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Words as Tools
To access background knowledge To express ideas To learn about new concepts Word knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension and academic success.
Depth
How well the student knows a word, including pronunciation, spelling, meaning, frequency, and morphological and syntactic properties
Morphology The formation, internal structure, and derivations of words Syntax The arrangement of words within phrases, clauses, and sentences
Explicit
Instruction
Structural Analysis: The use of word parts
Prefixes- word part added to beginning of a root or word: preheat Suffixes- word part added to the end of a word or root and usually changes the words part of speech: cloud (n) Cloudy (adj) Roots-Word parts that carry the basic or core meaning of a word: scrib/script = write scribble Compounds-A new word formed by two words: paperwork
Structural Analysis
Many words in the English language are made up of words parts called prefixes, roots, and suffixes.
These word parts have specific meanings that, when added together, can help you determine the meaning of the entire word.
Example: The students thought the book was incomprehensible.
in = not Comprehen = to understand ible = able to do something; also changes this word from verb to adjective incomprehensible = not able to understand
Structural Analysis
In most cases, a word is built upon at least one root. Words can have more than one prefix, root, or suffix.
Two or more roots geo/logy: earth/study of Two prefixes in/sub/ordination: not/under/order Two suffixes beauti/ful/ly: beauty/full of- noun to adjective/ly- adjective to adverb
Structural Analysis
The spelling of roots may change as they are combined with suffixes Root: terr/terre = territory Different prefixes, roots, or suffixes may have the same meaning: bi-, di-, duo- all mean two Sometimes you may identify a group of letters as a prefix or root but find that it does not carry the meaning of that prefix or root: Ex. The letters mis in the word missile are part of the root and are not the prefix mis- which means wrong; bad
Websites that provide Prefix, Suffix, and Root Tables (meanings and examples) http://www.msu.edu/~defores1/gre/roots/gre_rts_afx-tab1htm http://www.msu.edu/~defores1/gre/sufx/gre_suffx_tab_prn.htm
Context Clues
The words around an unfamiliar word that give you clues about the unknown words meaning
The couple finally secured a table at the popular, crowded restaurant. By using the clues around the word secured, the reader can determine that secured means able to get.
By the middle of the semester, Bob started to see the fallacy in this thinking. Since he had done well in high school without doing much reading or schoolwork, he thought he could continue this routine in college. He now realized he had been mistaken. He would have to work to earn the grades. Fallacy must mean to make an error in judgment.
No Context Clues?
Not all sentences or text contain context clues. You will need to use other methods to determine the words meaning.
Some suggestions:
Pronounce the word aloud. You may hear a word or word part that you know or that you may recall, within the unknown word Carefully analyze the words parts. Look up the word in the dictionary.
References
Baumann, J.F., & Kameenui, E.J. (1991). Research on vocabulary instruction: Ode to Voltaire. In J. Flood, D. Lapp, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts (pp. 604-632). New York:Macmillan. McWhorter, K. (2006). Guide to College Reading. New York: Pearson Longman. McWhorter, K. (2006). Vocabulary simplified: Strategies for building your college vocabulary. New York: Pearson Longman. Quian, D.D. (1998). Depth of vocabulary knowledge: Assessing its role in adults reading comprehension in English as a second language.Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Quian, D. D. (1999). Assess the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review, 56, 282-308. Texas Education Agengy. 2003). Promoting vocabulary development: Components of effective vocabulary instruction, Texas Reading Initiative,
Austin, TX, (No. GEO1 105 04).