Vocabulary & Context Clues

Students will receive vocabulary cards for each reading unit from their Reading Street textbooks. Students will need to use their vocabulary cards to practice the words and their definitions. Students may use their vocabulary cards several different ways to practice vocabulary.

You could practice these vocabulary words with your child by gluing them together to make flashcards, by playing a matching game*, or using them like you would in the game Memory (see description below, if needed).

With each story, some of these words will appear on the test, and perhaps on a vocabulary quiz. Not all of the vocabulary on the test will be from these words, however. This is due to the standards for vocabulary in fourth grade reading. The state of Ohio, through the AIR test, will evaluate fourth graders’ ability to a.) effectively be able to determine the meaning of the word using context clues b.) determine the appropriate definition of a word given 1) a word in a sentence and 2) a set of definitions from a dictionary or glossary.

We will also go over vocabulary in class, so vocabulary quizzes will not be announced ahead of time.

* Memory Game Description: In this game, the idea is for students to not only remember which definition matches with each word, but also where the definition is laid out. Place all of the cards upside-down on the floor, table, or other hard surface so that the writing cannot be seen. Then, each player gets to take a turn flipping over two cards at a time. If the cards match (the word and the definition), the player gets to keep these two cards. If the cards do not match, the player turns them back over, and their turn is over. Players take turns until the cards have all been matched. When all cards have been correctly matched, the player with the greatest amount of cards wins the game.

Students best learn vocabulary through context. It is how we get to know most of the words we use. We hear others speak the word, we see a visual representation of the word, we read the word, and eventually, we use the word. So while students will have vocabulary words whose definitions the students must memorize, students will also be expected to use context clues (as mentioned above) to determine a word's meaning when the word is presented to them in a sentence.

Context clues are other parts of the sentence or parts of the nearby sentence that help readers understand what an unknown word means. There are many strategies authors use to help readers understand what unknown words may mean. Students must learn these strategies so that they can find the meaning of unknown words themselves.

Another way that students can grow and build their vocabulary is to learn word parts. The most common word parts we will talk about are prefixes, suffixes, and root words.

Prefixes & Suffixes

Prefixes are letters or syllables added to the beginning of a base word to change its meaning. Examples include pre- (before), super- (above), and uni- (one). Suffixes, then are letters or syllables added to the end of a base word to change its meaning. Examples include -ful (full of), -er or -ist (one who), or even -s (plural). Prefixes and suffixes help students understand a lot of words by helping them break down the words into its base - or original - form, and then understanding how the word has been changed.

Root Words

Root words come from Greek or Latin origins. They make up a lot of academic language that kids will experience. When students learn these Greek and Latin root words, sometimes called morphemes, they better break down words to a) understand their meaning, b) learn to sound out or pronounce such unfamiliar words, and c) learn to spell difficult words that have Greek and Latin roots. Examples of some root words are: aqua (water), dict (to say), and mal (bad).