34 Building Vocabulary

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Page 465 from Write for College

Using Context

Context clues give students the most ready and potent strategy for gaining new vocabulary. Few readers wish to constantly pause reading to look up an unfamiliar term, but most often the meaning of the term can be inferred from its usage. Also, context clues provide a rich environment for vocabulary learning, hinting at denotation and connotation, showing an example of the word in use, and connecting it to a certain subject and level of diction.

Lead students through each context clue and have a volunteer read aloud the example. Ask the volunteer to use the clue to determine the word's meaning, and lead a discussion about what you discover. Then have another student find the definition in a dictionary (paper or online) and compare the results.

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Page 466 from Write for College

Using Context (Cont.)

Present the three strategies on this page as you did the strategies on the page before.

At the bottom of the page, have students use any combination of context clues to define each of the bolded words in the passage from The Call of the Wild. You can do this activity as a class or distribute the Using Context Clues activity for students to work on individually. (This answer key gives the dictionary definitions of the terms.)

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Page 467 from Write for College

Using a Thesaurus

“What is another word for thesaurus?”

—Steven Wright

Help students understand that a thesaurus isn't just a word bag that they can grab from. They need to use the words intelligently, recognizing the denotation, connotation, and level of language (diction). For example, consider these synonyms:

laugh: chuckle, titter, snort

The words all mean laugh, but chuckle is a gentle laugh, titter is a secretive and somewhat guilty laugh, and snort is a sudden, loud laugh. For that matter, bust a gut may mean laugh, but it is slang—a level of diction inappropriate for most formal writing.

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Page 468 from Write for College

Using Word Parts

Student who can analyze prefixes, suffixes, and roots not only can accurately predict meaning from words they encounter but also can construct their own words. Let students know that these word parts are like Lego bricks—a few hundred discrete pieces that snap together to form larger structures.

Lead students through the explanations and examples on this page. Prefixes, of course, come before roots, which come before suffixes.

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Page 469 from Write for College

Prefixes

Tell students to turn to this page and the ones that follow whenever they need to puzzle out the prefix, suffix, and/or root of an unfamiliar word.

To familiarize students with this material, have them skim the page. They should then pick five prefixes that interest them and write words that begin with them (but do not appear on this page). Have students share their prefixes and words with study partners.

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Page 470 from Write for College

Prefixes (Cont.)

Ask students to review the prefixes on this page, including the numerical ones in the box at the bottom. Then have students search for five examples of these prefixes used in words. They can find their examples online or in textbooks, novels, or magazines. Have students write the word, its context (for example, the phrase or sentence it appeared in), and the source. Ask students to share their findings with each other.

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Page 471 from Write for College

Suffixes

As a class, consider this list of suffixes. Ask students to pick out five suffixes that make the word into a noun (such as ade, age, algia, an, ain). Then have them pick out five suffixes that make a word an adjective (such as able, ible, al, fic, ful). They are fewer in number. Next have them find suffixes that make a word a verb (only three: ate, fy, ize). Instruct students to pay attention to suffixes in order to determine the part of speech of a new word.

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Page 472 from Write for College

Roots

Remind students to consult these pages of prefixes, suffixes, and roots as they continually build their vocabularies.

To familiarize students, have them read through this list of familiar roots and examples.

Then ask them to choose five interesting roots and use them with prefixes, suffixes, and/or other roots to create all-new words. Have students define each new word and use it in a sentence. Then have each student share a favorite new word with the rest of the class.

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Page 473 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Have students read over this list of roots. Ask them to choose words from a single root and create a sentence correctly using as many as possible. (Students can slightly alter words as needed.) Provide this example:

The dictator dictated his prediction of the verdict into his dictaphone, but the dictaphone dictionary contradicted his diction.

After students have written sentences, have them count the number of words they correctly used in the sentence. (The example uses eight unique words, repeating one.) Have students share their best sentences with the class. You can also ask them to speak aloud a quick definition of each word (e.g., "A dictator is a ruler who commands everyone," "A prediction is an idea expressed before something happens," and so on).

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Page 474 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Have students study the roots on this page, looking for surprising connections:

The root germ means both "seed" (as in germinate) and "vital part" (as in germaine). And the seed is, of course, the vital part of the plant, carrying it into the next generation. In fact, the word vital means not only "central" but also "living." A little more investigation shows that the word germ meaning "micro-organism" comes from the same root. So the people who first discovered micro-organisms considered them the "seeds" of disease.

Ask students to identify a surprising connection between two words and write a paragraph exploring the ways they are related. Then have students share their observations with the class.

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Page 475 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Ask students to read through the list of roots and examples on this page.

Have them combine two or more roots together to form a new term, which they should then define:

meganeuromania: a neurological disorder present only in creatures with huge brains, such as whales, elephants, and Bill Gates

Ask students to create four more words like this. Then have them choose their favorite new word and share its definition with the class.

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Page 476 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Ask students to read through the roots on this page. Have them select one root with fascinating examples (such as the many different forms of path or of rupt) and write a paragraph exploring the different terms and the way the root is used in each one. Share this example:

The root phil means "love," so philanthropy means "love of humanity," though we usually think of it as charitable giving. Philadelphia means "city of brotherly love," which is interesting since it is pretty rough-and-tumble these days. The quakers must have known a very different city. Philharmonic must mean "love of harmony," which is a pretty nice way to describe an orchestra. Bibliophile is a "book lover," which I know a few of. And, of course, philosophy is "love of wisdom." My sister's name is Sophia, so she must be "wisdom," though that's hard to imagine. I guess that makes her boyfriend a philosopher.

Have students share their own paragraphs with partners and discuss the words.

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Page 477 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Have students read through this page of roots. Then lead a discussion about them:

Which root is your favorite? Why? What words do you like most from that root?
Which root is your least favorite? Why? What words do you like least from that root?
Why do you think there are so many roots for "see" (spec, spect, spic)?
Why do you think there are so many roots for "touch" (tact, tang, tag, tig, ting)?
Would you rather be an insomniac or a somnambulist? Why?

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Page 478 from Write for College

Roots (Cont.)

Ask students to read through the roots on this page, focusing on those that are verbs (such as the top ones in the first column). Point out that each of these describes a basic action that humans have done for thousands of years: cut, twist, poison, draw, pay, disturb. . . . Note how many of these verb forms become nouns when they are combined with other word parts. (Remember that most of the suffixes on page 471 made noun forms.) Also note how humans used these ancient actions to build modern concepts, such as appendectomy or dichotomy. In general, the shorter a word is, the more ancient it is.

Have students explore roots that are noun forms and adjective forms.

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