Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 1
Week Two Reading: Word Attack
What I Need To Know From This Lesson
 How phonics helps us to identify new words.
 How breaking words into syllables helps us to decode them.
 How identifying prefixes, roots and suffixes helps us to understand
words.
 How word origins help us to understand words.
Teaching Notes
1. Have dictionaries available for the students for this lesson.
2. Review what the students need to know from this lesson. Remind them what
they learned in the reading lesson last week – refer to their Exit Tickets.
3. Pronouncing Words and The Sounds of English are in the Student Booklet
for Week Two.
4. Copy pages 3 through 8 for the students, back-to-back.
5. Make some copies on coloured paper and slip inside a clear plastic pocket for
the answers (pages 9 through 12).
6. End with Exit Ticket.
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 2
Pronouncing Words
When we come across a new word, we have a number of skills to decode the
word.
1. Phonics.
We use phonics – the sound of the parts of the word. There are 44
individual sounds in the English language, listed in the chart below.
2. Syllables.
We break the word into syllables. For example, if we wanted to read the
word gastronomy, we would break it into its various sounds: gas-tro-no-my.
This makes it easier to read and to spell.
3. Prefix and Root.
We break the word into prefix and root. This helps us to deduct the
meaning of the word. For example, submarine can be divided into two
parts: sub-marine. ‘sub’ means under and ‘marine’ means sea, so we know
the word refers to something under the sea.
4. Suffix.
Sometimes the suffix helps, as well. For example, if the word was
‘submariner’, the suffix ‘er’ tells us that the word refers to someone or
something under the sea.
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 3
The Sounds of English
British spoken English is generally reckoned to use 44 sounds, or ‘phonemes’.
Exercise One – Syllabification
Mark up these words into syllables and then read them to another student.
1. Epicurean
2. Smorgasbord
3. Intestinal
4. Vegetative
5. Victuals
6. Gastronomy
7. Comestibles
8. Apportion
9. Procurator
10.
Necessities
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 4
Exercise Two – Prefixes
Add your own examples to the chart. Use a dictionary to help if necessary.
Prefix Meaning
My Example Your Example
anti
against
antibiotic
opposite
antithesis
auto
self
autonomous
dis
not
disincline
away
disband
in
not
innocent
il
not
illicit
im
not
improbable
ir
not
irresponsible
inter
between
intermarry
mis
wrong
misnomer
post
after
postpone
Pre
before
prejudice
pro
for
proponent
forward
propel
again
restart
back
return
re
sub
under
subhuman
super
above
superman
trans
across
transmit
un
not
untrue
in reverse
unwind
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 5
Exercise Three – Words with Greek Roots
Read the chart below and then think of your own example. Use a dictionary to help
if necessary.
Greek Root
Meaning
Modern Word Your Example
1
Graph
draw/write
Graphite
2
Hept
Seven
Heptathlon
3
Homo
Same
homosexual
4
Hyper
Above
hypertension
5
Lith
Stone
Neolithic
6
Log
thought/word Logic
7
Naut
Ship
Astronaut
8
Nom
Law
Astronomy
9
Pan
All
pandemonium
Father
Patron
10 Patr
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 6
Exercise Four – Words with Latin Roots
Read the chart below and then think of your own example. Use a dictionary to help
if necessary.
Latin Root Meaning
Modern Word
1
Ambi
on both sides
ambidextrous
2
Aqua
water
aquatic
3
Bi
two
binary
4
Circum
around
circumnavigate
5
Dict
say
dictionary
6
Duct
lead
reduction
7
Loc
place
local
8
Magni
great
magnificent
9
Migr
wander
migrate
smaller
minus
10 Min
Your Example
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 7
Exercise Five – Words From Other Languages
Identify the following words which have come to English from another language.
Use a dictionary for those you don’t know.
1. L…………… Comes from the Persian nilak, meaning ‘of a bluish shade’.
2. R…………… Comes from dialect of Italian spoken in Venice, where it originally
meant any kind of contest but today refers particularly to yachts.
3. S……………. Probably comes from the tendency of striking workers to damage
machinery by throwing shoes into it - sabot being an old French word for a
wooden shoe.
4. Z………….... Comes from French or Italian, before that from Arabic, and
before that from the Sanskrit word sunya, which meant both ‘nothing’ and
‘desert’.
5. W………….. Comes from the name of a Chinese cooking pan used to cook meat
and vegetables at a high temperature.
6. C…………… Comes from a French pastry often enjoyed for breakfast.
7. C…………… Comes from the French name for the art of cooking.
8. T………….. Comes from South America, brought to Europe by the Spanish, this
red fruit is common in Italian cooking.
9. H…………… Coined in the USA by migrants from a German city to describe a
sandwich with a meat patty.
10. K…………… The German word which means Children’s Garden, and refers to a
pre-school or child care centre.
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 8
Exercise Six – Suffixes
Adding -ly to a word usually changes an adjective into an adverb (happy + ly =
happily). Adding -ness to a word turns it into a noun (happy + ness = happiness).
Add a suffix from the list to each of the following base words.
-ability
-ion
ness
-able
-less
-ous
-est
-ly
-ful
-ment
1. Hope……………
2. State……………
3. Spite……………
4. Late……………
5. Courage……………
6. Notice……………
7. Variable……………
8. Cool……………
9. High……………
10. Tense……………
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 9
Exercise One – Syllabification - Answers
1. E-pi-cu- re-an
2. Smor-gas-bord
3. In-tes-ti-nal
4. Ve-ge-ta-tive
5. Vic-tu-als
6. Gas-tro-no-my
7. Co-mes-ti-bles
8. Ap-por-tion
9. Pro-cu-ra-tor
10.
Ne-ces-si-ties
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 10
Exercise Two – Prefixes – Possible Answers
Prefix Meaning
My Example Your Example
anti
against
antibiotic
anti-war,
opposite
antithesis
anti-clockwise
auto
self
autonomous
automatic, automobile
dis
not
disincline
disbelieve, disengage,
away
disband
disconnect dissimilar
in
not
innocent
insane, inhuman
il
not
illicit
illegal, illogical
im
not
improbable
immeasurable, immature
ir
not
irresponsible irresolute, irrelevant
inter
between
intermarry
interschool, international
mis
wrong
misnomer
mispronounce, misspell
post
after
postpone
postscript, postnatal
pre
before
prejudice
prehistoric, prenatal
pro
for
proponent
propose, protect, project
forward
propel
pronounce,
again
restart
retake, rewrite, reconsider
back
return
revise, redo
under
subhuman
subsist, submit, suborn
super
above
superman
supernumery, superstition
trans
across
transmit
translate, transport
un
not
untrue
uneven, unsteady, undo
in reverse
unwind
untie, unpick, unravel
re
sub
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 11
Exercise Three – Words with Greek Roots - Answers
Possible answers.
Greek Root
Meaning
Modern Word Your Example
1
Graph
draw/write
graphite
autograph
2
Hept
seven
heptathlon
heptagon
3
4
Homo
Hyper
same
above
homosexual
hypertension
homogenous
hyperactive
5
Lith
stone
neolithic
monolith
6
Log
thought/word logic
dialogue
7
Naut
ship
astronaut
nautical
8
Nom
law
astronomy
nomination
9
Pan
all
pandemonium
pantheon
father
patron
10 Patr
patriarch
Week 2 – Reading Word Attack - 12
Exercise Four – Words with Latin Roots - Answers
Possible answers.
Latin Root Meaning
Modern Word
1
Ambi
on both sides
ambidextrous
ambivalent
2
Aqua
water
aquatic
aquarium
3
Bi
two
binary
biceps
4
Circum
around
circumnavigate circumscribe
5
Dict
say
dictionary
contradict
6
Duct
lead
reduction
deduction
7
Loc
place
local
locality
8
Magni
great
magnificent
magnify
9
Migr
wander
migrate
immigrate
smaller
minus
minimum
10 Min
Exercise Five – Words From Other Languages - Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lilac.
Regatta.
Sabotage.
Zero.
Wok
6. Croissant
7. Cuisine
8. Tomato
9. Hamburger
10. Kindergarten
Exercise Six – Suffixes - Answers
This is one set of answers; there are more possibilities.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Hopeless
Statement
Spiteful
Lately
Courageous
6. Noticeable
7. Variability
8. Coolness
9. Highest
10. Tension
Your Example