STRATEGIES FOR UNLOCKING MEANINGS

• MORPHEMES

1) FREE
They can function alone as a word, e.g., “some” or “thing”

2) BOUND
Meaningful language units that occur only as attachments to words or
other morphemes, e.g., “tele-,” “-er,” or “-cide.” In essence they are
prefixes, suffixes, or roots

• STRATEGIES

1) MORPHEMIC ANALYSIS
It is a process by which readers can determine the meaning of an
unfamiliar word by analyzing its component parts

PNEUMONOMICROSCOPICVOLCANOCONIOSIS

Pneumono – related to lungs

Micro – small
Scopic – relating to a viewing instrument
Volcano – eruption in the earth from which molten rock, steam, and
dust issue
Coni – dust
Osis – referring to a diseased condition

2) CONTEXTUAL CLUES

Definition: The word is defined, usually in the same sentence

Description: The word is described by the context in such a way that

the reader can take a good guess at its meaning

Contrast: The word is compared with some other word or concept,

often an opposite

3) EXTERNAL REFERENCE
A source of information that falls outside the passage in which the
unfamiliar word occurs

Paratextual Features
Glossary
Dictionary