Education: How to find the meaning of words as we read

Vocabulary and reading comprehension

The meaning of unfamiliar words, that one finds in reading can sometimes be met with the surrounding environment, that is, their contexts. The context of the sentence can you tell us the part of speech of the unknown word. Using the context of the paragraph to define unknown words can also be helpful.

Although it takes practice, it is the easiest and most effective way to identify words. Often, using the context is the only way to understand the meaning of the word in the phrase is used in the song, or a chapter.

Consider the word "bar. Bar is a common word. But without surrounding words, we do not know if it describes soap, a place that serves beer, a formation of sand on the beach, a way to lock the door, or ...

Readers often have trouble because they identify the literal meaning of a word but incorrect when you should look at ways in which it was used in step. The following sections will give more explanation and some exercises on how to get help on the meaning of unfamiliar words, checking their part of speech and their place in the context.

A. Using the part of speech of the unknown word as an aid in reading.

One consideration in using the context is to determine the unknown word part of speech. The words provide clues about the unknown word. Once you know if the word is a noun or an adjective is often enough for you to continue to read intelligently, without having to stop looking for the meaning of the word. After coming through the floor a few times more, you will know its meaning more firmly that if I just looked up.

In the following sentences, identify the part of speech of the italicized words by writing N if the word is a noun, V if the italicized word is a verb, Adj if the italicized word is an adjective, or Adv if the word in italics is an adverb.

Example: She liked to wear red and always wore jewelry made of carnelian Ans .. N

1. The dirty old man gave the young woman a salacious look.

2. The president prayed for the wisdom to make the right decision in the face of many alternatives.

3. The man looked at the rusty old gadget and wondered how its mechanism worked.

4. The dying man designated his son to receive his property.

5. The brindled dog barked loudly.

6. His father caressed his crying child with great tenderness.

7. "Do not patronize us, have no children! Us," said the angry indigenous leaders to politicians.

8. John was a good emanuensis, always taking dictation and typing properly on all employers in his correspondence.

9. The boy was disappointed by the paltry amount he received in inheritance when his grandfather died.

10. The boy ran clumsily down the hill with his arms and legs flapping everywhere.

B. OTHER FACTORS TO USE obtained by the same

Knowing the part of speech of the unknown word is not the only way to understand its meaning. There are other clues to the meanings of unfamiliar words. They are located directly within a sentence, a paragraph, passage, or chapter. Being able to recognize these clues helps you to define new words in context. These clues are right in the text and can be words or punctuation marks or words or phrases.

It is used to compare words or to identify unknown words that mean the same thing or the opposite of words you already know. The clues can also be used to define unfamiliar words that are examples of a group.

There are five other clues that will help you: 1. Punctuation clues, 2. Definition clues, 3. Contrast clues, clues 4.Comparison, and 5. Sample clues.

Of these types, the most important are the signs of comparison and contrast clues. The clues are very obvious and others are here just for the sake of completeness. The reader should focus on comparison and contrast clues.

The five text clues are helpful, but the most powerful tool is the key framework based. This is the use of information from your experience, common sense, and the context in which the word is difficult. There will be examples of this instrument at the end of the paper.

1. Clues to Punctuation

Punctuation clues are given when the unknown word is delimited by commas, parentheses, brackets, or dashes. The information contained within the punctuation marks sometimes means the same or nearly the same unknown words. Or, the unknown word could be offset by its meaning by punctuation. Information departed punctuation can clarify rather than define the word. Finding these clues is not foolproof.

Example of Punctuation Clue: Nicotine, a colorless and oily drug in tobacco stains on the teeth of chain smokers. Explanation: The words between the commas, a colorless and oily drug in tobacco define nicotine.

Punctuation Exercise: Underline the punctuation clue that tells you the meaning of the word in italics.

1. The soldiers advanced along the deep ravine of small size (a narrow valley) in an ambush.

2. The philosopher Descartes helped to create the dualism (the separation between mind and body).

3. Metamemory knowledge about the processes of memory is useful to help store and retrieve information.

4. Adjunct AIDS techniques used to help 'students reading comprehension materials were found to be very useful.

5. The deluge, a deluge of rain, threatening to suffocate the small town.

2. Definition Clues

Definition clues to join the unknown word by word (s) and rename it or to tell its meaning. The clues precede or follow the words which are or act as a liaison between the verbs. A linking verb shows no action but indicates being.

Examples of these verbs are: is, was, is, means, that is to say (that) implies, it is called, that is, or the like.

For example: The building of the square looked like a large covered patio. Explanation: The word was like combining the square with its meaning so it's a clue that tells us that a square is a large covered patio.

Definition Exercise: Use definition text clues to find the meaning of the word in italics. Note the word (or words) that tells you the meaning of the word in italics.

1. The science of art, or profession of teaching is called pedagogy.

2. Divergent thinking is generating many different ideas to solve a problem.

3. Conservative behavior should be cautious or conventional actions.

4. The seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and South Asia is a monsoon.

5. Criterion: a standard or rule that forms an opinion.

6. A souk is an open-air market in North Africa.

3. Contrast Clues

With the clues, however, you use the opposite of known information to determine the unknown word. Connecting words like however, yet, on the other hand, however, but while, as well as whether to join the unknown word with another word that is its opposite.

Example of Contrast Clue:

My sister is extremely neat in appearance, while she was sloppy in its cleanliness.

Explanation: The "while" indicates that word means the opposite of clean neglected. Thus, means sloppy sloppy or messy.

Contrast Exercise: Determine the meaning of the word in italics using information based contrast text. Exercise Example: Even if the owner has requested a formal poem, the poet wrote verses.

1.The tumor was benign, however, the doctor decided to treat it as if it could injure the patient.

2.Some trade disputes can be resolved amicably, on the other hand, while others require litigation.

3. At first the union labor leaders and industrialists claimed the pay schedules and benefits, but finally came to a compromise.

4. Gina leg muscles continued to atrophy because of his injury, but has had to build their strength.

5. Carlos accepted the demands of Jane instead of standing his ground and defend his point of view.

4. Comparison Clues

Comparison of evidence indicate that two or more things are equal. A comparison is possible because the known and unknown words have similarities. Words like the same way, just as it is, and similarly will show that the comparison can be made.

Examples of Clue of comparison:

Miss Johnson is a prim, modest woman, so many of his friends are very correct.

Explanation: In the same way is used to compare prim to proper. Proper means respectable. So, before it has a similar meaning.

1. The greek vase was made of alabaster, similarly, the Roman lamp was also a clear, white stone.

2. Taking out the garbage was an onerous task, the same way, washing dishes can be hard work.

3. Repartee, as well as other types of humorous conversation, kept the talk show to become boring.

4. Birds are oviparous, similarly, fish and reptiles lay eggs that hatch outside the body.

5. Both accountants and CPA are required for a financial company of great office.

6. The old chair was protected by two antimacassars hand-made and other coverings.

5. Example Clues

Example clues tell you an example of an unknown word follows. You derive the meaning of the word unknown by determining what the examples have in common. Sample clues are usually introduced by the words and phrases: as, for example, others, for example, and the like.

Example of "Example" Clue: powerful, like kings, queens, and emperors-are powerful and very rich people. Explanation: Since kings, queens, emperors and rulers of countries, rulers are rulers.

"Example" Clue EXERCISE: Underline the words that explain the words in italics.

Canines, such as collies, pugs, and poodles, are good pets.

Buildings such as skyscrapers and condominiums are located in the city.

various means of transport, for example, cars, subways, and ships are used throughout the world.

Nickels, dimes, dollars, and other types of legal tender are used to purchase goods.

Many people enjoy eating mollusks, like clams and snails.

Trustees, as lawyers and bankers, have been chosen to manage the young heir to the money.

Clues based framework

To find meaning from textual evidence (such evidence, however, indications of comparison, definition clues, example clues), have sought evidence in the same sentence. A second type of evidence is not based on specific words or punctuation marks to indicate its significance. This type of context clue is called Framework

Your knowledge of the meanings of words surrounding it helps you to discover the meaning of a word or phrase. The background information found in these pictures helps you get the meanings of new words. Common sense and knowledge of parts of speech also help define unfamiliar words. Combine your experience with what the text contains to determine meaning.

Example framework based Clue: The angry driver shouted vehemently during his fight with the other driver. What does it mean vehemently? You know what it means to be angry, and you know how people feel when they argue. From this, one can understand that it has something to do with vehemence with strong emotion or intense feeling. This is an example of using framework-based context to find the meanings of new words. The meaning is comes from your own experience.

Sometimes it takes a little detective work 'more to decipher the meaning of an unfamiliar word. In these cases, you must draw conclusions based on information provided by the word. Ask questions about how steps can help you to make a fairly accurate estimate as to the meaning of the unknown word. Each of the sentences below is followed by a question. Think about each question, using common sense and asking a question about the sentence that should be able to know the correct meaning of the word in italics.

1. A former employee, angry at being fired, he broke into the plant and deliberately destroyed several cars. (Which would have been an employee of the mind?)

2. John always praised his boss, he always agree with what they said. He said it was just a good employee, but his friends said he was a sycophant. (What behaviors were his friends describing with the word they put on John?)

3. The car wash we organized to raise funds was a fiasco, it rained all day.

(How much success would be a car wash on a rainy day?)

The first sentence provides enough evidence for you to guess that irate means very angry. Sycophant in the second sentence means sweet-talker. And a fiasco is a complete disaster. (These are not exact dictionary definitions of words. But by using context clues, but you will often be sufficiently accurate to make sense of what you are reading. And the good thing is that it saves time in reading, why don 't must look up every word!)

Try to answer the question that follows each item in the list on the other side of this page. Then use the logic of each answer to help you find the meaning of the letter you think is correct. Note that some of these sentences were taken from college textbooks. This should show you that your new skills in reading will help you in your university studies. In the future you will be able to recover your questions to help you.

1. Jamal did not want Tina to tell the whole story of the film, so he just gave her a sense of history. (What Jamal tell Tina?)

Answer to Question: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ...

Meaning of the word: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

2. The lizard was so lethargic that I was not sure if he was alive or dead. It does not even blink. (How active is this lizard?)

3. After the accident, I was angry when the other driver told the police officer a complete fabrication of what happened. It did seem that I was the only person guilty. (As was true of the driver other information?)

4. The public knows very little about the secret activities of CIA spies. (What kind of activities that the CIA spies involved in the sense that the public does not know much about?)

5. Whether or not there is life in space is an enigma. We can never know for sure until we are able to space travel or aliens actually land on our planet. (What we call something we have not answered?)

6. Suicide rates tend to fluctuate with the seasons, with higher rates in both winter and summer. (What happens to the suicide rate from season to season?)

7. Human beings are creatures of resistance that can often bounce back from negative experiences and adjust well to life. (At what point is the author making about the nature of human beings answer the question: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ..

8. An important result of the field of sociology is dispelling the myths and prejudices that groups of people have of each other. (As teachers of sociology would do to "myths and prejudices" that could be considered a "major achievement"?)

9. When he heard the news that he had lost his job, Peter showed a pugnacious attitude. But later, when other alternatives were explained to him, has become less hostile. (What attitude would you feel when you lose your job?

Education

Saturday, June 30, 2012

How to find the meaning of words as we read

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