Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Is it called "hopscotch" because you tip over a lot when you play it?



















When I teach compound words to my class, we always brainstorm (hey, brainstorm is a compound word!) a list of a few.  This last year, a kid recommended the word "hopscotch" to add to our list.  I had to really think about that word.  I said to the class, "Okay, hop is a word, right?"   Lets see, "scotch", yes... that is a word alright."  I quickly moved on, in hopes of avoiding having to explain what scotch is.  Of course, a voice from the back calls out, "Teacher, what is scotch?"  Fortunately, and unfortunately, I did not have to answer that question as another student chimed in, "It's a drink and my uncle drinks too much!"  The cat was out of the bag as the class was abuzz with stories about how their mom is trying to quit smoking or how drinking coffee is bad for you.  

Anyway, here is a list of compound words my kids have come up with in the past four years that I am not sure about.  Let me know what you think.

Huckleberry (What is a huckle?)
Spongebob (Can a name be a compound word?)
Jigsaw (Is it like a dance?)
Kidnap (Do they take a nap after they take the kid?)
Muskrat (Are they rats that wear cologne?)

1 comment:

Tammy said...

At least the Scotch conversation happened at school and not a primary class :).

You could always say Scotch is tape.