As Far As Words Go: Activities for Understanding Ambiguous Language and Humor, Revised Edition

Understanding ambiguous words, phrases, and sentences is an important part of reading well, communicating skilfully, and enjoying humour based on word play. With this seven-unit activity book; filled with creative, ready-to-use activities based on jokes and puns; students will learn how to decipher the language ambiguities they encounter inside and outside the classroom.

Ideal for use with students in the upper elementary grades through high school and beyond, As Far As Words Go is what speech-language pathologists and education professionals need to:

• improve students' literacy and communication skills, including semantic, metalinguistic, and pragmatic skills
• help students correctly interpret multiple-meaning words and phrases, such as homographs and homophones, idioms and proverbs, and metaphors and similes
• teach a wide range of students, especially those who have language or learning disability, or are learning English as a second language
• make learning fun with dozens of activities and a printable board game
• work with students in small group or one-to-one settings
• promote development of the skills students need to decode language complexities and humour cues independently when they occur in everyday language

To help professionals use the activities successfully, this book includes enlightening summaries of relevant research, background information on the language concepts, and specific techniques for presenting the activities and helping students generalise new skills in other settings. SLPs and educators will also get the practical content they need to implement the activities and assess student progress.

A natural follow-up to Cecile Cyrul Spector's Sounds Like Fun, these engaging, effective activities will help students grasp the subtleties and complexities of the English language—so they can become more skilful readers and communicators.

With easy-to-use practical content:

• Photocopiable forms for assessing a student's understanding of ambiguous language and humour
• Full-colour, easy-to-assemble game mat & both colour- and icon-coded game cards—easy to print or photocopy
• Printable template for creating additional game cards
• Guide to common idioms and proverbs, including the ones used in the activities

Table of Contents

About the Author

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Unit 1: Multiple-Meaning Words

Unit 2: Multiple-Meaning Phrases

Unit 3: Multiple-Meaning Sentences

Unit 4: Sound Changes

Unit 5: Switching Sounds or Words

Unit 6: Stress and Pausing Changes

Unit 7: Challenge Activities

References

Answer Key

Appendix A: Recording Form

Appendix B: Glossary of Idioms and Proverbs

CD-ROM

About This CD-ROM

Photocopiable Activities

Unit 1: Multiple-Meaning Words

• Activity 1: Developing Sentences for Multiple-Meaning Words
• Activity 2: Multiple-Meaning Words with Two Pronunciations
• Activity 3: Using Homophomes in Sentences
• Activity 4: Multiple-Meaning Words and Humor
• Activity 5: Homophones and Humor

Unit 2: Multiple-Meaning Phrases

• Activity 1: Idioms with the Same Meaning
• Activity 2: Matching Proverbs with Their Definitions
• Activity 3: Writing Paragraphs that Give Clues
• Activity 4: Multiple-Meaning Phrases and Humor

Unit 3: Multiple-Meaning Sentences

• Activity: Multiple-Meaning Sentences and Humor

Unit 4: Sound Changes

• Activity: Sound Changes and Humor

Unit 5: Switching Sounds or Words

• Activity 1: Switching Sounds to Create Humor
• Activity 2: Switching Words to Create Humor

Unit 6: Stress and Pausing Changes

• Activity: Stress and Pausing Changes and Humor

Unit 7: Challenge Activities

• Activity: Unraveling Complex Language

As Far As Words Go Game

• Instructions for Play
• Game Mat
• Yellow Card Deck (multiple-meaning words)
• Green Card Deck (multiple-meaning phrases)
• Red Card Deck (multiple-meaning sentences, switching sounds or words, and stress and pausing changes)
• Orange Card Deck (sound changes)
• Blue Card Deck (challenge activities)

"The author both teaches us and makes us laugh as she educates the reader about the perplexing language known as English."
- Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Associate Professor, Early Childhood, Old Dominion University

"The author both teaches us and makes us laugh as she educates the reader about the perplexing language known as English."
- Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Associate Professor, Early Childhood, Old Dominion University

"Exemplary . . . offers a wealth of activities and suggestions for helping students develop skills in an area of language we too often neglect but which is so important to academic and social success."
- Laura Justice, Professor, The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology

"Speech language pathologists need look no further for meaningful vocabulary and pragmatics interventions. Collaboration with educators and families has a new and effective tool. Spector's book will 'carry the banner' in vocabulary development for children and adults."
- Judy K. Montgomery, Chapman University, Former ASHA President

"Takes the exercise of metalinguistics beyond the phoneme, to the realm of words and sentences . . . It is great to see the practical application of research in such an inviting, well-organized volume."
- Virginia Mann, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine