CRCB- chapter 2 summary

Chapter 2 summary-Developing your Vocabulary

In this chapter the author gives several reasons why vocabulary and developing vocabulary are both important. The author believes that by increasing your vocabulary then you will increase your ability to think critically. For example, when reading if you come across words you haven’t seen before or don’t understand the meaning of, you will have difficulty understanding the text. However, the author explains there are ways to overcome challenges such as this. A dictionary is a great tool in developing vocabulary. There are two other important strategies that will assist you with figuring out the meanings of unfamiliar words. Context clues is the process of when you use the familiar words in a sentence and to try relate them to the unfamiliar word in hopes of understanding the definition of the word. There are several types of context clues authors use to convey their message such as: Definitions, examples, punctuation, personal experience, opinion and knowledge. Word part analysis is another strategy. That is when you break words up into smaller parts such as: roots, prefixes, and suffixes. The most basic part of a word is its root. When you attached a prefix to the front of a word it changes the meaning of the word. Suffixes are attached to the end of words. They usually don’t change the meanings of the words, but they can change the word to the past, present, or future tense. They can also change the way a word can be used. There are also useful strategies to help retain new vocabulary. Word maps are pictures that illustrate the various steps you should take in order to learn a new word. Creating a word map consists of six different steps: 1.) draw a circle and write a new vocabulary word in the center, 2.) write down the sentence in which you found the word in, 3.) predict what you think the word means, 4.) look the word up in the dictionary, 5.) create your own sentence using the vocabulary word, and finally 6.) Identify the new vocabulary word’s part of speech, circle it and connect it to the new word. The card review system (CRS) is also useful for comprehending general and specialized vocabulary. Basically the system consists of writing new words on one side of an index card and on the back side writing the definitions of the words. Another important aspect of vocabulary building is recognizing the difference between a word’s denotation and connotation. A denotation is the dictionary definition of a word, and a connotation is the dictionary definition plus any ideas suggested by or associated with the word. Other differences between the two words are that the denotation of a word is just the dictionary’s definition, narrow, cut and dry. On the other hand the connotation of a word carries emotional weight and gives the word emotional depth. Increasing your vocabulary will allow you to understand text book information better. It will increase your ability to write and speak well. Having a well rounded vocabulary will let you communicate more effectively and think to critically.