Vocabulary Analysis: Stellar Evolution

The following steps and strategies will help you to uncover the meaning of unknown words and phrases.

Begin by reading the text and thinking about the overall meaning. Ask yourself:

• What does the author want me to understand?
• What is the central idea?
• What is the topic and main point(s) that the author is explaining?

Identify the words within the text that are unfamiliar to you.

• Decide if the meaning of the unfamiliar word is important to your overall understanding of the text.

Once you have identified the unfamiliar words whose meaning would help you understand the text better, begin studying each unfamiliar word to look for clues. Good readers use the strategies on the following slides to help them uncover the meaning of challenging vocabulary.

First, put the sentence(s) containing the unfamiliar word into your own words. This step will help you understand the content surrounding the unfamiliar word.

Look for context clues that surround the unfamiliar word. These are words that come before or after the challenging word and help you make meaning of the unknown word.

Examine the text for synonyms or antonyms for the unknown words. These words can also help you understand unfamiliar vocabulary.

Analyze any prefixes or suffixes that are a part of the unknown word and think about their meaning. If you are unfamiliar with the prefix or suffix, think about other words with that prefix/suffix and what those words mean.

Look at the visuals that the author has used. Think about how the graphic features, such as symbols, help you understand the meaning in the text. Also look for diagrams, charts, text boxes, illustrations and photographs. Think about how these features help you determine the meaning of unknown vocabulary terms.

Once you think you have figured out the meaning of the unfamiliar word, place that meaning back into the sentence to check that you are correct. The word with your assigned meaning should make sense once replaced in the sentence and within the context of the text.

Now confirm the meaning of the unfamiliar word by using a dictionary or thesaurus.

Begin using the new word(s) in your speaking and writing. As you practice using unfamiliar words, they will become familiar to you and will be incorporated into your working vocabulary.