Language Arts/English Curriculum Frameworks - Albemarle County ...

Change and Continuity:
Etymology
Enduring Understandings
• Language is dynamic – multiple factors affect the evolution of language.
• Change and continuity in language and literature reflect individual and
societal evolution.
Essential Understandings
• The study of word origins informs contemporary usage.
• Words have connotative and denotative meanings.
• Word meanings can change over time.
• Words become obsolete or incorporated into language to accommodate
social and contemporary knowledge.
Essential Questions:
• Why do words become obsolete
• Why are words added to a language
• How do the differences between a word’s connotative meaning and
denotative meanings affect its usage
• Why is language both fluid and dynamic
9-12:
Apply knowledge of multiple meanings,
connotation, and denotation to reading,
listening, speaking, and writing. Trace
words back to their original language.
Evaluate the influence of other languages
on the structure and usage of English.
6-8:
Apply knowledge of multiple meanings in
reading and writing. Explore idioms for
meaning and origin. Evaluate language
usage for connotative and denotative
meanings. Study Latin roots and Greek
combining forms to aid in comprehension
and to parse language into meaningful
parts. Evaluate the influence of romance
languages on the structure of English.
Use dictionaries and thesauri to
investigate words and to select
appropriate synonyms.
3-5:
Apply knowledge of multiple meanings in
reading and writing. Compare and
contrast obsolete and contemporary
words, particularly related to reading.
Begin to study Latin roots and Greek
combining forms. Use a dictionary to
investigate words.
K-2:
Understand that words can have multiple
meanings. Compare and contrast
obsolete and contemporary words,
particularly related to reading.
© Albemarle County Public Schools, May 2006 14