Prefixes, compound words, and shades of meaning (grade 2) · lesson

Context clues

💡 The words around a new word often tell what it means.

Maya was famished. She ate two bowls of soup.

Someone who eats that much is very hungry.

🧠 How to think about it

Read the sentence before and after. Ask: what meaning would fit here?

context: the words around a word

🏡 Try it at home

Read a book with a new word. Guess its meaning from clues, then check.

Prefixes

💡 A prefix at the start of a word changes its meaning.

Un means not: unhappy means not happy.

Re means again: reread means read again.

🧠 How to think about it

Cover the prefix. Read the base word. Then add the prefix's meaning.

prefix: a word part added to the start of a word

🏡 Try it at home

Make un and re words together: unlock, undo, redo, refill.

Root words

💡 Words that share a root often share a meaning.

Play is the root of player, playful, and replay.

Plate has the letters p, l, a, but it is not about play.

🧠 How to think about it

Find the whole root word inside. Then ask: is the meaning about that root?

root word: the main word that other parts are added to

🏡 Try it at home

Pick a root like help. Find as many words as you can that use it.

Compound words

💡 A compound word is two words joined, and both parts help the meaning.

Bird plus house makes birdhouse, a house for birds.

Carpet has car and pet, but it is not a car or a pet.

🧠 How to think about it

Split the word. Are both parts real words? Do both help the meaning?

compound word: two words joined into one

🏡 Try it at home

Hunt for compound words at home: toothbrush, bedroom, cupcake.

ABC order and glossaries

💡 A dictionary lists words in ABC order, with what they mean.

If the first letters match, look at the next letter.

Can comes before cot. That is because a comes before o.

🧠 How to think about it

Look at each letter in turn. Stop when two letters are not the same.

dictionary: a book of words and their meanings in ABC order
glossary: a small list of words and meanings in a book

🏡 Try it at home

Put the names of family members in ABC order.

Shades of meaning

💡 Words can mean almost the same thing but be stronger or weaker.

Toss, throw, and hurl go from gentle to hard.

Grumpy, upset, and furious go from a little mad to very mad.

🧠 How to think about it

Line the words up from weakest to strongest. Then pick the one the question asks for.

shade of meaning: a small difference between words that mean almost the same

🏡 Try it at home

Act out toss, throw, and hurl with a soft ball. Which one is the strongest?