46 Improving Your Vocabulary

Page
405
from

Improving Your Vocabulary Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

Ask for a volunteer to read page 405 aloud. Then discuss with students how reading helps build vocabulary.

Afterward, select one word to analyze, as in the example that follows:

  • microcosm: Our little school is a microcosm of the entire country.

Have a volunteer define the word microcosm and explain the clues in the sentence that helped him or her define it. Then as a class explore its word parts:

  • micro means “small”
  • cosm means “world”

So a microcosm is a "small world." The sentence means that the school is a miniature version of the country.

Let students know that this chapter will teach them vocabulary strategies like these.

Think About It

“Vocabulary is a matter of word-building as well as word-using.”

—David Crystal

Page 406 from Write on Course 20-20

Using Context

Carefully review the information on using context clues. Have volunteers read each type of clue, and study the examples. Provide additional sentences for each type of context clue:

  • Malnutrition is a common problem with some elderly people, but poor nutrition is not their own health problem. (Poor nutrition is a synonym.)
  • Jay’s excuse seemed credible to his mother but unbelievable to his father. (Unbelievable is an antonym.)
  • My grandmother suffers from hydrophobia, which is a fear of water, so she never learned to swim. (A fear of water is a definition.)
  • The picnic table include a tray of sliced apples, pears, and kiwis. (The series suggests that they are all types of fruits.)

Also have students find and share other sentences containing context clues that help the reader understand a new word.
 

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

English Language Arts:

Page 407 from Write on Course 20-20

Context Clues in Action

Instruct students to read the sample paragraph and use context clues to define the words in red. Afterward, have partners compare their definitions and check them against the definitions at the bottom of the page (upside down).

For additional practice, have students select a newspaper or magazine article and read it closely for word choice. Lead a discussion about the articles:

  • What new words did you learn from the reading?
  • What type of context clue helped you learn the meaning?
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

English Language Arts:

Page 408 from Write on Course 20-20

Checking a Dictionary

Lead students through the different types of information found in a dictionary. Give students many opportunities to use dictionaries to study and learn words, perhaps by asking them a series of questions about the information on a page in the dictionary:

  • What is the part of speech for the word lacrosse?
  • What is the first and second definition for the word ladder?
  • What is an antonym for the word lack?
  • What is the plural form of the word lady?
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:

Page 409 from Write on Course 20-20

Using a Dictionary (Continued)

Allow students time to study the different elements of the sample dictionary page. Then have them consult a print or online dictionary to study a different entry for similar elements. Afterward, ask for volunteers to discuss their findings.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:

Page 410 from Write on Course 20-20

Referring to a Thesaurus

Read aloud the tips for using a thesaurus. Then give students this paragraph exercise. Have them refer to a print or online thesaurus to replace each underlined word or phrase with a synonym that is a better fit for the sentence.

We heard the sound of thunder for an hour before the weather started. The storm began with a gale that took limbs off trees and sent cats and dogs moving for shelter. Next the lightning twinkled across the sky. It lit up the black clouds and made loud noises as it hit the earth nearby.

Downloads:
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:

Page 411 from Write on Course 20-20

Understanding Word Parts

Display the four words below. Then have a volunteer pronounce each word and identify its main parts. For example, nonfat consists of non + fat.

  • nonfat           non + fat
  • underage      under + age
  • careless        care + less
  • fitness           fit + ness

For each of the four words, have a volunteer explain the meaning of each word part and the word as a whole. Ask what this activity shows (knowing the meaning of word parts can help you understand new, longer words). Then read and discuss “Understanding Word Parts.” Have students identify the prefixes, suffixes, and roots in the four words above.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:

Page 412 from Write on Course 20-20

Common Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes

The next five pages contain a glossary of common prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Each entry includes a definition of the word part and one or more example words that include the part. Review these pages with students and encourage them to turn here whenever they have a question about a particular prefix, suffix, or root.

As a regular classroom activity, assign four word parts each week. Assign students one part daily at the beginning of class. Have them write the word part, define it, give a sample word using it, and write a sentence using that word. Also have them brainstorm for other words that include the word part.

At the end of the week, display a chart like the one that follows, containing prefixes, suffixes, and roots that have been studied during the past week, combined with a few word parts from previous weeks. Give students five minutes to combine these word parts into as many words as possible. Discuss these new words.

auto   ion
  flex  
re   ing
  graph  
in   ible
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills: