{"id":40,"date":"2017-08-22T12:36:51","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T12:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/?page_id=40"},"modified":"2017-10-12T07:52:58","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T07:52:58","slug":"word-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/word-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Comprehension"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twelve columns\" style=\"margin-top: 10%;\">\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/comprehension-of-texts\">Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/comprehension-strategies\">Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- CONTENT BEGINS HERE --><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"title\">Word Comprehension<\/h1>\n<h4>Objective<\/h4>\n<p>In this lesson you will learn about roots, prefixes, and suffixes; comprehension strategies for identification of unknown words such as context clues and word relationships, and techniques to assess and improve vocabulary power.<\/p>\n<p>Vocabulary development is a lifelong goal for most of us and is essential for new readers. Providing students with the tools they need to learn and identify new words improves comprehension and fluency and promotes confident, active readers.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h3>Parts Equal the Whole<\/h3>\n<p>One of the most effective ways to strengthen students&#8217; vocabulary is to teach them to break words into manageable parts. In compound words, for example, two words combine to create a new word with a different meaning such as <em>firefly<\/em>, <em>rainbow<\/em>, or <em>snowflake<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Most English language words, however, are composed of word parts\u2014much like building blocks\u2014that combine in a multitude of ways to create meaning. Familiarity with these building blocks enables a student to decipher not only the definition of a word but also its function in a sentence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Words can be composed of a <abbr title=\"The main component of a given word. For example, the root of decompression is compress (\u201cto press together\u201d).\">root<\/abbr> or base word and <abbr title=\"A linguistic set of letters added to a word to affect its meaning. For example, the word decompression has two affixes\u2014the prefix de- (meaning to separate, to stop, to contradict, etc.) and the suffix -ion (meaning that the word refers to a condition or process).\">affixes<\/abbr>, such as: prefixes and suffixes.<\/li>\n<li>The root is the core element of a word and contains the basic meaning.<\/li>\n<li>A prefix begins a word and changes the word&#8217;s meaning or makes a new word.<\/li>\n<li>A suffix ends a word and can indicate whether a word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Suffixes can also modify and extend meaning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at an example\u2014 of the word \u201creporter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/reporter.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram of reporter\" \/><\/center><\/p>\n<p class=\"figcaption\">Basic Word Parts<\/p>\n<p>When teaching word parts, you may want to plan lessons that focus on meaning\u2014 particularly, how new readers can use information from common prefixes and suffixes to deconstruct words, as you saw in the previous example.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Prefix<\/th>\n<th>Meaning<\/th>\n<th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><em>re-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>back or again<\/td>\n<td>repository<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>un-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>not, against, opposite<\/td>\n<td>uninspired<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>pre-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>before<\/td>\n<td>prejudice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>bi-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>two<\/td>\n<td>biannually<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>mis-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>wrong<\/td>\n<td>misanthrope<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>dis-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>not, opposite of, exclude<\/td>\n<td>disappear<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>If you look at the chart above you\u2019ll notice that common prefixes have fixed meanings that provide students with reliable clues when encountering unfamiliar words. In fact, the <a class=\"inline cboxElement\" href=\"#prefixes\">top twenty prefixes and suffixes<\/a> account for ninety-seven percent of prefixed words, excluding those followed by non-English roots.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\">\n<div id=\"prefixes\" style=\"padding: 10px; background: #fff;\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"5\">The Most Common Affixes &amp; Prefixes in Printed School English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td><em>un-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>26%<\/td>\n<td><em>-s, -es<\/em><\/td>\n<td>31%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td><em>re-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>14%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ed<\/em><\/td>\n<td>20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td><em>in-, im-, il-, ir- (not)<\/em><\/td>\n<td>11%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ing<\/em><\/td>\n<td>14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td><em>dis-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>7%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ly<\/em><\/td>\n<td>7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<td><em>en-, em-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>4%<\/td>\n<td><em>-er, -or (agent)<\/em><\/td>\n<td>4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6<\/td>\n<td><em>non-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>4%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ion, -tion, -ation, -ition<\/em><\/td>\n<td>4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>7<\/td>\n<td><em>in-, im-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-able, -ible<\/em><\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>8<\/td>\n<td><em>over-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-al, -ial<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>9<\/td>\n<td><em>mis-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-y<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10<\/td>\n<td><em>sub-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ness<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>11<\/td>\n<td><em>pre-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ity, -ty<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>12<\/td>\n<td><em>inter-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ment<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>13<\/td>\n<td><em>fore-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ic<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>14<\/td>\n<td><em>de-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ous, -eous, -ious<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>15<\/td>\n<td><em>trans-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td><em>-en<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>16<\/td>\n<td><em>super-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<td><em>-er (comparative)<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>17<\/td>\n<td><em>semi-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ive, -ative, -tive<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>18<\/td>\n<td><em>anti-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<td><em>-ful<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>19<\/td>\n<td><em>mid-<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<td><em>-less<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>20<\/td>\n<td><em>under- (too little)<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<td><em>-est<\/em><\/td>\n<td>1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>All others<\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Suffixes can indicate whether a word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. They can also modify and extend meaning.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\">Suffix<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-er<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Noun:<\/em> indicates a person or thing, as in wanderer or toaster<br \/>\n<em>Verb:<\/em> indicates an action, as in wonder<br \/>\n<em>Adjective:<\/em> comparative, as in brighter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-est<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Adjective:<\/em> superlative, as in brightest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-ful<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Noun:<\/em> indicates a quantity or amount, as in mouthful<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-ness<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Noun:<\/em> indicates a quality or condition, as in happiness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-less<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Adjective:<\/em> without, missing, as in helpless<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>-ly<\/em><\/td>\n<td><em>Adverb:<\/em> in the manner of, marked by, as in easily<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Greek and Latin Roots and Affixes<\/h3>\n<p>The English language has its roots in several other languages, including Greek, Latin, and older forms of English, German, and French. Learning to recognize Greek and Latin roots and affixes will aid reading comprehension across the content areas.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll want to make sure students are familiar with the more common roots and affixes, though memorizing lists probably won\u2019t be as helpful to them as modeling words or generating vocabulary from words that contain high-frequency affixes such as autograph.<\/p>\n<h3>Review<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Compound words are two words that combine to create a new word with a different meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Words can be composed of a root or base word, a prefix, and a suffix.<\/li>\n<li>Prefixes have fixed meanings.<\/li>\n<li>Suffixes can indicate whether a word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve broken words apart, let\u2019s put them back together and look at some proven methods of comprehension students can use to understand words in context.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that every reader\u2014regardless of age\u2014approaches a text with prior knowledge. You\u2019ll want to encourage students to use that knowledge, as well as the tools outlined below, as they move from oral language to written language. Reading comprehension strategies develop a student\u2019s critical thinking skills by encouraging them to rely on the text, question what they read, and support opinions or responses from the information given.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Context:<\/strong> When the meaning of a difficult word is implied or inferred, readers can use sentence structure and syntax to find <abbr title=\"Example: 'Neanderthals &lt;em&gt;lived&lt;\/em&gt; during the &lt;em&gt;Ice Age&lt;\/em&gt;. They were much smaller than &lt;em&gt;modern man&lt;\/em&gt; and the first to live in extreme cold weather.' By noting the past tense of the verb &lt;em&gt;live&lt;\/em&gt; we know that Neanderthal refers to someone no longer living. The term &lt;em&gt;Ice Age&lt;\/em&gt; lets us know he lived in another time. The second sentence tells us he was not \u201cmodern man.\u201d\">context clues<\/abbr>. Readers must look within, before, and after the sentence in which the word is used.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restatement:<\/strong> Sometimes the meaning of a difficult word is clarified within a sentence. Common words that signal <abbr title=\"Example: 'Neanderthals, &lt;em&gt;sometimes referred to&lt;\/em&gt; as cavemen, lived during the late Proterozoic Age, &lt;em&gt;also known as&lt;\/em&gt; the Ice Age.' The two restatement clues in this sentence give us information about Neanderthal man, and the time he lived.\">restatement clues<\/abbr> include: <em>such as, or, otherwise known as, which is, that is, some say, in other words.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Comparison\/Contrast:<\/strong> Sometimes a sentence will provide a comparison or a contrast statement that helps the reader understand the meaning of an unknown word. Common <abbr title=\"Example: 'Neanderthal man lived in very cold weather and, &lt;em&gt;like&lt;\/em&gt; modern man, used tools to survive.'\">comparison clues<\/abbr> include: <strong>like, similar to, as, also, same as, other.\u00a0<\/strong>Words that signal <abbr title=\"Example: Neanderthal man was our ancient relative, &lt;em&gt;although&lt;\/em&gt; he was much smaller than modern man.\">contrast clues<\/abbr> include:<strong> but, although, unlike, however, rather than, on the other hand, yet, as opposed to.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Cause and Effect:<\/strong> Identifying cause-and-effect relationships in passages will help students understand sentence structure as well as the meaning of difficult words. One effective way to have students identify cause and effect in a passage is to have them map the relationships in a <a class=\"inline cboxElement\" href=\"#causeeffect\">cause-and-effect chart<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"display: none;\">\n<div id=\"causeeffect\" style=\"padding: 10px; background: #fff;\">\n<h4>Cause and Effect<\/h4>\n<p>Example: Neanderthals learned to control fire, hunt, and build shelters, which helped them survive in extremely cold weather.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cause<\/th>\n<th>Effect<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>They learned to control fire.<\/td>\n<td>They were able to keep warm.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>They hunted.<\/td>\n<td>They had food.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>They could build shelter.<\/td>\n<td>They had a safe place to sleep.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at how this information might be presented in a test question.<\/p>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p>In the following sentence, which context clue could the reader use to understand the word Proterozoic?<\/p>\n<p>It was cold in the Proterozoic Age; why do you think they called it the Ice Age?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Restatement<\/li>\n<li>Comparison<\/li>\n<li>Inference<\/li>\n<li>Contrast<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">The correct answer is A. Though Proterozoic Age is not explicitly defined, the author uses the signal word &#8220;called&#8221; to introduce the more familiar term for the period, Ice Age. You might also want to note that the word Proterozoic itself gives us information about the period: protero- is a Greek prefix that means \u201cearly\u201d; -zoic stems from Indo-European roots and means \u201clife.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h3>&#8220;I&#8217;ve Got a Bone to Pick With You&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>Since we\u2019re on the topic of the Neanderthal man, let\u2019s use the above expression as we segue to subtleties of language.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve all experienced the frustration of being misunderstood. Sometimes (particularly when we\u2019re speaking) our language fails us, and we just can\u2019t find the right word.<\/p>\n<p>Written language is much more forgiving. As writers, we have the opportunity to collect, organize, and compose ideas with precision and competence. As readers, we benefit from text that has been carefully crafted with a specific goal.<\/p>\n<p>Learning to recognize context cues that provide information about the tone, style, or genre of a given text helps students pick up on the nuances of connotative and denotative words, identifying idioms and adages, and interpreting figurative language such as metaphors and similes.<\/p>\n<p>You may already be familiar with many of the terms outlined below but find it helpful to reference this chart for review.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Term<\/th>\n<th>Definition<\/th>\n<th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Adage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>A pithy phrase or saying people adopt over time because they believe it holds some validity or truth.<\/td>\n<td>\u201cYou can\u2019t judge a book by its cover.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Connotative Words<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Connotative refers to the implied meanings words have and are oftentimes dependent on to be correctly understood.<\/td>\n<td><em>happy vs. blissful<\/em> &#8211; At first glance, the two may seem very close in meaning but blissful suggests a serene happiness and perhaps the sense that someone is unaware of something.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Denotative Words<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Denotative refers to words that are specific in meaning and lack connotative overtones, such as the names of objects.<\/td>\n<td>table<br \/>\nIt may be helpful to think of denotative words as those that can be easily represented by a picture or symbol. For example, when you see a table you know it\u2019s a table, a piece of furniture.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Idiom<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>A colorful word or expression used to convey an idea in an alternate way, idioms are figures of speech, colloquial terms whose meaning is not literal and doesn\u2019t follow the definition of the words of which it is composed.<\/td>\n<td>\u201cI\u2019ve got a bone to pick with you.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Figurative Language<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Figurative language refers to an author\u2019s use of a word or phrase in a way that is not intended to be interpreted literally.<\/td>\n<td>\u201cMy dog, Rainbow, likes to fetch.\u201d Figurative language can be as simple as the use of the word rainbow as a pet name or as complex as the poetics of William Shakespeare.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Metaphor<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Metaphors are a type of figurative language. When an author compares two things by using one kind of object in place of another to suggest the likeness between the two, it is a metaphor.<\/td>\n<td>\u201cMy dog, Rainbow, has a cast-iron stomach.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Simile<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Similes are a type of figurative language often confused with metaphors. When an author uses &#8220;like&#8221; or &#8220;as&#8221; in a comparison, it is a simile.<\/td>\n<td>\u201cMy dog, Rainbow, is as pretty as the morning sun.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>You\u2019ll be able to link back to this chart for reference but as most of these terms need contextual information, it might be more helpful to review them with example text. Let\u2019s look at a few questions.<\/p>\n<p>These can be tricky to differentiate. For example, which of the phrases in the following passage is an adage?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying: <em>you can\u2019t take it with you<\/em>, so I guess I won\u2019t be shopping on <em>the other side<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you chose \u201cyou can\u2019t take it with you,\u201d you are correct. The author gives us a clue by telling us it\u2019s \u201can old saying.\u201d Adages are sometimes humorous, often astute observations about the world and humankind. You\u2019ll want to make sure students look for clues in the entire passage to infer meaning. In this example, we can deduce that it refers to money.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The other side&#8221; is an idiomatic expression. Students should examine context clues before, during, and after reading, and support their interpretations with examples found in the passage. A new reader might not be familiar with the meaning of this expression, and in this instance, require more information.<\/p>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p>In the following sentence, which word is connotative?<\/p>\n<p>It was a bittersweet moment. I was leaving home, starting a new life, and leaving childhood behind.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Bittersweet<\/li>\n<li>Was<\/li>\n<li>Home<\/li>\n<li>Life<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">Answer A is correct. <em>Bittersweet<\/em> suggests a particular emotion. Without the information the author provides us in the latter part of the passage, we wouldn\u2019t understand the full meaning of the sentence. <em>Home<\/em> has both a denotative and connotative quality in this passage. Though the author is literally leaving a home\u2014a house with four walls\u2014he or she is leaving the idea of home: comfort, security, and memories.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p>Classify the underlined phrase:<\/p>\n<p>He was my best friend, good as gold.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Adage<\/li>\n<li>Idiom<\/li>\n<li>Simile<\/li>\n<li>Metaphor<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">Answer C is the right choice. The indicator &#8220;as&#8221; in this particular passage tells us that it is a simile. If the passage had told us he had a \u201cheart of gold,\u201d we would have recognized it as a metaphor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">Though figurative language is used in all walks of life and throughout the English language, students should be aware of the conventions of certain genres of text (such as poetry and literature) that use figurative language to convey deeper thematic content and meaning. When readers become adept at recognizing the clues authors give us to interpret layers of meaning, reading becomes more enjoyable and imaginative.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h3>Types of Words<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to classifying words as parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.), we also classify words by other means. Check out the chart below to review some of the major word types and examples of each.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Term<\/th>\n<th>Definition<\/th>\n<th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Synonym<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Words that have the same or similar meanings<\/td>\n<td>movies\/films<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Antonym<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Words that have opposite meanings<\/td>\n<td>fat\/thin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Homophone<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different definitions<\/td>\n<td>There was a heavy rain the day King Henry VIII began his reign.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Homonym<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Words that sound alike but have different definitions. They are sometimes, but not always spelled differently.<\/td>\n<td>I saw the saw.<\/p>\n<p>It was too bad that only two of us could make it to the party.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Homograph<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and often different pronunciations.<\/td>\n<td>The tear in his new shirt brought a tear to my eye.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Homonyms<\/h3>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Accept, Except<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Accept<\/em> is a verb meaning to receive. <em>Except<\/em> is usually a preposition meaning excluding.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Affect, Effect<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Affect<\/em> is usually a verb meaning to influence. <em>Effect<\/em> is usually a noun meaning result.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Capital, Capitol<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Capital<\/em> refers to a city. A <em>capitol<\/em> is a building where lawmakers meet.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Emigrate from, Immigrate to<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Emigrate<\/em> means to leave one country or region to settle in another. <em>Immigrate<\/em> means to enter another country and reside there.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Principle, Principal<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Principal<\/em> is a noun meaning the head of a school or organization. <em>Principle<\/em> is a noun meaning a basic truth or law.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Than, Then<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Than<\/em> is a conjunction used in comparisons; <em>Then<\/em> is an adverb denoting time.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>There, Their, They&#8217;re<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>There<\/em> is an adverb specifying place. <em>Their<\/em> is a possessive pronoun. <em>They&#8217;re<\/em> is a contraction of they are.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>To, Too, Two<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>To<\/em> is a preposition; <em>too<\/em> is an adverb; <em>two<\/em> is a number.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Your, You&#8217;re<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><em>Your<\/em> is a possessive pronoun; <em>you&#8217;re<\/em> is a contraction of you are.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Word is to Analogy as Piece is to ______.<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ve looked at a number of ways you can develop a student\u2019s ability to define the meaning of unknown words or phrases in the context of a larger passage. Now let\u2019s focus on word relationships.<\/p>\n<p>As the above analogy implies, words are to analogies as pieces are to puzzles. Having students become aware of the relationships between words\u2014how these puzzle pieces fit together\u2014builds essential vocabulary skills and strengthens language comprehension.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll want to make sure that vocabulary development is ongoing and constant in your class. Visual organizers reinforce learning of word relationships and can help with spelling patterns and relationships of homophones, homonyms, and homographs. Students may also find it useful to generate lists of antonyms and use graphic organizers to map synonyms and learn new vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at some sample questions that use analogies to clarify meaning and develop comprehension of word relationships.<\/p>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p><em>They\u2019re<\/em> is to <em>their<\/em> as it\u2019s is to ____.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>his<\/li>\n<li>it is<\/li>\n<li>its<\/li>\n<li>can&#8217;t<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">The correct answer is C. <em>They\u2019re<\/em> and <em>their<\/em>, as well as <em>it\u2019s<\/em> and <em>its<\/em>, are <em>homophones<\/em>. You may want to use analogies to familiarize students with commonly misspelled and misused homophones such as <em>their, they\u2019re, there<\/em>; <em>it\u2019s, its<\/em>; and <em>you\u2019re, your<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p>Small is to little as thin is to _____.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>tiny<\/li>\n<li>wide<\/li>\n<li>skinny<\/li>\n<li>heavy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">The correct answer is C. Both pairs of words are synonyms. Be sure students have a strong understanding of the different types of word relationships before you ask them to solve analogies that focus on nuances of meaning. Once you feel confident that they grasp the basic relationships, you can introduce new vocabulary to illuminate broader concepts.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<p><em>Near<\/em> is to far as close is to _____.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>wide<\/li>\n<li>open<\/li>\n<li>mile<\/li>\n<li>distant<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"q-reveal\">The correct answer is D. Did you guess B, open? If so, you\u2019re partly right. The verb close (as in, Close the door) and the adjective close (meaning near in time or proximity) are homographs. When solving analogies, students should choose the match that most closely resembles the relationship of the first two words. Because near and far are both adjectives, and antonyms, the best answer is an antonym for close, which in this case is distant.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h3>Review<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.<\/li>\n<li>Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings.<\/li>\n<li>Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different definitions.<\/li>\n<li>Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different definitions, and are sometimes, but not always, spelled differently.<\/li>\n<li>Homographs are words that are spelled alike but have different definitions and different pronunciations.<\/li>\n<li>Analogies are statements that pair words or concepts to highlight similarities in patterns or meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Comprehension strategies such as restatement, comparison, contrast, and cause and effect enable readers to identify information in the text to aid comprehension about unknown words.<\/li>\n<li>Active readers use a variety of strategies while reading, including context clues provided by sentence structure, word relationships, and syntax.<\/li>\n<li>Identifying cause and effect helps readers process sequencing and develop their ability to infer meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Denotative words have explicit meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Connotative words have nuances of meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Idioms are figures of speech, colorful words, and expressions that are not literally interpreted.<\/li>\n<li>Adages are expressions, sayings, or observations that people generally believe hold some truth.<\/li>\n<li>Figurative language is not literally interpreted and often illuminates deeper layers of meaning in texts.<\/li>\n<li>A metaphor makes comparisons by using one thing in place of another to suggest the likeness.<\/li>\n<li>A simile compares one thing to another using the words &#8220;like&#8221; or &#8220;as&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- CONTENT ENDS HERE --><\/p>\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/comprehension-of-texts\">Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/comprehension-strategies\">Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"backtotop\" href=\"#title\">Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Workshop Index\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1 Word Comprehension Objective In this lesson you will learn about roots, prefixes, and suffixes; comprehension strategies for identification of unknown words such as context clues and word relationships, and techniques to assess and improve vocabulary power. Vocabulary development is a lifelong goal for most of us and is essential for new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1418,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions\/1418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/elementary-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}