespeare invented a lot of new words. Not one soul, however knows the exact number of the conceived words but it is estimated that approximately 1700 up to 10000 were invented by Shakespeare (or perhaps he was the first to use them). Some of the most everyday phrases that we use have derived from his plays. Here is a very short list of the most common phrases that we use:

1. “Vanished into thin air” (The Tempest 1610-11) most commonly used when something/someone disappears without a trace.

2. “It’s Greek to me” (Julius Caesar 1599) used when someone doesn’t understand what another is saying.

3. “Slept not one wink” (Cymbeline -date unknown) used when someone had a sleepless night.

4. “Too much of a good thing” (As You Like It 1599) normally used when someone had too much of a certain thing that they enjoyed the most until it lost its value and thus became unpleasant.

5. “A laughing stock” (The Merry Wives of Windsor 1600) being the center of a joke/being laughed at for something that they have done or said.

6. “Break the ice” (Taming of the Shrew 1594) used when one doesn’t know the other person and thus has to ask questions to find out more about him/her.

7. “In a pickle” (The Tempest 1610-11)  this phrase is used when someone finds themselves to be in a tough situation.

If we stop reading Shakespeare then the meaning of such phrases will become unclear for the future generations and eventually they would not be used anymore. This would create a vicious circle resulting in pupils finding his work even more difficult.

Shakespeare not only invented new phrases and new words but he also added depth to the language. In Modern English ‘you’ can be plural and singular. However, Shakespeare added layers of meaning to the way he used thou, ye and you. Let’s define the different meanings of these personal pronouns.

Thou/thee- commonly used when addressing one person in a formal manner (normally used to show affection).

Ye- was used when addressing more than one person at a time (Irish still continue to use this!) This would also be considered quite formal.

You- was used by people who were considered to be of lower rank/status e.g. used by children to a parent.

By defining personal pronouns in such a way, Shakespeare was able to show respect, affection, level of education, intelligence etc. in his plays and sonnets. This certainly shows his brilliance!

Shakespeare’s plays are certainly not outdated as some pupils have suggested. A lot of themes that are used in his plays do apply to our lives. Some of the themes that are used in Shakespeare’s plays are also presented in some of the best films of all time: love (The Notebook), family (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Frozen), conflict (Mean Girls), corruption (The Godfather), order and disorder (The Departed), superstition (The Village) etc.

Most certainly children do need to study it, read it, watch it and act it out. Shakespeare’s plays should be brought to life in the classroom and beyond it! Which other author has shaped and standardized our language as much as Shakespeare? Only by immersing children into the life of Shakespeare and by relating it to today’s world (events, films, languages etc.)  can we expect it to be loved.

I do hope that you agree with me and that you have learnt something new today 🙂

Regards,

ggontyte