45 Building Vocabulary Skills

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Building Vocabulary Skills

Start-Up Activity

Ask your students if they know what the main part of a word is called (the root). Every root has its own special meaning. Write the following roots on the board and ask students to write words that contain them and define each word as best as they can:

  • bio (life)
  • geo (earth)
  • mem (remember) 
  • therm (heat) 

Afterward, explain that the parts that come before and after a word's root can change the meaning drastically. Just consider the difference between friendly and unfriendly.

Note that this chapter includes a list of common word parts, which your students can use to understand unfamiliar words and build their vocabulary. The chapter also includes many other strategies for learning the meaning of words.

Think About It

“Today, English is believed to have the most words of any modern language—and it’s still evolving.”

—Patricia T. O’Conner

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Strategies for Building Your Vocabulary

1. Read and check.

Demonstrate how reading and checking for context can help students figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Context clues may appear in the same sentence as the difficult word, as well as in sentences that surround it.

Next, closely review the list of sample context clues.

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2. Use a dictionary.

Review the different types of information found in a dictionary. (A sample dictionary page appears on page 344.) You can also point students to print dictionaries in your classroom and demonstrate how to use an online dictionary.

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Sample Dictionary Page

Review the different features of the sample dictionary page. Then ask students to find this additional information:

  • What does the noun mush mean? (corn meal boiled in milk or water to make porridge)
  • What does the verb mush mean? (to drive a dogsled over snow)
  • What part of speech is the word muscular? (adjective)
  • What Greek word did muse derive from? (Mousa)
  • In what two ways can muse be used as a noun? (Muse can refer to one of the divine sisters in Greek mythology or to a person who guides, inspires, or advocates for an endeavor.)
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3. Use a thesaurus.

Explain that a thesaurus can help writers look for new words to express ideas. While a dictionary search begins with an unfamiliar word, a thesaurus search begins with a familiar word and leads to many new terms that have a similar meaning. Give these tips:

  • Use a thesaurus to find precise words for writing.
  • Before using an unfamiliar word from a thesaurus, look it up in a dictionary to make sure you understand the meaning. (A chortle is very different from a horselaugh.)
  • Don't use a thesaurus to find big and complex words just to "sound smart."

Have students complete the minilessons using a thesaurus.

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4. Keep a personal dictionary.

Show students how to create a personal dictionary. They can create entries on note cards, as shown on this page.

As an alternative, students can create and maintain a personal electronic dictionary by saving the same type of information on a computer or mobile device. Cloud-based applications such as Evernote allow students to access their personal dictionaries on any device connected to the Web.

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5. Learn about word parts.

Introduce students to the three basic word parts:

  • prefixes (word beginnings)
  • suffixes (word endings)
  • roots (word bases)

6. Watch for word families.

Then discuss how knowing common word parts can help students understand different word families. Word families are groups of words that are built from the same basic word. For example, knowing the meaning of bio (life) can help a student figure out the meaning of other words, such as biology, biography, and biome.

Let your students know that they can check the lists of most common prefixes, suffixes, and roots whenever they have questions about word parts.

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Prefixes

Define prefixes for students—word parts that come before the root or base word. Explain that this page and the next show the most common prefixes.

Give time for students to examine the list of common prefixes. Then challenge students to think of more words that begin with one of the prefixes from the list. 

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Suffixes

Define suffixes for your students—word parts that come at the end of a word. Then provide them time to scan the list of common suffixes. Ask for volunteers to share more words that end with one of the suffixes on this page. 

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Roots

Define the meaning of roots for your students—the main part, or base, of a word. Provide time for students to review the list of common roots on the next seven pages. Ask for volunteers to point out a root meaning that they found interesting or surprising. 

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Using Vocabulary Words Correctly

Discuss how the word choices students make in their writing can project a formal or casual tone of voice. Point out that it is important that students use words that fit the purpose of their writing. To drive home this point, compare word formality with clothing choices. Just as wearing a swimsuit to a formal dance is inappropriate, using slang and emojis in formal writing is wrong.

Use the minilesson as an extension activity.

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