Reading 3
Defining Words
Have you ever had the experience of looking up a
word in the dictionary, but the definition didn’t
really help you understand the word?
Allyl:
The unsaturated radical C3H5, derived from
propene.
Huh?
When learning new vocabulary, often just
reading the definition is not enough to
really understand the word. You often
need to dig deeper to really make it part of
your working knowledge.
This is especially important when building
your science and social studies vocabulary
for the GED test.
Try it out – which is better?
Biome
-a major regional or global biotic
community
Biome
-a major regional or global biotic community
Word Parts: bio = life
Examples: grassland, desert, forest, tundra
Attributes: biomes are determined by the dominant
forms of plant life and prevailing climate.
Different from ecosystem in that ecosystem groups all
things in an ecological region that exist together,
including human, plant, animal, chemical features. –
More localized.
Social Studies on the GED
Social Studies Topics
1. Civics and government – 50%
2. US history – 20%
3. Economics – 15%
4. Geography and the world – 15%
Focusing themes:
“Development of Modern Liberties and Democracy” – events and people
through history that have shaped our culture
“Dynamic Responses in Societal Systems” – how people and social structures
and policies change in response to conditions, situations, events. These
could be natural events such as geographic features, or man-made situations
such as government policies.
Science on the GED
Science Topics
1. Life Science – 40%
2. Physical Science – 40%
3. Earth and space science – 20%
Focusing themes:
“Human Health and Living Systems” – characteristics of humans and other
living things (ex. disease, evolution, heredity, etc) -also includes how
human society and the environment effect each other
“Energy and Related Systems” – sources, transformations, and uses of
energy; how energy flows through ecosystems
Sample Science Question
Look at sample Science practice test
question related to parasitic fungi.
Science/Social Studies
Vocabulary Assignment Overview
Project
You will give a short presentation to the class to teach them a science or social
studies vocabulary concept.
Objectives
Use visual aids to increase the depth of understanding of new or difficult
vocabulary
Begin a personal dictionary of science/social studies vocabulary
Use good communication skills to give a short presentation.
Stages
Stage 1: Practice with the chart
Stage 2: Roots, prefixes, suffixes
Stage 3: Practice presentation skills
Stage 4: Short presentations
Today’s Assignment
Stage 1: Practicing with word charts
Using the science article that you have already printed out
1. Choose a vocabulary word or concept that is not too difficult, but also that
is not