The Importance of Words Words are the building blocks of meaning. Vocabulary is all the words used or understood by a person. By age 18, you know about 60,000 words and increase this number by an additional 20,000 words in college. You learn words by interacting with them and practicing. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Context Clues A context clue is the information that surrounds a new word, used to understand its meaning. Synonyms Antonyms General Context Examples © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

S A G E Approach Synonyms Antonyms General Context Examples © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Synonym Clues A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. Example: A memorial or tribute, such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is a way to honor the great Presidents of our country. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Synonym Clue A synonym can be set off with a pair of dashes, a pair of parenthesis, or a pair of commas. Common synonym signal words are: Or That is Ashamed of his flaccid—flabby—muscles, Glen joined the local gym. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Synonym Clue A cross-section (slice) of the leaf is studied under the microscope. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Antonym Clues An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. Example: Trying to save money by putting off going to the doctor may have a detrimental, not helpful, result. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Antonym Clue In short stories, some characters remain static (not changing) in their beliefs and actions. What is the meaning of “static?” a. shocking b. changing c. fixed d. confused © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Antonym Signal Words As opposed to Not Instead of On the other hand But However In contrast Not On the other hand Rather than Unlike Yet © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Antonym Clue Kim first noticed the posterior instead of the head of the rattlesnake because of the noise of its rattles. What does “posterior” mean? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

General Context of the Passage Often, word pictures, or descriptions, of a situation can give a sense of the word’s meaning. Example: Jordan demonstrated his agility as he caught the football, turned in mid-air, outran the defense, and scored a touchdown. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Example Clues Examples often show the meaning of a new or difficult word. Signal words, colons, and dashes introduce examples as context clues. Some signal words are: for instance for example such as including consists of © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Example Clue The player seemed suspended in mid-air as he jumped as high as the basket to score the winning point in the game. a. pushed b. shocked c. slapped d. hanging What does “suspended” mean? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Example Clue Lagomorphs (which include rabbits and hares) used to be thought of as rats. a. animals with scales b. animals with wings c. animals with large front teeth d. animals without fur What are “lagomorphs”? © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Visual Clues to Vocabulary Textbooks often use a graph, chart, or photograph to tie into a vocabulary word. Example: The land was parched from the lack of rain. Rich Moist Dry Overgrown © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Review Vocabulary is all the words used or understood by a person. Context is the information that surrounds a new word, used to understand its meaning. Skilled readers use context clues to learn new words. The first letter of each of the four common context clues spells: SAGE. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Review A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as the other word. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. The general context requires you to read the entire sentence or read ahead for a few sentences. Often the signal words such as or including introduce an example as a context clue. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers