L6.4 Study Guide

Learning Target: I can choose flexibly from a range of strategies to determine or clarify unknown word meanings based on grade 6 reading and content.

Strategy 1: Try substituting words in place of the unknown word.

Example: I know that Jeff is smart, so I was confused when he did such a vacuous thing as to jump off the roof of our house.

In this sentence, the word vacuous means______________________.

A. outstanding B. cowardly C. annoying D. stupid

I know that Jeff is smart, so I was confused when he did such a vacuous thing as to jump off the roof of our house.

If you try substituting each of the choices into the sentence, it should be easy to eliminate some choices right away. The speaker is confused, so he would not say it was an outstanding thing to do. Cowardly and annoying do not seem to fit well, either. The speaker began by calling Jeff smart, so it makes sense that he was confused because Jeff did something stupid. Stupid makes the most sense in this example.

Strategy 2: Look for other words in the sentence or paragraph that may give clues to the meaning of the unknown word.

Example: The departing president of the organization gave his valediction. When he was through, he welcomed the new president to the podium.

In this sentence, the word valediction means ___________________________________. A. welcome B. beginning C. farewell D. starting

Example: The departing president of the organization gave his valediction. When he was through, he welcomed the new president to the podium.

If you look at the rest of the sentence, you can tell that the person who spoke is leaving his position. The word departing is a clue. The next sentence says that the speaker welcomed the new president. These clues help us understand that valediction means farewell.

1. Define inarticulate in this sentence: The new speaker from the health clinic was so inarticulate that we left the auditorium wondering what the message was.

A. full of anger C. conflicted B. unclearly spoken D. cowardly

2. The tornado annihilated the whole town to the point that nothing was left standing.

In this sentence, the word annihilated means A. created C. saved B. constructed D. destroyed

3. I felt sorry for the poor pathetic dog after he was dropped off along the road in the rain.

In this sentence, the word pathetic means --- A. cheerful C. happy B. joyful D. sad

4. The heavy rain made it difficult to see. Jill meant to turn right on King Street, but she inadvertently turned onto Cedar Street instead.

What does inadvertently mean?

A. carefully C. unintentionally B. deliberately D. slowly

Learning Target: I can choose flexibly from a range of strategies to determine or clarify meanings of multiple meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content.

Multiple meaning words and phrases are words and/or phrases that look the same, but have different meanings depending on the context of the sentence or paragraph in which they occur.

Example: last – (adv.) being after all the others. He was the last one in line for

lunch

(v) to continue in time; to endure. No one knew how long the storm

would last.

(n) a wooden frame on which boots and shoes are formed. The cobbler

inherited the last from his grandfather.

5. Our best hitter ground his teeth, determined not to hit a fly ball.

Choose the definition below that best expresses the meaning of the word ground as it is used in the sentence above.

ground – 1. (n) the solid surface of the earth 2. (v) to punish by restricting activities 3. (v) rubbed together harshly 4. (n) sediment at the bottom of a liquid A. Definition 1 C. Definition 3 B. Definition 2 D. Definition 4

6. During a fire drill, it is important to remain quiet so the teacher can call roll. What does roll mean in this sentence?

A. the sound of thunder B. a list of students C. a type of bread D. to turn over

7. The contestant was voted off

American Idol

pitch was off.

because her Which sentence uses pitch the same way as the sentence above?

A. The pitch came across home plate before the batter was ready.

B. They used pitch from the fir tree to make patches for the roof.

C. They bought the vacuum because the salesman’s pitch was very convincing.

D. It was difficult to hear him because the pitch of his voice was so low.

8. His comment hurt me to the core.

Choose the definition below that best expresses the meaning of the word core as it is used in the sentence above.

core – 1. (n) the center or inner part 2. (n) the center of the earth 3.(n) the chamber of a nuclear reactor 4. (v) to remove the inner section A. Definition 1 C. Definition 3 B. Definition 2 D. Definition 4

Learning Target: 4a -I can infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues (e.g. definitions, synonyms/antonyms, restatements, examples found in the surrounding text).

Context clues – bits of information from the text that, when combined with prior knowledge, allow you to decide the meaning of unknown words in the story or article you are reading.

Definitions – word meanings Some passages will directly include a definition of an unknown word.

Example: After a time, glaciers, or slowly moving rivers of ice, formed over many parts of the

Earth.

In this sentence the words “slowly moving rivers of ice” is the definition of what glaciers are.

Synonyms – words that mean the same or nearly the same.

Sometimes a sentence or paragraph will include a synonym to help you understand an unfamiliar word.

Examples: There are many theories, or ideas, about

what made the Ice Ages happen.

In this sentence the word “ideas” tells us that theories are different thoughts people have about something.

Antonyms – words that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings.

Some sentences or paragraphs may provide clues that show the unfamiliar word means the opposite of another word included in the passage.

Example:

Joe was reluctant to take the job of captain of the team. He was afraid that the time it would take would hurt his grades. On the other hand, Billy was eager for the chance to be the team captain.

In this sentence the words “on the other hand” and “eager” tell us that Billy feels the opposite of Joe, therefore, reluctant means uncertain or cautious.

Restatements – stating the definition of an unknown word or phrase in a different way.

Example:

Sue's boss was a callous man. He did not react to her tears and apologies.

In this sentence, the description of Sue’s boss has been restated. Callous must mean hard-hearted or insensitive.

9. The man who lives next door spoke brusquely to the young children, unlike his wife who is always polite.

In this sentence, the word brusquely means -- A. calmly C. gruffly or impolitely B. courteously D. kindly

10. Bobby thinks it's funny to tantalize Sally, such as making fun of her curly hair, but it only makes the other kids mad at him.

Tantalize means ----- A. rush C. tease B. talk to D. poke

11. Terry was obstinate; she was being stubborn and refused to see any movie other than the one she wanted.

In this sentence, the word obstinate means -- A. stubborn C. compliant B. easily gives in D. peacemaker

12. A chain of five missions established along the San Antonio River in the 18th century became the largest concentration of Catholic missions in North America. Built primarily, or mostly to expand Spanish New World influence northward from Mexico, the missions also served to introduce native inhabitants, people, into Spanish society.

Inhabitants are ---- A. missions C. weapons B. people D. Spanish

Learning Target: 4b - I can use common grade appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to determine the meaning of a word.

• affix– a word part added to a word that changes or adds to its meaning; this term includes both prefixes and suffixes • prefix– a word part added to the beginning of a word that changes or adds to its meaning • suffix – a word part added to the end of a word that changes or adds to its meaning • root- the form of a word after all affixes are removed

Example: haustire is a Latin word that means

to drain or empty

Exhaust is a word in English that uses the root word and the prefix ex- which means

out of.

Exhaust means

to drain out or empty out.

exhaust all possibilities.) If you add the suffix –ed, the word changes to past tense and means

drained or emptied out.

(We will (All possibilities were exhausted.)

13. Which word most likely comes from the Latin word specere, meaning “to see?” A. specialty C. spelling B. spendthrift D. spectator

14. The prefix mis- is used in words such as misstated, misconceive, and misunderstood. From your knowledge of these words, what is the meaning of the prefix mis- ?

A. wrongly C. within B. instead of D. out of

15. Based on your knowledge of roots, what is the correct root and meaning for the word transportation?

A. trans- act of C. port – to carry B. trans – to carry D. port - across

16. Phone- is a root word that means sound and is used is words like telephone, homophone, and microphone. Based on your knowledge of words, which of the following roots most likely means write? A. nym C. macro B. graph D. pen