Chapter 12: Word- Learning Strategies

1. Chapter 12: Word-Learning Strategies Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2nd edition

2. Research on Word-Learning Strategies • Word-learning strategies can help students to determine meanings of unfamiliar words independently and transfer the strategies to other words. • Effective word-learning strategies include how to • use dictionaries to confirm and deepen knowledge of word meanings; • use morphemic (word-part) analysis to derive meaning; • use contextual analysis to infer meanings of words in text.

3. When to Teach • Morphemic analysis is appropriate for students beginning at fourth grade. Instruction in compound words, word families, and simple affixes begins by second grade. • Vocabulary can be acquired through use of context clues in reading and listening. Beginning in Kindergarten, teachers can model the use of context clues when reading aloud. • By grades 2 and 3, students begin learning to use context clues independently. • Middle grade students (grades 4-8) may begin using a combination of morphemic and contextual analysis.

4. When to Assess and Intervene • Assessment that is tied to the instruction will provide better information about students’ specific learning of word learning strategies. • The multiple-choice format of most standardized tests can also provide a more global measure of vocabulary. • What is central to word-learning strategy assessment is a process such as thinking aloud or self-evaluation, that reveals the student’s metacognitive thinking.

5. Dictionary Use • Mechanics of using a dictionary • finding an entry alphabetically • using guide words • separating words into syllables • using pronunciation keys • Translating dictionary definitions into word knowledge • finding the appropriate definition to fit the context • confirming and deepening knowledge of a word

6. Morphemic Awareness • Key instructional elements in morphemic analysis include • Root words and word families: teaching root word and its derived forms; • Compound words: contain two free morphemes that stand alone as two word parts; • Greek and Latin Roots: bound morphemes that cannot stand alone as words in English; • Cognate Awareness: words in two languages that share a similar spelling, pronunciation and meaning.

7. Contextual Analysis • Types of helpful context clues in text • Definition: direct definition within the sentence. • Appositive: a word or phrase that defines or explains a word that precedes it. • Synonym: a word or phrase that is similar in meaning. • Antonym: words that mean the opposite or in contrast. • Example: several words or ideas as examples General: non-specific clues to meaning • Types of unhelpful context clues in text • Misdirective: direct reader to incorrect meaning • Nondirective: do not direct reader to any particular meaning of the word