Vocab

Word Within the Word, AKA WWW

The Word Within the Word. The Word Within the Word is a middle school vocabulary program that presents a different paradigm of instruction. The Word Within the Word uses etymology as its foundation, so students view vocabulary “…not as a set of lists of words but as a system of thinking, a way of building, analyzing, spelling, pronouncing, using, and choosing words” (Thompson, 2016, p. iii, emphasis added). The curriculum is based on the belief that students who are well-versed in vocabulary will be able to: 

…think intelligently about whether one word is more appropriate than another, more specific than another, more consonant than another with the rhythm and orchestration of the sentence, or more resonant in meaning than another. They can bring an array of criteria—cognitive, affective, and aesthetic—to critical thinking about word choice. (Thompson, 2002, p. 64)

 - excerpt taken from Gallagher’s Exploring the Efficacy of the Word Within the Word for Gifted and Typically Developing Students

Learning Targets for WWW:

• Students will be able to identify common Greek and Latin roots in words and determine their meanings.

• Students will be able to use knowledge of roots to infer the meanings of new words.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to construct new words using known roots and explain their meanings.

Schedule of Study