Lesson 15 — Activity 2: Understanding Vocabulary


Now that you have done some before reading activities, you are ready to begin reading a text.
There are strategies that you can use for this part of the reading process too.

The first level of understanding when reading is being able to understand the words you come across.

First, you must understand the words in a text.

Strategies to help you understand the words you read include using:

  • word attack
  • reference skills
  • context clues


By now, you are probably able to read quite well, but you may have some difficulty with understanding new, higher-level, or complex words.

Using a word attack strategy will help you figure out unknown words more easily.



Word Attack Strategy


When you come to a word you do not know, look closely at it and ask:
  • Does it look like another word I know?
  • Do I know how to say parts of it?

Try to say the word out loud and ask:
  • Do the sounds of the letters spell the word?
  • Does it make sense in the sentence if I read the word that way?

If you are not sure, you can ask for help!


Do you understand all the words you read?

You can also use:


Reference Skills


You can use reference skills to find out more about words:

Glossaries:

  • are found in most textbooks and nonfiction books
  • are listed in alphabetical order with their definitions

You already know that there is a glossary for this course.


Dictionaries:

  • are collections of words that are organized in alphabetical order

You also know how to access the dictionary for this course. When you look up a word, you will see an explanation for how to say it.


          A dictionary will help you learn the meanings of words and how to pronounce them.


And another strategy is to use:


Context Clues


Context clues are hints in sentences or paragraphs that tell you what words probably mean.

When you come to a word that you do not know the meaning of, read the rest of the sentence and ask:
  • What meaning makes sense in the sentence or paragraph?
  • Could that be what this word means?


Try to read the sentence and replace the unknown word with one that you think means the same thing. Then, ask:

  • does the new word make sense in the sentence or paragraph?
  • does the new word probably mean the same as the word I have come up with?


Again, not sure? Ask for help!

      Again, context clues are hints that tell you what words probably mean.
Images courtesy of www.imagesgoogle.com

View this video on Using Context Clues, which gives you more information on using context clues to figure out unknown words.


Digging Deeper: Click on the tabs to see more information on understanding vocabulary.


Click here for a strategy to help you pronounce unknown words.


Click here for a strategy to help you understand new words.


Click here for a process to follow to find the meanings of words in a dictionary.