Vocabulary/Reading Comprehension Strategies.
L's Weekly Feature

Vocabulary/Reading Comprehension Strategies.      English writing usually allows you many chances to understand the meaning of a word or phrase. A good writer often gives examples or explanations of what he means in other parts of the sentence, paragraph, or essay.       These are called context clues. For example, in the first sentence of the newspaper article on the right, the phrase "multiple murder" might be unclear. In the next paragraph, "killings of four people" helps us to understand its meaning.       Similarly, from the involvement of the Children's Ministry and the fact that Chad is now 18 years old, you can probably guess that the word "teenager" would include a child of 18.      The second way many readers try to guess the meaning of words is by breaking the word up into separate parts and trying to see if they know the meaning of any of these parts. The word "misunderstanding", for example, can be divided into three parts: "mis", "understand", and "ing".         Think of other words that contain the prefix "mis". Words like "mistake" and "misplace" might lead you to think that "mis" gives the feeling of something that is wrong or not good. (continued below)

(From the National Post Nov 22, 2000) VANCOUVER - A misunderstanding allowed a teenager jailed for multiple murder to prematurely take day trips to a ski mountain and a restaurant, British Columbia's Children's Ministry said yesterday. Chad Edward Bucknell was convicted in 1997 of one count of second-degree murder for his part in the 1996 killings of four people at a friend's home near 100 Mile House, B.C.. Age 14 at the time of the murders, he was elevated to adult court and received a life sentence with no parole for seven years. Bucknell is incarcerated in a youth-detention facility in Prince George and recently applied to be relocated to an open-custody facility, an action that upset the family of some of the victims. In the wake of that application, it was revealed that Bucknell had joined other youths on an escorted ski trip and visits to a restaurant near the detention facility. Alan Markwart, manager of the Children's Ministry's justice services section, said Bucknell's crime was "particularly gruesome" and it was premature for him to be receiving day passes. "That was due in some extent to a misunderstanding."

     If you know the meaning of "understand", combining these two parts will allow you to guess that "misunderstanding" is something that was wrongly understood. How do we know that the word is a noun? The "ing" ending or suffix can often change a verb (an action) into a noun (a thing). The other noun clue is the article "a". Articles, "a", "an" and "the" must be followed by a noun or a noun phrase. Articles are called determiners, or noun markers. This strategy is called word analysis.

     To be able to use context clues successfully, you need to be calm and patient. Don't worry if you don't get the meaning of all the words in a sentence. If you only have a general idea, or even a hazy idea, of what the sentence is about, just keep reading. Finish the paragraph, and maybe even the next paragraph. Hopefully, when you reread the passage, the general idea will become a bit clearer. The important thing is not to panic or give up.

     What do you think the word "prematurely" in the first sentence of the newspaper article might mean? After reading the article, you might get a feeling that it was mistake for Chad to be allowed to go skiing three years after he had killed four people, and that it was too early for him to be able to enjoy such treats.

     When you combine context clues with word analysis, you can often make a good guess of the meaning. If you are a student, your teacher might have told you to "prepare" for a "pretest". "Pre" is a prefix meaning "before". Your teacher is telling you to get ready for an early test before he gives you the real test. Therefore, to do something "prematurely" is to do something before the right time.

     Let's analyze this sentence: "The mother knew what to do with her premature baby because she had gone to pre-natal classes 5 months ago, when she first learnt that she was pregnant." You can use your logical reasoning to guess that the baby was born before the normal 9 month term - most people know they are pregnant within the first two or three months. What are "pre-natal classes"? "Pre" means before; "natal" means birth. They are classes a newly pregnant woman might attend to learn about what it is like to give birth and have a baby.

    These are strategies that improve with use. The first few times might be difficult, but as you continue to use the strategies, they will become easier and more natural.

     The bonus with using these strategies is that it will also improve your grammar, and your sentence and essay structure. Studying sentences and paragraphs will give you a better understanding of how writers organize their essays and how they construct and vary their sentences. When you begin to understand how a writer works, you will be a better writer yourself. Similarly, studying word forms and suffixes will help you identify the different parts of speech and improve your grammar control.

     Other wonderful things will begin to happen: you will enjoy your reading a lot more because you are now becoming an active reader. When you are actively looking for what the writer is trying to say, your reading comprehension and appreciation will soar. The more you understand, the easier and more enjoyable reading becomes.

     In later weeks, I will be putting up additional exercise to help you with context-clues or with word analysis. For now, I hope you enjoy the quizzes and your study of the Latin root "nov". (This file requires PowerPoint. Download a PowerPoint Viewer--free from Microsoft if you do not have PowerPoint)

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