2nd Grade Word Scientists Celebrate the Centennial
by Melissa Sherman, second grade teacher
In the midst of the excitement of the centennial birthday celebration, my class took some time to look deeply into words associated with this special time.
In the midst of the excitement of the centennial birthday celebration, my class took some time to look deeply into words associated with this special time.
We learned about centennial, birthday, celebration, university, school and Nashville. Students used etymological dictionaries to look at the histories of these words and analyze how their words were built. They applied the tools of word scientists, such as the matrix and word sum, to build words related to their target word. A few students video chatted with a linguist in France, whom I met through the Meador Grant a few years ago, about their suspicions that <uni> in university was not a prefix.
Finally, students summarized their learning on posters which they presented to adults from around the school. They learned new vocabulary words such as celebrant and celebratory and were able to identify suffixes that signaled parts of speech. One group discovered that the Greek word that school comes from meant leisure and spare time. Perhaps some AP exam takers would disagree this week!
From their investigations of university, another group made a great link to our centennial slogan, “100&1.” <Une> is a base that means one and <verse> is a base that means to turn. So when we are in a university, we are part of a group of learners whose minds turn together as one!
From their investigations of university, another group made a great link to our centennial slogan, “100&1.” <Une> is a base that means one and <verse> is a base that means to turn. So when we are in a university, we are part of a group of learners whose minds turn together as one!
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
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21st-century playground enhances fun, community
Dedicated to Interim Director Juliet Douglas, the new playground represents an exciting and much-needed investment in the joy and safety of USN students.Read More -
Senior steals the show at town hall
Breckyn Forcey ’26 captivated the audience during a recent town hall by reciting her poem “The Empire Eats Itself.”Read More -
Teachers travel the world with the Meador Grant
The Helen Meador Summer International Travel Fellowship funded summer professional development for Second Grade Teacher Caleb Franklin and First Grade Teacher Latasha Smith.Read More
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.