Module 2: Activities 1 & 2

Katie Robinson

EDRD 7715/W02

Dr. Ritchie

June 11, 2012

Module 2: Activities 1 & 2

Activity 1: Page 58 #3c

Words	Definitions Prior to A Clockwork Orange	Definitions after reading A Clockwork Orange
creech	to spy on another person	yell or shout
droogs	to be sad or lack expression	friend
glazzies	day dreaming
goloss	shoes
malenky	disrespect	small
messel	small or little
millicents	coins/change	police
poogly	describes how a person looks	scared, frightened
razrez	to carry on a conversation
skorry	to apologize
spatted	to spit on someone
zoobies	friends	teeth

Prior to reading Chapter 1 from A Clockwork Orange, I had no understanding/meaning to apply to the list of words. The only thing that came to mind was that these words are not real, that they were simply mispronounced. I then began thinking of the original words that they might have been. After reading the chapter, I realized that these words were not made up and that they indeed did have meaning when used in the present context. When I came across the words listed above in the chapter, I used the context used around the word, including the sentence prior to and after the mentioned one. I definitely used semantics when decoding the meaning of the words.

Activity 2: Page 85; Exercise 7

1.      I do not think people read the words letter by letter because they see bigger chunks of sounds that they recognize. In the younger grades, once a student has learned letter-sound relationships, students begin to chunk words into familiar sounds. (i.e. compound words)

2.      I used the strategy of chunking the words into syllables. I found this strategy to be more efficient than by sounding out individual letter sounds. In the end, you have fewer sounds to blend together, making the pronunciation of the word easier to handle.

3.       Overall, I found myself chunking the words into familiar sounds/chunks that I could pronounce. At times, it was hard to recognize a familiar sound, in which I would ‘sample’ multiple letters at once. I am sure, just like the book stated, I miscued.

4.      I do not know the meaning of any of these words. The word extravasate makes me think of the word extravagant. However, after looking at the pronunciation of the word, it does not even sound like the word ‘extra.’

5.      Although the pronunciation of the words is helpful, it did not give me insights on the words or meanings.

6.      When I am reading and come across an unfamiliar word, I find myself thinking of a word that could fit in the ‘blank’ and still make sense. When I think of a word, I take the meaning of that word and connect it back to the unfamiliar word. As I stated before, I am big on semantics. I use context clues in the passage to make meaning of unfamiliar text.

7.      This example reinforced the true meaning behind reading (very similar to activity 1). Reading is not about isolated words. Reading is about the big picture and understanding as a whole. This activity helped me realize that even though individual words may not mean anything to the reader, once the words are put into context, meaning comes to life. I appreciate this experiment, as well as Activity 1, because I did not know the meaning of the words. I have a feeling that if these words were put into context like Activity 1, I could define each with purposeful meaning.