Unit Three
Language 6.4 Study Guide
Name __________________________
Learning Target: I can choose flexibly from a range of strategies to
determine or clarify unknown word meanings based on grade 6
reading and content.
Strategy 1: Try substituting words in place of the unknown word.
Example: I know that Jeff is smart, so I was confused when he did such a vacuous thing as
to jump off the roof of our house.
In this sentence, the word vacuous means______________________.
A. outstanding
B. cowardly
C. annoying
D. stupid
If you try substituting each of the choices into the sentence, it should be easy to
eliminate some choices right away. The speaker is confused, so he would not say it was
an outstanding thing to do. Cowardly and annoying do not seem to fit well, either. The
speaker began by calling Jeff smart, so it makes sense that he was confused because Jeff
did something stupid. Stupid makes the most sense in this example.
Strategy 2: Look for other words in the sentence or paragraph that may give clues to the
meaning of the unknown word.
Example: The departing president of the organization gave his valediction. When he was
through, he welcomed the new president to the podium.
In this sentence, the word valediction means ___________________________________.
A. welcome
B. beginning
C. farewell
D. starting
If you look at the rest of the sentence, you can tell that the person who spoke is
leaving his position. The word departing is a clue. The next sentence says that the
speaker welcomed the new president. These clues help us understand that valediction
means farewell.
Sample questions:
1. Define inarticulate in this sentence: The
new speaker from the health clinic was so
inarticulate that we left the auditorium
wondering what the message was.
A. full of anger
B. unclearly spoken
C. conflicted
D. cowardly
2. The tornado annihilated the whole town to
the point that nothing was left standing.
In this sentence, the word annihilated means-A. created
B. constructed
C. saved
D. destroyed
3. I felt sorry for the poor pathetic dog after he
was dropped off along the road in the rain.
In this sentence, the word pathetic means ---A. cheerful
B. joyful
C. happy
D. sad
4. The heavy rain made it difficult to see. Jill
meant to turn right on King Street, but she
inadvertently turned onto Cedar Street
instead.
What does inadvertently mean?
A. carefully
B. deliberately
C. unintentionally
D. slowly
Learning Target: I can choose flexibly from a range of strategies to
determine or clarify meanings of multiple meaning words and
phrases based on grade 6 reading and content.
Multiple meaning words and phrases are words and/or phrases that look the same,
but have different meanings depending on the context of the sentence or paragraph in
which they occur.
Example:
last – (adv.) being after all the others. He was the last one in line for lunch
(v) to continue in time; to endure. No one knew how long the storm would last.
(n) a wooden frame on which boots and shoes are formed. The cobbler inherited the last
from his grandfather.
Sample questions:
5. Our best hitter ground his teeth, determined
not to hit a fly ball.
Choose the definition below that best expresses
the meaning of the word ground as it is used in
the sentence above.
ground – 1. (n) the solid surface of the earth 2.
(v) to punish by restricting activities 3. (v)
rubbed together harshly 4. (n) sediment at the
bottom of a liquid
A. Definition 1
B. Definition 2
6. During a fire drill, it is important to remain
quiet so the teacher can call roll.
What does roll mean in this sentence?
A. the sound of thunder
B. a list of students
C. a type of bread
D. to turn over
C. Definition 3
D. Definition 4
7. The contestant was voted off American Idol
because her pitch was off.
Which sentence uses pitch the same way as the
sentence above?
A. The pitch came across home plate before the
batter was ready.
B. They used pitch from the fir tree to make
patches for the roof.
C. They bought the vacuum because the
salesman’s pitch was very convincing.
D. It was difficult to hear him because the pitch
of his voice was so low.
8. His comment hurt me to the core.
Choose the definition below that best expresses
the meaning of the word core as it is used in
the sentence above.
core – 1. (n) the center or inner part 2. (n) the
center of the earth 3.(n) the chamber of a
nuclear reactor 4. (v) to remove the inner
section
A. Definition 1
B. Definition 2
C. Definition 3
D. Definition 4
Learning Target: 4a -I can infer the meaning of unknown words
using context clues (e.g. definitions, synonyms/antonyms,
restatements, examples found in the surrounding text).
Context clues – bits of information from the text that, when combined with prior knowledge,
allow you to decide the meaning of unknown words in the story or article you are reading.
Definitions – word meanings
Some passages will directly include a definition of an unknown word.
 Example: After a time, glaciers, or slowly moving rivers of ice, formed over
many parts of the Earth.
In this sentence the words “slowly moving rivers of ice” is the definition of what
glaciers are.
Synonyms – words that mean the same or nearly the same.
Sometimes a sentence or paragraph will include a synonym to help you understand an
unfamiliar word.
 Examples: There are many theories, or ideas, about what made the Ice Ages
happen.
In this sentence the word “ideas” tells us that theories are different thoughts people
have about something.
Antonyms – words that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings.
Some sentences or paragraphs may provide clues that show the unfamiliar word means the
opposite of another word included in the passage.
Example:
 Joe was reluctant to take the job of captain of the team. He was afraid that
the time it would take would hurt his grades. On the other hand, Billy was
eager for the chance to be the team captain.
In this sentence the words “on the other hand” and “eager” tell us that Billy feels the
opposite of Joe, therefore, reluctant means uncertain or cautious.
Restatements – stating the definition of an unknown word or phrase in a different way.
Example:
 Sue's boss was a callous man. He did not react to her tears and apologies.
In this sentence, the description of Sue’s boss has been restated. Callous must
mean hard-hearted or insensitive.
Sample questions:
9. The man who lives next door spoke brusquely
to the young children, unlike his wife who is
always polite.
In this sentence, the word brusquely means --A. calmly
C. gruffly or impolitely
B. courteously
D. kindly
11. Terry was obstinate; she was being stubborn
and refused to see any movie other than the one
she wanted.
In this sentence, the word obstinate means --A. stubborn
C. compliant
B. easily gives in
D. peacemaker
10. Bobby thinks it's funny to tantalize Sally,
such as making fun of her curly hair, but it only
makes the other kids mad at him.
Tantalize means -----A. rush
C. tease
B. talk to
D. poke
12. A chain of five missions established along
the San Antonio River in the 18th century
became the largest concentration of Catholic
missions in North America. Built primarily, or
mostly to expand Spanish New World influence
northward from Mexico, the missions also served
to introduce native inhabitants, people, into
Spanish society.
Inhabitants are ----A. missions
B. people
C. weapons
D. Spanish
Learning Target: 4b - I can use common grade appropriate Greek
and Latin affixes and roots as clues to determine the meaning of a
word.
affix– a word part added to a word that changes or adds to its meaning; this term includes
both prefixes and suffixes
prefix– a word part added to the beginning of a word that changes or adds to its meaning
suffix – a word part added to the end of a word that changes or adds to its meaning
root- the form of a word after all affixes are removed
Example: haustire is a Latin word that means to drain or empty
Exhaust is a word in English that uses the root word and the prefix ex- which
means out of. Exhaust means to drain out or empty out. (We will exhaust all
possibilities.) If you add the suffix –ed, the word changes to past tense and means drained
or emptied out. (All possibilities were exhausted.)
Sample questions:
13. Which word most likely comes from the
Latin word specere, meaning “to see?”
A. specialty
B. spendthrift
C. spelling
D. spectator
14. The prefix mis- is used in words such as
misstated, misconceive, and misunderstood.
From your knowledge of these words, what is
the meaning of the prefix mis- ?
A. wrongly
B. instead of
C. within
D. out of
15. Based on your knowledge of roots, what is
the correct root and meaning for the word
transportation?
A. trans- act of
B. trans – to carry
C. port – to carry
D. port - across
16. Phone- is a root word that means sound and
is used is words like telephone, homophone, and
microphone. Based on your knowledge of words,
which of the following roots most likely means
write?
A. nym
B. graph
C. macro
D. pen