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Unlocking Unknown Words

  • Grade 6
  • English Language Arts
  • L.6.4
  • Language
  • Free lesson

Aligned to L.6.4 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Figure out a new word with three tools: context clues in the sentence, Greek and Latin roots and affixes, and a dictionary to confirm. Roots like 'port' (carry) or 'tele' (far) unlock whole families of words.

Worked examples

Example 1

'Transport' = 'trans' (across) + 'port' (carry) = carry across. Meet 'portable' later and the same root tells you it means able to be carried. One root, many words — then confirm with a dictionary.

Example 2

'Audible' = 'aud' (hear) + 'ible' (able to be). Meet 'audience' and 'auditorium' and the same root explains both.

Example 3

A root gets you close, not exact. 'Manufacture' is 'manu' (hand) + 'facere' (make), yet almost nothing manufactured today is made by hand.

Practice questions

  1. Use context clues to guess a hard word's meaning, then check a dictionary.
  2. Break a word into its root and affixes and give each part's meaning.
  3. Find another word that shares one of those roots and define it.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

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En español

Descifrar Palabras Desconocidas

Descifra una palabra nueva con tres herramientas: las pistas de contexto en la oración, las raíces y los afijos griegos y latinos, y un diccionario para confirmar. Raíces como 'port' (llevar) o 'tele' (lejos) abren familias enteras de palabras.

Ejemplo 1: 'Transportar' = 'trans' (a través) + 'portar' (llevar) = llevar a través. Cuando veas 'portátil', la misma raíz te dice que significa que se puede llevar. Una raíz, muchas palabras — luego confirma con el diccionario.

Ejemplo 2: 'Audible' = 'aud' (oír) + 'ible' (que se puede). Cuando veas 'audiencia' y 'auditorio', la misma raíz explica las dos.

Ejemplo 3: Una raíz te acerca, no te da la definición exacta. 'Manufactura' es 'manu' (mano) + 'facere' (hacer), y casi nada manufacturado hoy se hace a mano.

More Language lessons

Grammar, Conventions & VocabularyL.6.1Punctuating Extra InformationL.6.2Varying Your SentencesL.6.3Figurative Language and Word NuanceL.6.5Building a Stronger VocabularyL.6.6

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