Each year, as we study the origins of the English Language, my students invent their own words and we use a wiki to add to an ever-growing CrazyCollaborativeDictionaryProject. It is an online dictionary — with some podcasts by student word inventors – that grows by about 80 words every year, and allows for collaboration across time and space (cue: Star Trek theme). I had pitched the idea of finding words in a real dictionary to describe us Nerdy Book Clubbers but that struck me as boring almost as soon as I suggested it. Instead, I went to our Crazy Dictionary to find words invented by my students that might better describe either us or our book-loving mania. These are in alphabetic, not numerical, order. – Kevin
Bzeeb (2006) – The act of being cool.
- I know you are bzeeb, man, ‘cause you’re hanging out with other book lovers. I hope some of your bzeebiness flows to me, too. – Kevin
Ecallow (2011)– When you get stuck in a book and you don’t hear anything around you.Listentothedefinition
- I am often in this escallow zone, particularly when I am in a passage with something intense going on. I block out the entire world. You? — Kevin
Flibergish (2011)- The act of eating a book.Listentothedefinition
- Sometimes, well, we get a little hungry. Particularly late at night. A book can be vey inviting and you might just get a little flibergish now and then. Spit out the punctuation, though. Those marks will give you indigestion! – Kevin
Kanban- (2008) Someone who mushes words together.Listentothedefinition
- WhenItypereallyfastsometimesmyfingersmovequickerthanmybrainandIcouldbeconsideredaKabanatthatmoment. (PS — it’s difficult to write like that!) – Kevin
Nosidamic (2010) – The language spoken by people in a secret land.Listentotheword
- Our secret land is the world of literature. And our language is love. – Kevin
Pimip (2007) — A word that means awesome, cool, and amazing (2007)Listentothedefinition
- Synonym: bzeeb. Example? The Nerdy Book Club. – Kevin
Thoughtopter (2011)- A device that will pick up brain waves and will write down your thoughts on paper or on a computer.Listentothedefinition
- Maybe, someday, the stories in our heads will just magically transform onto paper and bind itself up and present it to a reader. Until then, it’s all finger and toes. What? You don’t use your toes to write? – Kevin
Wordieworder (2007) - A person who uses large words in their vocabulary Listentothedefinition
- All you bibliophiles and wordieworders will no doubt scour the lexiconical world for other examples of large words. The largest word on our Crazy Dictionary is Aheolaphoalamprosolpooslopeleroadeasoloper (2005), which means very small dog. I know you wanted to know that. – Kevin
Zciwohcalism (2006) – The act of looking at the ceiling when thinking hard about something.
- I’m doing it right now as I write this post. You probably will do it, too. I even had a revelation: there’s a cobweb up there. – Kevin
Zenalania- (2008) A place of zen and tranquilityListentothedefinition
- If there is ever a word that describes the appeal of the Nerdy Book Club, this is it. It’s a place of zenalania, and I am happy to be part of it. – Kevin
Kevin Hodgson teaches sixth grade and mostly uses simple words. He blogs at Kevin’s Meandering Mind (http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/)
This might be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of a class doing. You guys are incredibly pimip, no doubt.
It is fun, and it does provide a creative way to talk and learn about the origins of words, and “word parts.”
I think it’s a fun way to study words! I think I’ll borrow and adapt for my high schoolers!
Absolutely wonderful to hear about. It must be such fun to create the words–I could hear the enthusiasm in the voices & imagine they are often in the land of Zenalania in your class!
I love this. I had a wiki with a 6th grade language arts class and one of the pages within the wiki was a Texting Dictionary page they created on their own. Students also created a variety of other pages and each had their own page for writing work. It was a learning experience all the way around. Not sure we reached your level of creation but students were engaged and writing.
For your Dictionary of Newly Created Words have you considered making a page for each letter of the alphabet now that your list is long? You could easily have a link back to the first page from each individual letter’s page.
I might need to do that (new page) .. thanks