CNN StudentNews

Is Slang Your Thang?

Learning Activity

Aired September 26, 2003

A teacher at Berkeley High School in California assembles a slang dictionary. Create a dictionary of slang used in your community.

Assign each student a letter of the alphabet. Students should identify and research slang terms, beginning with their letter, that are used in their community. For each slang word, students should provide its meaning, origin, the Standard English equivalent and a phrase demonstrating its usage. Have the class compile the words and definitions into a slang dictionary. Students can survey neighboring schools to gather additional slang terms for inclusion in their dictionary. Students can put their completed dictionary on the Internet and invite submissions from readers.

TODAY'S SHOW

• Today's Show Curriculum

• Transcript

• Questions: First up: Democratic Debate

• Questions: Week in Review

• Questions: Is Slang Your Thang?

• Activity: Is Slang Your Thang?

EXTENSION: Direct students to examine print and online dictionaries for commonly used words. Have each student write an essay answering the following question: What do you think dictionaries reveal about society? Have students share their essays in class discussion.

Correlated Standards

Standards for the English Language Arts

Standard 8: Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Standard 9: Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

The Standards for the English Language Arts (http://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm) are published by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) (http://www.ncte.org/)