A LEARNING COACH and a STUDENT sit at a table.


STUDENT: Hey, I'm having a bit of a tough time.

LEARNING COACH: What's the problem?

STUDENT: There are word choice comments all over this essay.

LEARNING COACH: Why do you think that is?

STUDENT: I don’t know. I didn’t want to keep using the same words over and over so I looked in the thesaurus. That’s what you use to find synonyms for words.

LEARNING COACH: That’s true. Variety of words is important but you also need to understand the connotation of the word.

STUDENT: What’s that?

LEARNING COACH: What the word means in context.

STUDENT: So, I searched for the word walk and I got a lot of different words, amble, mosey, saunter, strut.

LEARNING COACH: And if you want to describe someone as walking confidently, which of those would you use?

STUDENT: Saunter? Or maybe strut?

LEARNING COACH: Those are good words. Would you use amble?

STUDENT: I don’t really know what that means.

LEARNING COACH: Okay, so this is when you would look amble up in the dictionary to see what kind of walking it describes.

STUDENT: So, the purpose of the thesaurus is to help me use a lot of different words. And, the purpose of the dictionary is to make sure I use the right word!

LEARNING COACH: Yes! Now, saunter on over to your computer and fix up that essay!

STUDENT: Righto!

Fade to black and a copyright notice appears on screen, which reads:

Copyright 2020 Pearson Online and Blended Learning K–12 USA. All rights reserved.

THE END.
Copyright 2020 Pearson Online & Blended Learning K–12 USA. All rights reserved Summarize this in three short sentences.

A student is struggling with word choice in their essay and seeks help from a learning coach. The student had been using a thesaurus to find synonyms but didn't understand the connotation of the words. The learning coach explains the importance of understanding the meanings of words in context and advises the student to use a dictionary for clarification.

A learning coach and a student discuss the student's struggle with word choice in their essay. The coach explains the importance of using a variety of words while also understanding their connotations. They highlight the role of a thesaurus in finding synonyms and a dictionary in ensuring the correct usage of words. The student is encouraged to make improvements to their essay using this knowledge.

Shorter

A student seeks help with word choice comments on their essay. They used a thesaurus without considering the connotation of the words. The learning coach explains the importance of using the right word and suggests using a dictionary to ensure accuracy.

A student seeks help from a learning coach with word choice in their essay. The coach emphasizes the importance of variety in words and understanding their meanings in context. They suggest using a thesaurus for synonyms and a dictionary for clarification. The student is encouraged to revise their essay using these tools.