NEOLOGISM!
Overview
This activity requires students to create their own neologisms from a list of given prefixes, roots and suffixes. Going through the process of word formation engages students in the sort of complex processing found to be effective in promoting vocabulary growth. This activity requires small groups of students to combine elements in plausible ways to create some new word for which they must invent a definition, and then challenge the other groups of students try to guess the made-up definition.
Procedures
The students should form teams of no more than four members, and receive copies of the activity's word element list consisting of various prefixes, roots and suffixes. In each round, each team combines a minimum of two elements from the given lists with other word elements that they know from other activities or experiences to form some new word, and then to write a definition for it. The definition may involve some embellishment, but should remain faithful to the elements that constitute the word. The word may have a maximum of 20 letters.
A sample round might proceed as follows:
1. Prior to the competition, each student should receive a copy of the word element list.
2. The class divides into teams consisting of 3-4 students. A typical class might have 6-8 teams.
3. The activity starts with each team sequestering itself and selecting at least two elements from the list to make up a new word. Since they are operating separately, several teams could conceivably end up using some of the same elements. For example, Team #1 might select words only from the Neologism! word element list, and use "ecto" (outside of), "arch" (rule, govern) and "ist" (one who) to come up with "ectoarchist," for which they might make up the definition "one who governs a nation while in exile." Team #2, however, might remember word elements from other lists, and combine "mega" (very), "tachy" (fast), "hipp" (horse), and "ine" (resembling a certain animal) to get "megatachyhippine," or "resembling a very fast horse."
One important point: You should encourage the teams to use as many of the twenty allowable letters as possible, but should limit the numbers of letters per word to twenty. This will prevent students from making up utterly ridiculous words like "macropaleopseudoichthymorphiconoclasm," for which students could make up a definition that no one could possibly guess; this makes the activity more competitive, and forces students to engage more seriously in the real process of word formation, rather than just randomly stringing together countless word elements. Each team should check its word and definition with the teacher before submitting it, to make sure that the definition is reasonable, and to make sure that the students use prefixes as prefixes and suffixes as suffixes; many students need some coaching in the art of word construction.
4. After each team has concocted its word and definition, the competition begins. Team #1 goes first, reading its word and writing it on the board, and then handing in its definition to the teacher. Each of the other teams then has two minutes to figure out the word's "meaning." They make their guesses, write them down, and turn them in to the teacher.
5. The teacher then reads each of the guesses. After reading them all, he or she makes a judgment as to which are correct. The guesses should be fairly close to the original in order to be acceptable. For instance, for the previously given definition for "ectoarchy," "Someone ruling a country who is outside the royal family," while a good guess, might not be acceptable, since it does not contain the key elements of the original; "A person who governs from afar," although closer, might also not be acceptable, because the key element of exile is missing.
6. After the teacher has read the attempts of the competing teams, he or she reads Team #1's "correct" definition and identifies those guesses which are acceptable as correct. Any team guessing the "correct" definition receives one point; Team #1 also receives one point for each "incorrect" guess.
7. Since all groups make up their words at the beginning of the activity, you can proceed directly from this juncture to a reading of Team #2's neologism. Each round is structured in the manner of the first; you may play as many rounds as time allows. At the end of the period, the team with the most points wins.
Condensed Procedures for Neologism!
1. Distribute the word element lists.
2. Divide the class into teams of 3-4 students.
3. Students create neologisms of no more than 20 letters, and check them with the teacher.
4. Team #1 reads its neologism, and the teacher writes it on the board. Other teams have 2 minutes to guess its meaning. They write down their definitions and turn them in to the teacher.
5. The teacher reads the definitions aloud, and then reads Team #1's "correct" definition. Teams guessing correctly get 1 point; Team #1 gets 1 point for each incorrect guess.
6. Repeat Steps #4 and #5 for each of the other teams.
METHOD #1
Prefix
a - without
caco - bad
ecto - outside
endo - within
epi - upon, in addition
hetero - different
hier - sacred
holo - whole
homo - same
hypo - under, less than, too little
ideo, idea - idea
idio - one's own
iso - equal
macro - large
mega - large
meta - completely, beyond
olig - few
poly - many
pseudo - false
Roots
arch, archi - rule, govern
batho, bathy - depth
cephal - head
chrom - color
crypt - hide
dem - people
derm - skin
dyn, dynam - power
ethn - nation
geo - earth
gno, gnos - know
hem - blood
hipp - horse
ichthy - fish
icon - image, idol
morph - shape
ornith - bird
phot - light
rheo - flow
stat, stas - stand, stop
theo - god
therm - heat
Suffixes
-ac - having the properties of....
-algia, algy - pain of the....
-clasm - destruction of....
-cracy - government by....
-ia - the condition that....
-ic - someone or something which....
-ism - the belief that....
-ist - one who....
-itis - inflammation of the....
-latry - worship of....
-lysis - loosening of....
-machy, machia - war, fight between....
-oid - resembling....
-phoria - carrying or producing....
-poly - sale of....
-sis - the condition of....
METHOD #2
You can use Neologism! with any of the chapters in VCBS that emphasize word elements. Prior to the game, you should prepare a list of the word elements found in the desired chapter of VCBS so that students can combine them to invent new words and definitions as they do in Method #1.
As you can see in the following word element list based on Chapter Four, "Words Derived from Greek," a chapter may emphasize one word element more than others; in this case, the chapter contains more prefixes than roots and suffixes combined. Thus, you may wish to supplement this provided list with word elements from other chapters in the book, from the Method #1 list, or from your own materials so that students will have more versatility in creating their own words.
METHOD #2
Prefixes
a, an - not, without
dys - bad, ill, difficult
endo - within
eu - good, well, advantageous
exo - out of, outside
geo - earth, ground
hetero - different
homo - one and the same, like
hyper - over, above, beyond the ordinary
hypo - under, beneath, less than the ordinary
macro - large, long
micro - small
mis - hate
mon, mono - one, single, alone
peri - around, about, near, enclosing
phil, philo - loving, fond of
poly - many
Roots
bio - life
morph - form
path, patho, pathy - feeling, suffering, disease
pod - foot
tom, tomy - cutting, operation of incision
Suffixes
archy - rule
gee - earth, ground
logy - science, study, account
phile - one who loves or supports
phobia - fear, dislike, aversion