Etymology Essentials for SWI

What is etymology and how does it fit into SWI?
How do I use etymological resources?
How much etymology should I share with students?
These questions (and more!) will be addressed in this workshop. Using etymological resources can be intimidating and confusing. During the session, we will demonstrate how to use and interpret information from online resources such as Etymonline and LatDict. Participants will also be given opportunities to ask questions and investigate words in “real time” with the instructors.


A word’s spelling is a reflection of the interrelationship between morphology, phonology, and etymology. We often cannot fully understand a spelling and its links to other words until we look into its history…its journey into English. The “story” of a word sheds light on its meaning and can provide clues to what may otherwise be surprising spellings or pronunciations.