Presentation Transcript
Vocabulary Builder :Vocabulary Builder Do you ever come across a word you are unsure of when you are reading?
Do you ever wonder what that word could mean?
Want to learn some strategies to find the meaning of these words?
LET’S GO!!
“Break-it-Down” :“Break-it-Down” The first thing you need to do is notice if there are any prefixes or suffixes. (Prefixes come before the root word and Suffixes come at the end of the root word)
Example: unbelievable
The root word is believe, the suffix is “able” and you know believable means “to believe” then you add “un” which means “not” and you have “not believable”.
Context Clues :Context Clues As a college student, context clues will be what you will be using the most to find the meaning of unknown words.
It is not always practical to look the word up in the dictionary. A dictionary might not be handy, you might be too engrossed in your reading, or you just might not have time.
This brings us to context clues.
Slide 4:To look for context clues is to look for clues the author has left behind.
They are words, phrases, and sentences around the word that are familiar.
You might find enough information around the surrounding text to figure out the meaning of a new word.
Lets try it!
Find the meaning of the highlighted word in the text.
Slide 5:Mr. Melbourne, in the vigor of his age, had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant.
Slide 6:You should have found the following clues:
Mr. Melbourne, in the vigor of his age, had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant.
These clues should have told you that the meaning of Mendicant is “beggar” or “poor”.
Kinds of Context Clues :Kinds of Context Clues Definitions or Synonyms – You know these will follow the word when you see a comma or dash followed by words such as or, is called, that is, or in other words. These clues are finally found in history, science, and math textbooks.
Concrete Examples – You will know these by such as, including, for instance, to illustrate, are examples of, and for example.
Slide 8:When all else fails, take time and use the dictionary.
References :References Burke, Jim. Readers Handbook: a student guide for reading and learning. Wilmington: Houghton Mifflin, p.666-668.