I suggest composing Word Lists. By this I
mean taking a word and listing all the ways it is used. Examples:
Head
From head to foot
To nod one’s head
To keep one’s head
Head of department
Heads or tails
Headache
Headline
Head-first
Head-on
Headquarters
Head strong
To have a good head for business.
To have a good head on one’s shoulders
Hard
Hard luck
A hard nut to crack
To be as hard as nails
To be hard of hearing
To learn the hard way
Hard cash
Hard up
Hard to deal with
Hard to please
Hard drinker
To look hard at someone
Hard boiled
Hard core
Hard headed
Hard pressed
These are just two examples. The students can help make up
these lists, and in doing so see how one word has so many
different usages.
They will of course, need the help of a
dictionary. At first the teacher may suggest what words to look
up. A good starting list might include the following:
hand, air, fire,
age, week, hot, cold, night,
business
The students will
be surprised at how many expressions they will find. These Word Pages are best grouped together
in their notebook, for future reference. Urge them to use
these expressions in their spoken and written vocabulary. The
more they use them, the better!
A Nice Thought:
“It is not enough to have a good mind, the
main thing is to use it well.”
Descartes