© 2010 Universal Uclick

release dates: August 21-27 34-1 (10)

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Latin and Greek Are the Keys

Cracking the Word Code Have you ever thought about how words are made? Many English words are built from words from other languages, especially Latin. Take a bunch of Latin, toss in some Greek, and you have the codebook for English (and Spanish, French and others). The Mini Page talked with an expert on languages to learn more about decoding the meaning of words.Latin rules About 2,000 years ago, the Romans had conquered much of Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa. The Roman Empire united the conquered countries under Roman law and one language, which was Latin. When the Romans defeated Britain, early British peoples mixed a lot of Latin with their own languages. The Roman Catholic Church used Latin to communicate everywhere. It added more Latin words to the English language.

The Latin roots Even though the Romans conquered Greece, they still admired Greek ideas. They brought many Greek words into their own culture. Greek words later became part of English too. Latin and Greek are language cousins. Both are part of the same language family, the Indo-European. Another cousin, the Germanic branch, also added many words to the English language. But Latin is the main source of English words. Experts say that about 65 percent to 70 percent of English words come from Latin roots.

Breaking the code Latin gives you an important key to the word code. It can help you figure out how to take words apart, which can help you figure out the meaning. It can even help you build new words. For example: The Latin word for “new” is novus. In English, a novice is a beginner, or someone new to something. A novel is a book with a new story, or a story that was created. What do you think it means when somebody says, “What a

novel idea”? What do you think astronomers are seeing when they view a nova? What is a novelty?* You can also use Latin to figure out

words in other languages that came from Latin. For example, the Spanish word for “new” is nuevo. The “o” in Latin becomes “ue” in Spanish.*A novel idea is a new, different idea. Astronomers thought a star that seemed to burst into light was a new star. They named these stars novas. A novelty is something new or different.

Novice skier

Words that remind us of building words are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: AFTER, ASTRA, BEFORE, CAP, CODE, ENGLISH, FAMILY, GREEK, IMPORT, KEY, LANGUAGES, LATIN, NAUT, NOVEL, NOVUS, PRE, PREFIX, REPORT, ROOT, SCIENCE, SPANISH, SUFFIX, WORDS.

Words try ’nfind

You too can be a word

hound!

C R N R E P O R T R E T F A E O N O O W K V P X I F E R P N D A O O V O M R X I F F U S G E K S V T E R E Y L I M A F L G E C T U W L D E R O F E B I R Y V A R S T W S V T U A N S E T W V P A K T R O P M I K H E H S I N A P S E C N E I C S K N I T A L S E G A U G N A L

from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

Basset Brown

the news

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ready resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.

On the Web:• www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/other/prefixes/

prefixes.htm• www.betterendings.org/homeschool/Words/

Root%20Words.htm#SUFFIXES• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/

grammar3.htm • www.funbrain.com/roots/index.htmlAt the library:

• “If You Were a Prefix” by Marcie Aboff • “If You Were a Suffix” by Marcie Aboff

from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

Language of the Ages

Language of magic Latin was also the language of ancient magical practices. J.K. Rowling used Latin and Greek to create the spells in the “Harry Potter” books. Did knowing English words help you figure out the meaning of those spells in the books?

The front of the Great Seal of the United States of America. The eagle is holding a banner saying “E pluribus unum.”

The top motto on the back of the seal means “It (the eye of God) favors our undertakings.” The bottom Latin phrase means “New Order of the Ages.”

The motto of Kansas is on its state seal. “Ad Astra per Aspera” is Latin for “To the stars through difficulties.” Many state mottos are in Latin.

Language of learning Latin is all around us. For years, people believed it was the language of learning. Scientific and medical terms come from Latin and Greek. The front of the Great Seal of the United States of America, which also appears on our dollar bills, is printed with the Latin saying “E pluribus unum.” This means, “Out of many, one.” You don’t need to actually know Latin to get a rough idea of the meaning. You just need to know other words that came from the same word. For example, pluribus sounds like “plural,” or more than one. Unum sounds like “unite,” or “one.”

Some Harry Potter spells include:• Confundo, Latin for “I confuse”;• Protego, Latin for “I protect”;

• Impedimenta is a little harder to figure out. It is Latin for “baggage.” Baggage holds you down, so impedire means “to hinder,” or interfere with. There is a similar expression in English. We say, “He is carrying a lot of baggage.”

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeSpinach Yogurt Dip

You’ll need:• 1 cup plain yogurt• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil• 1/4 teaspoon salt-free seasoning mix• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder• 1/4 teaspoon cuminWhat to do:1. Mix together all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.2. Chill to blend flavors.3. Serve with vegetables as a dip or spread on crackers. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

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from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

Callie: What is the difference between a man painting a shed and an animal losing its hair?Culver: One coats his shed and the other sheds its coat!

Calvin: What kind of coat is always wet when you put it on?

Charles: A coat of paint!

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All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

Cecilia: What kind of coat would an octopus wear?

Caesar: A coat of arms!

Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy is learning Latin magic words from reading “Harry Potter”! See if you can find:• golf club • word MINI • letter A • pencil• lips • broom • kite • canoe• snake • heart • arrow • tea pot• candy cane • safety pin • peanut • ladder

from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

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Meet the Okee Dokee Brothers Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing sing as the Okee Dokee Brothers. They aren’t really brothers, but were best friends growing up in Denver. Their newest CD is called “Take It Outside.” Joe began taking piano lessons when he was 6 years old. He and Justin started taking guitar lessons when they were around 12. Joe then learned to play the mandolin, and

Justin learned to play the banjo. Joe got a college degree in Spanish. Justin majored in Spanish and sociology. He taught music and movement to 3- to 5-year-olds in Thailand for six months. They started their own nonprofit band, The Medicinal Strings. This band gives free concerts in places such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters, low-income day care centers and nursing homes. Joe and Justin now live in Minneapolis. Both have led choirs and classes in community centers and summer camps and teach guitar to individual students. They also perform concerts at schools, libraries and festivals.

Joe (left) and Justin

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from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

The Word Builders

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

How to break the code To figure out the meaning of words, it helps to know three things: • the root, or main word; • the prefix, or part before the main word; • the suffix, or part after the main word. These are the building blocks of most English words. You can use your knowledge of Latin and Greek, English or Spanish to help you figure out new words. Sometimes this can be tricky because some Latin words take different forms. For example, videre and visus are different forms of “to see.” “Video” and “vision” come from the same Latin root. This happens in English too. For example, the form of “to be” changes. We say, “I am,” “He is,” “We are,” “I want to be.”

Prefixes The prefix is a word part that comes before the root. For example, in “prefix,” pre comes from the Latin prae, meaning before, or in front of. Fix is from the Latin root “to fix.” A prefix is fixed before the root. Some common prefixes include: • con- or com-, which means “together,” as in congregation, congress, confide • dis-, meaning “not,” as in disrespect or disapprove • re-, meaning “again” or “back,” as in regain, remake, redo • sub-, meaning “close to” or “under,” as in submarine.Suffixes Suffixes come after the root and change the meaning. Suf comes from “sub.” Some common suffixes include: • -able or -ible, meaning “worthy of” or “able to be,” as in likable or visible • -logy, “to study,” as in biology • -or or -er, someone or something doing something, as in finder, keeper.Inventing words

People can mix languages to create new words. For example, television comes

from the Greek prefix tele, meaning far, and the Latin root visus.

Root form The root word is the base, or main building block, of the new word. It is what forms, or shapes, the word. For example, portare means “to carry” in Latin. The root form is port, which means “carry.” Out of this root, we get words such as: • Report, “to carry back” • Import, “to carry in” • Export, “to carry out” • Transport, “to carry across” • Transportation comes from the Latin noun transportatio. In Latin, “tio” at the end of a word changes a verb to a noun. Can you figure out the meanings of other words? For example, astra and aster are the roots for “star.” Naut is the root of “sailor.” What is an astronaut? This is an asterisk — *. Can you see where it gets its name?

The Mini Page thanks Dr. Marion Polsky, Scarsdale (N.Y.) High School Latin teacher and author of the series of books “First Latin: A Language Discovery Program,” for help with this issue.

Next week, The Mini Page is about Newbery and Caldecott Honor Book award winners.

Circle some words in your newspaper. Can you figure out the root of those words? Check in the dictionary, right next to the word, to see if you are right.

They ARE so cute!

She WILL BE an astronaut.

from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

Supersport: Megan LangenfeldHeight: 5-6 Birthdate: 1-17-88 Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif. To UCLA softball fans, Megan Langenfeld has long been a big hit. Pow! The ball often exploded off the slugging senior’s bat and frequently landed where no fielder could catch it. That’s the way it was in the recent women’s Softball World Series. Langenfeld batted a whopping .706, with 12 hits in 17 at-bats, including four home runs, and helped the Bruins win

their 10th NCAA title and 11th national championship overall. Langenfeld received the Series’ Most Outstanding Player award. A three-time All-American, she completed her final collegiate season with a .527 batting average and 20 homers. Oh — and she also compiled a 14-1 record as a pitcher. An economics major, Langenfeld lists math as her favorite subject. Other things she likes are music, movies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, “Grey’s Anatomy,” mashed potatoes — and winning championships, of course.

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