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Teaching Tip Category: Language Arts

Word Origins

English is derived from many languages around the world. Use the following words as examples to illustrate this.

• typhoon - Chinese
• wagon - Dutch
• liberty - French
• democracy - Greek
• chipmunk - Native American
• balcony - Italian
• education - Latin
• tomato - Spanish
• ombudsman - Norwegian, Danish and Swedish

Have your students use a dictionary to learn the origins of words you provide. In addition to gaining a greater appreciation of the English language, your students will improve their dictionary skills.

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