Tracking Tongues - a summer school program

90 min, 10 days

Science and Arts Academy, Des Plaines

by Sylvia Zinser

Essential questions

• What is a language?

• How do languages change?

• How can I learn foreign languages best?

Introduction and Student outcomes

Gifted students between 8 and 14 years of age get an introduction into the development of languages. The course contains

• the introduction into different alphabets,

• the search for word roots from Latin and Greek in the English (and other) language,

• the search for similarities and differences in different languages,

• some work with old English texts,

• riddles, word search and palindromes.

The concept of language will be expanded into the areas of encoding, sign language and Braille, and computer languages.

As languages change with time and place, stories, games and songs do, too; therefore fairy tales, games and songs from different countries are also content of this class.

The curriculum is based on Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Activities can be categorized (and backwards mapped) into six levels of thinking skills plus a seventh category, “Discover and Play”, which is not part of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. This last category was added because play and autonomous discovery is especially important for the younger students. Activities are marked accordingly (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Discover and Play. Additionally the activities are categorized into the knowledge dimension: Factual, Conceptual, Procedural, and Metacognitive.

Affective components are marked separatedly in the curriculum.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Tracking tongues! We are going to learn a lot about language, its use, its change and what all qualifies as a language. There also will be some language related riddles, and games with words. Songs, fairy tales and games are also part of this curriculum. I am looking forward to having a great time together.

Greetings,

Sylvia Zinser

1 Introduction into different alphabets

1.1 Objectives

Learning different alphabets, using and pronouncing letters.

1.2 Procedures

Brainstorm: “What is a language? ”, “What makes a written language? ”.

The teacher introduces into similarities and differences between alphabets. Addressed are:

• Number of ‘letters/signs’,

• letter vs. syllable coding,

• the development from Greek to Latin letters,

• different number systems .

The children get handouts with Kyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Rune, Japanese, Egyptian (hieroglyphic) and Korean etc. alphabets. Children work in small groups with two or three children on only a few handouts. They compare the different features of the alphabets. Also Morse, Braille, Flags, sign language alphabets can be discussed. How would somebody create an alphabet - also explore the "constructed"-area at Omniglot. They each select which they want to learn and use to encode an English message. The encoded texts are being copied and exchanged - other students decipher.

Discussion about difficulties with encoding and decoding. Are there sounds in one alphabet which do not exist in another? What makes an alphabet?

Explore Number plates website to feature readability of signs.

Materials

Handouts alphabets. Handouts Number systems.

Websites http://www.omniglot.com/, http://mathforum.org/alejandre/numerals.html, http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/ Example from Lexis

2 Language Geography

2.1 Objectives

The students learn the distribution of languages around the world.

2.2 Procedures

With the help of almanachs the students figure out which major language is spoken where and color a world map accordingly. This map will be used for further reference. For this the students can work in groups of two or three.

Materials

Almanachs,

Handout B/W world map: http://www.theodora.com/maps/new4/world_color.gif

and language family map: http://www.zompist.com/Langmaps.html, Help wit classification: http://www.ethnologue.com/language_index.asp

3 Word roots

3.1 Objectives

Learning the origins of the own language.

3.2 Procedures

The teacher introduces Greek and Latin word-roots lesson. Words on the blackboard are connected with English words and vice versa:

• How do we know it is Greek?

• What does e.g. metacognition and automobile have in common?

• What do symphony and consonant have in common?

• Translate (give them to pronounce) words from the board

• Create and find new Greek-rooted and Latin-rooted words.

Materials

Word-root Lesson (S.Zinser, 2003)

4 Exploring Word-roots

4.1 Objectives

The students learn that other languages use word roots from antique languages and provide roots in other languages

4.2 Procedures

After the word-root lesson the teacher introduces German and French word roots in English.

The students search Latin and Greek roots in English and non-English dictionaries.

Results are compared and all are collected on the blackboard. Discussion how one can use the knowledge of word roots for understanding other languages.

Materials

“Zwiebelfisch” Dictionaries of all kinds.

5 Latin in Harry Potter

5.1 Objectives

Analysis of Word roots in Harry Potter, Series of unfortunate events, and other literature

5.2 Procedures

Students look for different words with non-English roots in Harry Potter, brainstorm them on the blackboard.

6 Understanding foreign languages

6.1 Objectives

The students get a toolbox of basic rules about what distinguishes one (indogermanic) language from the other. An introduction into the development of language is given.

6.2 Procedures

• Bilingual students in the class are encouraged to brainstorm words which sound similar in their native language and English.

• From the given words rules are deducted how the same word origin changes into a different language.

• The example list on the handout “German/English/French” is discussed.

Materials

Handout, maybe dictionaries.

Handout German/English/French

Words with the ending -ize are formed from adjectives and nouns according to the Greek language. Verbs can have the ending iz[epsilon]in. And now: What is ...isation?

Handout Yiddish

The pagenumbers are from RostenRosten1968, (RostenRosten1968)

7 Language grouping and similarities

7.1 Objectives

The children learn to relate languages to each other.

7.2 Procedures

The students discuss what are more basic and what are words a language might use borrowed words from another language. They create a list of basic/simple words. As examples the vocabulary of 1st graders can be compared with the vocabulary of high school students.

The students form groups of three and each child uses a different dictionary. In team-work they find similar words in different languages and write them on sheets of paper together with the English meaning. After some time the groups change dictionaries and work on another language group. The basic word list can be used to help selecting words for comparison.

Each group creates a poster showing similarities and differences between their chosen languages (e.g. as a Venn-diagram) and presents to the class.

Materials

Dictionaries of all kinds of different languages. Poster board. Word list of basic words. Zwiebelfisch, Vocab cartoons.

8 33 tongues

8.1 Objectives

After finding written similarities students find language similarities in an auditory way.

8.2 Procedures

• The students create the logical guidelines for a language comparison.

• Students pair up and select 2-3 language CDs which they think might feature related languages.

• They listen to them on the computer and compare simple words (Family, Numbers) exploring if the language might be related or not.

Materials

33 Language Immersion Program, Computer lab and headphones

9 Artificial language

9.1 Objectives

Students should understand what makes a language

9.2 Procedures

• Analysis and Comparison of three artificial languages: IDO, Interlingua and Esperanto

• Compare grammar, vocabulary, identify word roots.

Materials

Websites featuring Esperanto, Ido and Interlingua, Esperanto starter lesson.

10 Shakespeare and Sherlock

10.1 Objectives

The students learn the development of their own language.

10.2 Procedures

• Each student may select a text in older English and analyzes the differences to modern English.

• Each student writes a text using stylistic means and language of the old text. This text can be anything freely invented or of close relation to the context the old text is in.

• The different texts are read in class and compared.

Materials

Virago Fairy tales, Original Shakespeare, Original Sherlock Holmes.

11 Language modification in Star Wars

11.1 Objectives

Students examine grammatical modifications.

11.2 Procedures

• Students watch excerpts from Star Wars I and identify figures featuring a different language pattern (e.g. Yoda, Binks).

• Compare grammar and vocabulary of these figures with “Standard” English

• Select a persona and invent a dialogue using the particular figure. The rest of the class guesses the persona.

Materials

DVD- player, Star Wars I, (IV)

12 Fairy tales myths and fables

12.1 Objectives

The students are to track fairy tales from all over the world and compare them. The lesson should provide insights into different cultural value systems.

12.2 Procedures

The teacher passes out different fairy-tales/myths/fables from all over the world. They are bundled in pairs of two or three similars. The students work in groups of two or three to figure out the differences and similarities of the tales and present them to the class. Especially the moral of the tale should be mentioned and the visible cultural differences.

Materials

list from virago book of fairy tales, arabian nights, Grimm’s tales, Greek/Roman myths, Aesopian fables, Germanic myths/Gilgamesh.

Handout: Fairy tales

• Little Red Fish (Iraq, V1-171), Cinderella (G-98), Vasilissa (Russia, V2-78), Fair, Brown + Trembling (Ireland, V2-95) Bad stepmothers and -sisters; Find the right priness-to-be by fitting shoe

• Nourie Hadig (Armenia, V-192), Snow White (G-146), The Goose Girl (G-173) The Sleeping Prince (V2-123) Talks her misery to inanimate objects. Bad stepmother unhappy with stepdaughters beauty -exc. sl.Pr.

• The Dog Snout People (V2-27), Hänsel and Grethel (G-76) Trick the ogre by using its method

• Good and Ornery Girl (Ozarks, V-133), Mother Holle (G-104) Benefit of hard work

• The Girl Who Banished Seven Youths (Morocco, V-160), The Six Swans (G-132), The Twelve Wild Ducks (Norway, V2-3) Seven Ravens (G-107)Sister searches for her brothers, has to commit difficult task to free them

• Beauty and Pock Face (China, V-200), Cinderella (G-98) Tatterhood (V2-65) Stepsister

• Now I should Laugh, If I were not Dead (Iceland, V-102), The Emperor’s New Clothes (Andersen, G-234) Pretend Clothes

• The Old Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle (England, Vi-109), The Fisherman And His Wife (G-83) Wanting more and more and getting nothing

• Tom Tit Tot (English, V-115), Rumpelstilzkin (G-154) Guess the name and you are out of it

• East O’The Sun And West O’ The Moon (Norway, V-122), Beauty and the Beast Young lady married to beast which is a prince

• Mr. Fox (England, V-8), Silver Nose (Italy), Pretty Maid Ibronka (Hungary, V2-49) Fiance being evil, tricked by the bride-to-be

• Peach Girl (China), Fisher Girl and the Crab (Indian, Tribal, V-19) Tatterhood (Norway, V2-65)Long Wished Child, unexpected

• Princess in the Suit of Leather (Egypt, V-39), Allerleirauh (G-162), Mossycoat (England, Gypsy, V-48)

• Frog Maiden (Burma, V2-119), The Three Feathers (G-156) Have to do tasks to gain the kingdom - brothers do not accept youngest

• The Orphan (Africa, V2-126), One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes (G-206), Table-set-itself The odd-one-out gets the lucky tree with valuable fruits. Nobody else can harvest

• The Little Old Woman With Five Cows (Yakut, V2-144) Goose Girl (G-173) Switch good and bad bride

13 Codes

13.1 Objectives

The students learn different ways to encode texts.

13.2 Procedures

The children get cryptograms to decipher.

The teacher introduces the rules about which letters are most often used in English. The first kind of code are cryptograms (see 1).

The children can discuss the quality of this kind of code and brainstorm/create other similar methods/secret alphabets.

The students build an encoding wheel.

The students brainstorm safer codes.

The teacher introduces into the book-code, and others (see 13.2.

Students then invent their own encoding system and produce a text for a nother student to decipher first with explanation of the encoding mechanism and then (maybe) without. These texts are copied before given to other students (for documentation and for creating a collection for the students to take home.)

Materials

Cardboard, pin-connectors for the wheels, scissors.

Different Codes

1. Simple replacement or shift of the alphabet: a, b, c, d, ... becomes h,i,j,k,... or x, w, a, t, ... (this is how cryptograms work)

2. Interchanging of letters - 12345 becomes 32415 (transposition). Filler letters might become necessary.

3. Another kind of transposition is backwards grouping (whole text or each word). Additional transposition can be added (p. 136)

4. Geometric codes: Arrange letters into matrix

• Into 2-column matrix from top to bottom (or any directional play - or first odds, then evens, or diagonally, or “fence” or circling to the inside) - the secret text consists of 2(? )-letter words read from the matrix horizontally. These may be rearranged into groups of 5 letters.

• Grid matrix: Columns may be interchanged: Use keyword: nasty - 21345 - according to position of the letters in the alphabet.

• Alberti-disk and change of simple replacement by turning the disk (p. 203).

• Stick with a long stripe of paper around it.

5. Word transpositions and code words (replace word by codeword e.g. General Hurz is Silver) Same methods for word transpositions as for letters, e.g. matrices.

6. Geometric ZigZag cipher: Draw points and have a perpendicular ruler showing the letters. Points are in height of the respective letter (p. 181).

7. Picture with birds on a line or notes - use morse code.

8. “Or”-codes: more than one replacement for original letters (This also works with wheel)

9. Table of Polybios - 5x5-system and sort letters in. a is 11, b 12,f 21 etc. i and j have the same field. Instead of numbers also letters can be used or even two letters as alternatives (p. 195). To confuse matters also a codeword can be used and the rest of the alphabet be filling up the other spaces.

10. Coordinate system codes (e.g. p 208) with codeword: coordinates or original text/keyword is the secret text.

11. p. 219-221: 5x5 matrices with keyword in the beginning - then divide text into two-letter groups and find positions where lines/columns of these letters overlap - these are the secret text.

All page numbers from WrixonWrixon2000,(WrixonWrixon2000)

14 Games

14.1 Objectives

The students play games from all over the world and find similarities

14.2 Procedures

• One tells games: Mutter Mutter, wieviele Schritte darf ich gehen...

Simon says

• Tag games: http://www.topics-mag.com/edition11/games-tag.htm

• Dice games The game of Piggy (medieval times, Europe): Every player rolls 2 dice - you get the number of points that the dice show on the top sides. If you get a 7 then you lose all your points. Else all points get added up. The game goes on for thirty turns. The player with max. points wins.

• Marble games: see http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110166/marbles.htm and compare with Boule and the penny game (The person who throws pennies nearest to the wall wins them all).

• Hposcotch: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110166/hopscotch.htm

• Jacks: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110166/jacks.htm

15 Songs

15.1 Objectives

The students sing songs with similar melodies and different origins.

15.2 Procedures

• The teacher introduces two songs in different languages with translation.

• Students (esp. bilingual) brainstorm similar multilibngual songs.

• The students listen to and learn Frere Jaques in different languages

Materials

Twinkle twinkle/Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann. Text and melody. Haenschen Klein...Frere Jaques, “Kinderlieder” CD

16 Computer language

16.1 Objectives

The students are introduced into the way computers communicate in two means: programming language and markup language.

16.2 Procedures

• The students produce a flow-diagram of a self-chosen process.

• The students receive an introduction into HTML, using it to create a web-page for themselves.

• Discussion about the difference between programming and markup language.

Materials

HTML-Handout from Physics Phun

17 The language of music

17.1 Objectives

The students are to be able to express feelings about different kinds of music. They learn to understand some different stilistical means.

17.2 Procedures

Different pieces of music are played in the first few minutes of each day of the class. Students are encouraged to guess what they think the music expresses and explain. After all students have guessed the background of the music is introduced by the teacher.

Instead of guessing openly the guesses can be made on a piece of paper to keep anonymity - e.g. with scary music.

Two rules apply: The teacher plays and everyone can pass.

Students can create happy/sad/? ? ? improvs on the keyboard.

Materials

Keyboard. CD-player, CDs: Water music by Handel, Forellenquintett by Schubert, Valkyries, Carnival of the animals: Aquarium (maybe in comparison with the Forellenquintett - the kids could find similarities in style), Characters in Peter and the Wolf, the chase from Aladdin, other opera music, Knecht Ruprecht by Schumann, The major general from the Pirates, marching music, Zarathustra.

18 The Extension Chapter

18.1 Objectives

Depending on the interest of the various children from a huge age range extensions might become necessary. These are languare and code-related riddles.

18.2 Procedures

1. Palindromes: A list of palindromes (online, modified) is given to the students. They are to build a word-search puzzle for another child in the class. Results are copied before they are given to the other student. Also they can use the list and their imagination to create dialogues in palindromes.

2. Most frequent Word list

3. All kinds of riddles, cryptograms

4. Scrapbook: All the created and solved riddles and documents are stapled into a book for the student to take home.

5. Produce Anagrams of each student’s name.

6. To get a feeling for another language the students may listen into the 33-language-immersion-program if time permits.

7. Coda and Master Mind.

Materials

Palindrome list, Graph paper, 33 languages immersion program, Coda, Master Mind

References

[CarterCarter1991]Carter, A. (1991). The Virago Book o Fairy Tales. London: Virago Press, Ltd.

[CarterCarter1992]Carter, A. (1992). The Second Virago Book o Fairy Tales. London: Virago Press, Ltd.

[EliotEliot1937]Eliot, C. W. (Ed.). (1937). Folk-Lore and Fable - Aesop, Grimm, Andersen. New York: P.F. Colier & Son Corp.

[RostenRosten1968]Rosten, L. (1968). The Joys of Yiddish. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company.

[WrixonWrixon2000]Wrixon, F. B. (2000). Codes, Chiffren & andere Geheimsprachen [Codes, Ciphers & other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication]. Köln: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

...and many more