Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning in a language. Semantics tries to understand what meaning is as an element of language and how it is constructed by language as well as interpreted, concealed and debated by the speakers and listeners of a language.
Method of Teaching
An 8th grade world history teacher starts a lesson about colonialism by writing a list of four countries on the whiteboard that are all African countries except for France. Then, the teacher prompts the students to decide if all the countries on the list belong there. After the students pick France out as not belonging on the list, the teacher writes another list of four countries on the whiteboard that are all in Asia with the exception of Spain and again prompts the students to decide if all of them belong together.
Once students identify Spain as the exception, the teacher prompts students to explain why those countries didn't belong on the list. Then, the teacher explains that most countries during the period of colonialism were occupied by at least one European country. Finally, the teacher prompts a quick discussion about why each of those countries didn't belong on the list and opens up a discussion about how colonialism impacted different non-European cultures and identities in countries all around the world.
