Pokemon and Working With Words

Who ever would have thought that Pokemon could be used to help teach children about words? Think about how Pokemon names are created - each Pokemon has its own distinctive name that is based on its appearance. A great example is Bulbasaur which is a turtle-like creature that has a thing that looks like a plumb tulip bulb growing from its back. Each Pokemon name is descriptive; match the monsters' unique images; have it's own unique spelling; and are created from ordinary words or sounds that most children know. If a teacher takes advantage of a child's knowledge of Pokemon names, then they can use those names to teach their students about the linguistic concept of morphology. Morphemes for those of you who are unsure are the smallest part of language that carry meaning - suffixes, prefixes, real words and roots. Morphology is the study of how speakers create words by mixing and matching morphemes. Pokemon names are a great example of creating new words by mixing and matching words. Take Bulbasaur ( from bulb and the morpheme saur as in dinosaur). Bulbasaur evolves in Ivysaur, which is a similar creature with a bulb that has sprouted into a tulip surrounded by heavy greenery. Ivysaur evolves into Venusaur, which has a meaner face and the greenery is topped by some flowers. Apparently, the name is a reference to the Venus Fly Trap.

If you really look at the Pokemon and their names it all makes sense. My son is very happy that I have finally clued in to how the names are created. That said lets take it one step further - use these names to talk to your students about the different parts or the morphemes (ie. bulb, saur, ivy, and venus). Ask them what other uses or words can they come up with for these morphemes - bulb (tulip bulb, light bulb, bulbous) and what they have in common. In trying to help your students think critically you could ask them to analyze or think about what the creators of the Pokemon were trying to portray (did they have the word in mind before creating the creature?). Something else that works in Pokemon's favour is that a number of the Pokemon evolve into higher levels or more simply there are sets of Pokemon which make it easier for some children to remember them. Finally some people may be upset that you use words that encourage creative spelling but this is a great way to introduce your students to the creative spelling of different products that they can find at home (Kool-Aid, Quik, Ex-Lax, Nyquil).

Now if you're like me, you never expected to find Pokemon names so useful in helping teach children about words. The more I study the different Pokemon names, the more respect I have for this game as a teaching tool and one that I can use in the classroom to motivate and engage a number of my students.

This Pokemon's name is Charmeleon any idea why? Here is a hint - its the fire breathing dragon.


Another idea that you could do in the class is to have some of your 'expert' Pokemon playing students create a list with two columns - one with the names of some of the Pokemon and the other with what the names mean. See if your class can match the names with the meanings. As a creative writing idea, you could have your students create their own Pokemon. They would need to make a name up for it that would be representative of the Pokemon. Your students could use the dictionary or internet to look up the meaning of different words that they could then include in their writing. A similar activity would be to find different words that you and your students agree upon, mix and match them, and then draw a Pokemon based on the word's characteristics. I hope you find these useful.