© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Breaking Through, 8/e by Brenda Smith Chapter 3: Vocabulary

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Some Vocabulary Facts  You use about 20% of the words you know.  In high school you recognize about 50,000 words and use only 10,000 of them.  In college you recognize around 70,000 words and use about 15,000 of them.  You will learn about 20,000 new words in college, many from specific disciplines. 1 MILLION WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Remembering New Words  Association  Concept Cards  Dictionary  Practice!

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Unlocking the Meaning of New Words  Use context clues.  Use knowledge of word parts.  Use the glossary of your textbook.  Use the dictionary.  Use a thesaurus.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Types of Context Clues  Definition clues  Elaborating details  Elaborating examples  Comparison clues  Contrast clues

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Definition  Example: The explorers landed in an alien environment, a place both foreign and strange to their beloved homeland.  Explanation: The definition is set off by a comma. Alien means strange or foreign.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Elaborating Details  Example: The natives were hostile when the settlers approached their village. They lined up across the road and drew their weapons. The settlers were afraid to go farther.  Explanation: As described in these sentences, hostile means unfriendly.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Elaborating Examples  Example: The bird’s appetite is voracious. In one day he ate enough worms to equal three times his body weight.  Explanation: Because the bird ate an extraordinary amount, voracious means extremely hungry or greedy.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Comparison  Example: The smell of the flower was as compelling as a magnet’s pull on a paper clip.  Explanation: Since a magnet will pull a paper clip to it, the comparison suggests that the smell of the flower had an attraction. Compelling means forceful.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Contrast  Example: In America she is an eminent journalist, even though she is virtually unknown in England.  Explanation: Even though are signal words indicating the opposite. Thus eminent means the opposite of unknown; it means well-known or famous.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Multiple Meanings of a Word  Sally cannot bear to be in the house alone at night. The bear approaches our campsite.  Mr. Robinson served on the board of directors for the school. Put the extra board in the truck.  The owners suspected a dead animal was the cause of the foul odor. The batter hit a foul ball with three runners on base.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Word Parts  Roots  Prefixes  Suffixes

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Using the Dictionary  Guide Words  Pronunciation  Spelling  Word Meaning  Parts of Speech  Word History

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Word Origins - Etymology  Moccasin comes from the Algonquin Indian word for “shoe.”  Shampoo comes from the Hindi word meaning “to press.”  We study etymology to make it easier to remember the word.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Textbook Glossary  Specialized vocabulary is often found in the glossary of a textbook.  Example from biology: continental drift, cranium, cosmopolitan species.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Thesaurus  A thesaurus is a book with a list of synonyms for a word.  Example: verb “cause” – originate, give rise to, bring about, produce, create, evoke Check your word- processing program on your computer to see if they have a built-in thesaurus.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Analogies  An analogy is a comparison that mimics a previously stated relationship.  Example: Mosquito is to insect as gasoline is to fuel. Walking is to running as cool is to frozen.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Analogies  Example: Apple is to fruit as potato is to _______.  Explanation: Since an apple is a member of the fruit group, the relationship is one part to a larger whole. Solve the analogy by establishing a similar relationship for potato. A potato is a vegetable just as an apple is a fruit.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Categories of Relationships for Analogies  Synonyms  Antonyms  Function, use or purpose  Classification  Characteristics and descriptions  Degree or variation of intensity  Part to whole  Cause and effect

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Easily Confused Words  principle - rule principal – person  stationary – fixed position stationery - paper Memorize & associate to keep these words straight.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Enriching Your Vocabulary  Use the Internet.  Get news from Web sites and forums.  Read a lot!

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Summary Points  How many words does the average college student recognize?  How do context clues assist in unlocking word meaning?  What should you include on a concept card?  How can you recognize new words by linking parts of old words?

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers. Summary Points  How should you use a dictionary while reading?  Why use a glossary?  Why would you need a thesaurus?  What is the key to solving an analogy?

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