The Importance of Word Choice -- Part 1
In several recent blog entries entitled “The Case of Johnson v. Franklin,” I compared Thomas H. Johnson’s 1955 collection of Emily Dickinson poetry to R. W. Franklin’s 1998 edition. In the entry dated July 30, 2012, I suggested that
A great way to introduce such lessons and discussion is an activity that starts with a scavenger hunt and ends with an examination of the importance of word choice. Here’s what to do:
1) Go to a hardware store and get multi-shaded paint color strips for each student.
2) Allow students a specified amount of time to find objects in the room that match – or closely match – the shades on the strips. If possible, the students should collect items to present to the class at the end of the scavenger hunt. If this is not possible (i.e., an item is too large, etc.), then the students should record names/descriptions of the items on paper to report to the class.
3) When the time limit is up, allow for some “show and tell.” What did the students find? Discuss how closely the colors of the objects match the shades on the paint strips. Do some objects match exactly? Which items are a close match? Ask, “If you had ordered that object to be the color on the paint strip, and it arrived the color that it is, would you be satisfied? What if it arrived this color…or that color?” [Point to deeper or lighter shades of the same color.]
4) After the discussion, turn the focus to color words. For example, ask who is wearing anything red. What shades do the students have on which they identify as red? Are there other words for “red” that would more accurately describe the colors which the students are wearing? [Ex: crimson, maroon, scarlet, brick, etc.]
5) Next, discuss the following: “When a person uses the word ‘red,’ one person might think of the color of rubies; another may picture the color of bricks. The same is true when we use other words – not just color words.” Then have the students consider the following two sentences:
• Joe was late to class. He was tardy by five minutes.
• Joe was late to class. He was delayed by five minutes.
Ask, “What does ‘tardy’ make you think versus ‘delayed’?”
6) Here are some additional examples you can use:
• George is a trusting person.
• George is a gullible person.
• George is a naive person.
• George is a unsuspecting person.
• Chris and Pat love to chatter.
• Chris and Pat love to gossip.
• Chris and Pat love to blab.
• Chris and Pat love to tattle.
Obviously, the scavenger hunt with the color chips and the discussion of color words and synonyms are lead-ins to further examination of the significance and importance of word choice. I have other examples and approaches to continue this study, so I’ll share more in my next entry.
these different adaptations offer teachers of writing and poetry a unique opportunity to have students explore the development and progression of the writing and artistic process. What mood is evoked through the use of one word versus another? How does the poet’s message change by shifting the placement of a word, a phrase or a sentence? What different direction does a poem’s meaning take with the use of one image or metaphor as opposed to another? Teachers can have students examine and explore these kinds of questions using Dickinson’s own variations.
A great way to introduce such lessons and discussion is an activity that starts with a scavenger hunt and ends with an examination of the importance of word choice. Here’s what to do:
1) Go to a hardware store and get multi-shaded paint color strips for each student.
2) Allow students a specified amount of time to find objects in the room that match – or closely match – the shades on the strips. If possible, the students should collect items to present to the class at the end of the scavenger hunt. If this is not possible (i.e., an item is too large, etc.), then the students should record names/descriptions of the items on paper to report to the class.
3) When the time limit is up, allow for some “show and tell.” What did the students find? Discuss how closely the colors of the objects match the shades on the paint strips. Do some objects match exactly? Which items are a close match? Ask, “If you had ordered that object to be the color on the paint strip, and it arrived the color that it is, would you be satisfied? What if it arrived this color…or that color?” [Point to deeper or lighter shades of the same color.]
4) After the discussion, turn the focus to color words. For example, ask who is wearing anything red. What shades do the students have on which they identify as red? Are there other words for “red” that would more accurately describe the colors which the students are wearing? [Ex: crimson, maroon, scarlet, brick, etc.]
5) Next, discuss the following: “When a person uses the word ‘red,’ one person might think of the color of rubies; another may picture the color of bricks. The same is true when we use other words – not just color words.” Then have the students consider the following two sentences:
• Joe was late to class. He was tardy by five minutes.
• Joe was late to class. He was delayed by five minutes.
Ask, “What does ‘tardy’ make you think versus ‘delayed’?”
6) Here are some additional examples you can use:
• George is a trusting person.
• George is a gullible person.
• George is a naive person.
• George is a unsuspecting person.
• Chris and Pat love to chatter.
• Chris and Pat love to gossip.
• Chris and Pat love to blab.
• Chris and Pat love to tattle.
Obviously, the scavenger hunt with the color chips and the discussion of color words and synonyms are lead-ins to further examination of the significance and importance of word choice. I have other examples and approaches to continue this study, so I’ll share more in my next entry.
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