1. The Effective Reader (Updated Edition) by D. J. Henry
Chapter 2: Vocabulary Skills
PowerPoint Presentation
by Gretchen Starks-Martin
St. Cloud State University, MN

2. Vocabulary is all the words used or understood by a person.
By the time you are 18, you know about 60,000 words.
During college you learn an additional 20,000 words.
Each subject has its own set of words.
You can learn new words through:
Context Clues
Word Parts
Visuals
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3. Context Clues: The SAGE Approach
A context clue is the information that surrounds a new word, used to understand its meaning.
The four types of context clues are:
Synonyms
Antonyms
General sense of the passage
Examples
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Synonyms
A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.
Synonym signal words are: or, that is
Example: The dentist gave me laughing gas to alleviate (or ease) the pain of taking out my wisdom teeth.
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Antonyms
An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
Antonym signal words are: but, not, unlike, in contrast, yet, however.
Example: During dinner, Anne let out a loud burp that mortified her mother, but amused her friends.
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General Context
Sometimes a definition is provided.
Sometimes a description is provided.
Sometimes logic and reasoning skills are needed.
Example: To insure safety, written and road tests should be mandatory for everyone who seeks a driver’s license for the first time; no exceptions should be allowed.
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Jamie speculated about how much weight he wanted to gain during the three-month bodybuilding program he was beginning for the first time. “Speculated” means:
Knew
Wondered
Worried
Celebrated
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Examples
An example is provided of the word.
Example signal words indicate that an example is coming: for instance, such as, consists of, including
Example: Some authors use pseudonyms; for example, famous American author Mark Twain’s real name was Samuel Clemens.
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9. Textbook Skills: Using a Glossary
A glossary is a list of selected terms with their definitions as used in a specific area of study.
Skim the chapter before reading and look for specialized terms.
Use the glossary to make vocabulary lists.
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Word Parts
Root: the basic or main part of a word.
Prefix: A group of letters added to the beginning of a root word to make a word.
Suffix: A group of letters added to the end of a root word to make a word.
Example: in-vis-ible
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Complete the Practices in your book for an in depth explanation of roots, suffixes, and prefixes and how they can help you understand words.
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Visual Vocabulary
A graph, chart, cartoon, or photograph gives a visual image of a word.
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Chapter Review
There are four types of context clues (SAGE):
Synonyms
Antonyms
General context
Examples
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Chapter Review
Antonyms help you see the shade of a word’s meaning by showing you what the original word is not.
The root is the basic or main part of a word.
The prefix is a group of letters with a specific meaning added to the beginning of a word (root) to make a word.
The suffix is a group of letters with a specific meaning added to the end of a word (root) to make a new word.
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Practice
Complete the Applications, Review Tests, and Mastery Tests for Chapter 2 in your book.
* Remember to complete your scorecard for the Review Tests in this chapter.
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