Vocabulary Vocabulary plays a very important part in improving reading skills. The larger the vocabulary of a child, the easier it will be to understand what they are reading and, therefore, be able to critically discuss what they have read.

Improving Vocabulary The best way to improve anyone’s vocabulary is to read, read, read! Encountering new words in the context of what students are reading forces them to acquire at least a basic understanding of the word. As students repeatedly encounter those words, they will become a part of their everyday vocabulary

Vocabulary Skills to Know Analyzing Words and Text Drawing Conclusions and Inferences Words in Context

Analyzing Words and Text This involves looking at the parts of the word Prefixes – A word part that is added to the beginning of a base word that changes the sense or meaning of the root or base word (Example: The prefix inter-, means between. International: between nations) Suffixes – A word part that is added to the ending of a root word that changes the sense or meaning of the root or base word and/or establishes the part of speech of that word (Example: -able, -ible means ‘can do’. Audible: able to hear) Roots – the base word that the meaning of the word is derived from (Example: aqua means water. Aquatic: of the water)

Analyzing Words and Text When students know prefixes, suffixes and roots, they can analyze new words by thinking about the parts of the word, what they mean and come to a conclusion about what the new word means. A note about using dictionaries: many dictionaries do not give a definition that truly helps you learn the meaning of a word. Often the dictionary uses the unknown word in the definition itself. Dictionaries are not all bad, though. They are very useful for checking to see if your prediction about a word meaning is on track.

Words in Context Using the context that the new word is presented in means to use the rest of the sentence, or paragraph, to make an educated guess about the meaning of that word. For example, in this sentence – The snake slithered through the grass - we can use our knowledge of how a snake moves to understand the word slithered. We might think that the snake slides, so we know slithered means to slide along the ground.

Drawing Conclusions and Inferences By using the analytic skills of knowing word parts, and using the context that new words are presented in, students can draw conclusions and make inferences about word meanings. These skills use higher level critical thinking skills, which bring into play what they already know in order to acquire new information.

Conclusion You have now completed the Vocabulary Tutorial Please visit the link below for your review activity