Each year, my students invent new words as part of our Word Origins unit. As we explore the many ways words come into the English Language (with a heavy emphasis on roots, prefix and suffix to support vocabulary acquisition), they invent some new words and then choose one of their words to donate.
Donate?
Yes, they donate their word to an ongoing endeavor called The Crazy Collaborative Dictionary Project. Now in its 11th year, and more than 800 words strong, the dictionary project collects invented words each year. I can’t believe we are still doing it but we are, and each year, the students are intrigued by the project.
The word cloud above is the crop of words from this year’s classes that will be added to the dictionary in the coming week or two. Students also record themselves, saying their words and definitions, so that their voice becomes part of the dictionary project.
Peace (in the word),
Kevin
PS .. and of course, there is Frindle as our inspiration …
Frindle: Words from Mr. Hodgson on Vimeo.