Using "Spelling" and "Thesaurus" Tools
1. Thesaurus:
a. Have students choose vocabulary with which they are not familiar. Write the entire sentence, with the focus word in italics.
People who lived near the river smelled its stench and stayed far from it.
Copy the sentence and paste it two times (a total of three copies).
People who lived near the river smelled its stench and stayed far from it.
People who lived near the river smelled its stench and stayed far from it.
People who lived near the river smelled its stench and stayed far from it.
Select the italicized word in the second sentence and then go to "tools" at the top of the page and select "Thesaurus". Choose another word for that sentence. Do this a second time with the next sentence.
People who lived near the river smelled its stench and stayed far from it.
People who lived near the river smelled its stink and stayed far from it.
People who lived near the river smelled its disgusting odor and stayed far from it.
Make another copy of the original sentence and find a antonym.
People who lived near the river smelled its perfume and stayed far from it.
When does it make sense to simplify? When does it make sense to replace a word with a more sophisticated, complex word?
If you use too many complicated words you may obfiscate the comprehension of the communication.
2. Spelling and Grammar
Download this Word document. Use spell check and grammar check. Are spell-check and grammar-check the same as editing and revising?
Re-title the paper to indicate what you did. Rename in "Save as". Upload to your Word folio in Taskstream.
How might a similar activity be created for "spell check"?