Vocabulary Worksheet · Grades 5–7
Retronyms Worksheet
A printable vocabulary worksheet for grades 5-7 on retronyms, new names for old things created after a newer version appears, like acoustic guitar or snail mail. Students match six retronyms to the inventions that made them necessary, then answer four short questions. A complete answer key is included.
Subject
Vocabulary
Grades
Grades 5–7
Skill Focus
Retronyms, word origins
Lesson Length
20 minutes
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
A retronym is a new name given to an older thing because a newer version of it now exists. Before the new thing was invented, the old thing did not need a special name; once the newer version appears, people add a word to tell the two apart. This worksheet helps students see how new inventions reshape old words.
Section A on page 1 lists six retronyms and asks students to match each to the newer invention that made the old name necessary, by writing a letter. The reference box teaches the idea with an ‘acoustic guitar’ example and a ‘snail mail’ example, so the assessed retronyms stay independent of the model.
Section B on page 2 asks what a retronym is, why an old thing needs a new name only after a newer version appears, what an acoustic guitar was once simply called, and to invent a retronym. Page 3 is a complete answer key with sample answers. The skill builds on word origins and neologisms.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the reference box aloud and trace ‘guitar’ to ‘acoustic guitar.’
Complete Section A independently – have students name the newer invention first.
Discuss how a retronym always points back to an older thing.
Use the answer key on page 3 for self-check.
Pair with the Neologisms Worksheet or the Word Origins Worksheet.
Printable Resource
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Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Retronyms Worksheet
A printable vocabulary worksheet for grades 5-7 on retronyms, new names for old things created after a newer version appears, like acoustic guitar or snail mail. Students match six retronyms to the inventions that made them necessary, then answer four short questions. A complete answer key is included.
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