Vocabulary Strategies
Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning
Teaching approaches
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1 approach
When your child encounters an unfamiliar word in a book or article, can they work out its meaning using context clues, word roots, or a dictionary — and then check whether their guess was right?
Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning
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Check understanding
- Use context clues (the overall meaning of a sentence, a word’s position or function) to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word
- Break down a word using known Greek or Latin roots and affixes to deduce its meaning (e.g., 'malevolent' = mal- (bad) + volent (wishing))
- Look up a word in a dictionary to verify or refine an inferred meaning
“When your child encounters an unfamiliar word in a book or article, can they work out its meaning using context clues, word roots, or a dictionary — and then check whether their guess was right?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- English
- Domain
- Vocabulary
- Age range
- Ages 11–14
Standards