My Cool Blog
Jordan
January 14, 2008
LOOK - THINK - COVER - WRITE - CHECKDisestablishmentarianism!! Supposing I wanted to remember
how to spell this word. I would LOOK at it carefully to see if
it would break up into smaller, much easier bits: dis-est-ab-lish-ment-ar-ian-ismAnd I would THINK about where the problems might be:
how to spell this word. I would LOOK at it carefully to see if
it would break up into smaller, much easier bits: dis-est-ab-lish-ment-ar-ian-ismAnd I would THINK about where the problems might be:
dis- | no problems - spell it just as it sounds - a very common pattern. |
-est- | the letter e isn't very clear when I say the whole word, so I would say it very clearly - like the e in egg. |
-ab- | no problem - spell it just like it sounds |
-lish- | again - just like it sounds |
-ment- | when I say the whole word quickly the e in ment sounds rather like an a - so I need to stress that it's e as in egg |
-ar- | this might be a real difficulty - it sounds as if it should be spelled -er-. So when I said the word to myself I would make the sound of -ar- like the -arr- in carrot |
-ian- | this bit is easy - it's a boy's name |
-ism | another very common ending - written just as you say it |
Now: COVER, WRITE and CHECK Sounds complicated? Only because it's such a long, complicated word - which is why I chose it. But you can do the same with any word. Have a try at remembering disestablishmentarianism to show how easy it is. And to impress your friends! Then go to mem 3 |
January 14, 2008
Remembering how to spell new words (It would be useful to print this page for future reference) When you come across a new word ALWAYS use the LOOK - THINK - COVER - WRITE - CHECK method to memorize it. No doubt you learned this trick in your early school days but it will be just as useful when you are twenty-six as when you were six! LOOK carefully at the new word. How can you break it into smaller bits? Do any of the smaller bits remind you of the patterns of letters from other words? THINK about the parts of the words which might cause problems - double letters for instance, or a vowel that isn't pronounced as you would expect. COVER the word and close your eyes. Try to see it in your mind's eye. WRITE the word down without looking back. CHECK to see if you're right. If not, look carefully at where you went wrong and try again. More Hot Tips * Whenever you have to copy a new word from the blackboard, from a book, or from the dictionary, always try to write the whole word in one go. Don't keep looking back after every few letters. * Try finger-writing: while you're THINKing about the word, pretend to write it with your finger, on your desk or on your hand. Now look at mem2 worksheet for an example of using LOOK - THINK- COVER - WRITE - CHECK
January 14, 2008
More Useful words in English
Here are some more words that you'll come across in Englishlessons.
Using the chart as a guide, try to memorize all
of them.
Have you looked back at mem1 and mem2 recently?
WORD | SYLLABLES | DIFFICULT BITS |
metaphor | met-a-phor | -ph- |
myth | myth | -y- (not -i-) |
narrator | nar-rat-or | |
onomatopoeia | on-o-mat-o-poei-a | that last but one syllable is a real pain isn't it? |
pamphlet | pam-phlet | -phlet |
personification | per-son-if-ic-a-tion | easy when you break it up into syllables |
preposition | pre-pos-i-tion | |
playwright | play-wright | don't forget the -w- |
resolution | re-sol-u-tion | |
rhyme | rhyme | I often get this one wrong: (I forget the -h-) |
scene | scene | sc- (like science) |
simile | sim-i-le | -le |
soliloquy | sol-il-o-quy | -quy |
synonym | sy-no-nym | sy- and -nym |
tabloid | tab-loid | -loid (noise, voice etc) |
vocabulary | vo-cab-u-lary | pronounce it clearly |
vowel | vow-el | don't forget -e- |