APRIL VC SESSION CRITICAL
READING AND DECODING
VOCABULARY!
UBMS Critical Reading & Writing Tips
• Assistance with Standardized
tests SAT/STAAR Reading
and Writing Assessments
• Learning to Read :
SCAN - scan to get an
overview of the passage.
Pay attention to title,
bolded text, read any
review questions.
II.
READ – consider each
sections heading &
context of the passage.
III. REVIEW – consider the
main points of each
section.
I.
Test Your Reading Skills
Practice makes perfect with reading comprehension. You
have been given a reading exercise to practice the tips
given.
Use the Know How to Read a Text book worksheet to
practice.
Using the listed website; test your reading skills with the
ACT & SAT practice quiz #3 and get immediate feed
http://www.test-guide.com/
back.
GOOD LUCK!!
Word Power – Let the games begin!
How do you decode vocabulary words?
Know your Prefixes
Know your Root-Words
Know your Suffixes
1.A Pre what???
A Prefix comes at the beginning of a root word and
changes/adds to the
meaning. Ex. e – is a new prefix meaning
electronics added to the root word, book =
e-book or electronic book!!
2.In most of our languages our root words have Latin or Greek meanings.
Ex. astro/astre : (Latin) meaning stars, star, out of space; astronaut – a
person who travels to outer space.
3.A Suffix can change or add to the meaning of a root word and they show
how a word will be used in a sentence; what part of speech (e.g. noun,
verb, adjective) the word belongs to.
Source (http://www.redwoods.edu)
See The Following Charts for examples:
Root, Prefix or Suffix
Meaning
Examples
a, ac, ad, af, ag, al, an, ap,
as, at
to, toward, near, in addition
to, by
aside, accompany, adjust,
aggression, allocate,
annihilate, affix, associate,
attend, adverb
a-, an-
not, without
apolitical, atheist, anarchy,
anonymous, apathy,
aphasia, anemia
ab, abs
away from, off
absolve, abrupt, absent
-able, -ible
Adjective: worth, ability
solvable, incredible
acer, acid, acri
bitter, sour, sharp
acerbic, acidity, acrid,
acrimony
act, ag
do, act, drive
active, react, agent, active,
agitate
acu
sharp
acute, acupuncture,
accurate
-acy, -cy
Noun: state or quality
privacy, infancy, adequacy,
intimacy, supremacy
-ade
act, product, sweet drink
blockade, lemonade
aer, aero
air, atmosphere, aviation
aerial, aerosol, aerodrome
ag, agi, ig, act
do, move, go
agent, agenda, agitate,
navigate, ambiguous, action
-age
Noun: activity, or result of
action
courage, suffrage,
shrinkage, tonnage
Knowledge of a Suffix
• Examples of how they change the word meaning:
Suffix
ed
ing
er
tion
Example
Suffix
walk + ed = walked
ness
say + ing = saying
al
tall + er = taller
ary
educate + tion = education able
Example
happy + ness = happiness
accident + al = accidental
imagine + ary = imaginary
accept + able = acceptable
sion
cian
fully
est
divide + sion = division
music + cian = musician
hope + fully = hopefully
large + est = largest
love + ly = lovely
excite + ment = excitement
help + ful + helpful
ease + y = easy
ly
ment
ful
y
How You Will Use Vocabulary Skills ??
You will be expected to use these skills on standardized
tests as well as assessments in all college courses.
Word memorization is not enough! You will be expected
to define, spell and pronounce unfamiliar vocabulary.
Knowing how to decode words will assist you in
understanding the context of sentences and text.
I have included the worksheet with Quiz 2 & 3 for you to
complete. Notice the underlined words that will assist in
your selection.