1. Be a word detective

2. Investigate the scene Look at the words around the unfamiliar word
See if you know any of the surrounding words
This will help your investigation like the taste of apple pie… GREAT!

3. Find connections Look for synonyms
You can find them in dictionaries, the internet, the thesaurus, etc.
These synonyms can tell you what your mystery word means to help crack the case

4. Find your suspects Look for antonyms They can be found with synonyms
They tell you the exact opposite of your unknown word

5. Narrow down your suspects
The meaning of an unknown word in a series of words can be determined by looking at the other words in that series
Look at your word in a determined series to help
Innocent as charged!!!!!

6. Look again Look for less obvious clues to the meaning of the word
You might overlook a clue that isn’t very obvious so look once again
Double- checking is an EXTREME DO ?

7. LOOK out Remember to look out for words with more than one meaning
This may cause you to make an educated guess
It can sometimes be hard when two or more meanings are similar

8. Figure it out
Look at the surrounding words to figure out the meaning of an idiom
Idiom- a fixed expression with a nonliteral meaning
Ex: Want to hang out Sunday night?

9. Put the puzzle together
Writers often use words that excite our senses
The writer may use words that children might not know
These words are exciting because if you don’t know it, you can learn it

10. Plug it in Plug in the answer choices
Now, you can test out your results to find the right one
Once you find your answer, you can go back to reading that book you were reading

11. CASE
Closed