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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.

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Context Clues A context clue is the information that

surrounds a new word, used to understand its meaning. Synonyms Antonyms General Context Examples

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S A G E Approach Synonyms

Antonyms

General Context

Examples

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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.

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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.

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Synonym Clue

A cross-section (slice) of the leaf is studied under the microscope.

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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.

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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

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Antonym Signal Words

As opposed to Instead of But However In contrast

Not On the other hand Rather than Unlike Yet

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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?

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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.

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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

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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?

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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”?

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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.a. Richb. Moistc. Dryd. Overgrown

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Review

1. Vocabulary is all the words used or understood by a person.

2. Context is the information that surrounds a new word, used to understand its meaning.

3. Skilled readers use context clues to learn new words.

4. The first letter of each of the four common context clues spells: SAGE.

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Review1. A synonym is a word that has the same or

nearly the same meaning as the other word.2. An antonym is a word that has the opposite

meaning of another word.3. The general context requires you to read the

entire sentence or read ahead for a few sentences.

4. Often the signal words such as or including introduce an example as a context clue.