Vocabulary Building – New Words And Reading Basic 2 English Studies Lesson Note

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

1. Explain vocabulary building
2. Create new words
3. Analyse techniques used in reading

Content

Advanced Vocabulary Building Strategies

Strategy 1: WORD PARTS (BUILDING BLOCKS)

Many English words are made from smaller parts. Learning these parts helps us understand new words.

PREFIXES (Word Beginnings)

UN- (means “not” or “opposite”)

• happy → unhappy (not happy)
• lock → unlock (opposite of lock)
• tie → untie (opposite of tie)
• pack → unpack (opposite of pack)
• wrap → unwrap (opposite of wrap)
• fair → unfair (not fair)
• kind → unkind (not kind)

RE- (means “again”)

• do → redo (do again)
• read → reread (read again)
• write → rewrite (write again)
• play → replay (play again)
• build → rebuild (build again)
• make → remake (make again)
• tell → retell (tell again)

PRE- (means “before”)

• view → preview (view before)
• heat → preheat (heat before)
• school → preschool (before regular school)
• test → pretest (test before main test)

SUFFIXES (Word Endings)

-ER (person who does something)

• teach → teacher (person who teaches)
• play → player (person who plays)
• sing → singer (person who sings)
• dance → dancer (person who dances)
• write → writer (person who writes)
• work → worker (person who works)
• help → helper (person who helps)

-LY (makes adverbs)

• quick → quickly (in a quick way)
• slow → slowly (in a slow way)
• loud → loudly (in a loud way)
• soft → softly (in a soft way)
• careful → carefully (in a careful way)

-NESS (makes feeling words)

• happy → happiness (the feeling of being happy)
• sad → sadness (the feeling of being sad)
• kind → kindness (the quality of being kind)
• dark → darkness (the state of being dark)

Strategy 2: COMPOUND WORDS

Two words joined together to make one new word:

House Words:

• bath + room = bathroom
• bed + room = bedroom
• class + room = classroom
• play + room = playroom

Time Words:

• sun + light = sunlight
• day + time = daytime
• night + time = nighttime
• some + time = sometime

Nature Words:

• rain + bow = rainbow
• snow + ball = snowball
• sun + flower = sunflower
• fire + fly = firefly

People Words:

• grand + mother = grandmother
• grand + father = grandfather
• girl + friend = girlfriend
• boy + friend = boyfriend

Action Words:

• foot + ball = football
• basket + ball = basketball
• water + fall = waterfall
• tooth + brush = toothbrush

Strategy 3: WORD FAMILIES

Learning words that belong to the same family:

Family Words: mother, father, sister, brother, baby, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin

School Words: teacher, student, book, pencil, desk, chair, board, lesson, homework, test

Animal Words: dog, cat, bird, fish, rabbit, elephant, lion, tiger, monkey, bear

Food Words: bread, milk, fruit, vegetable, meat, rice, water, juice, cake, candy

New Advanced Vocabulary

Set 1: Character Trait Words

1. RESPONSIBLE

• Meaning: Taking care of duties and being trusted to do the right thing
• Example: Sarah is responsible for feeding her pet every day.
• Use: I want to be responsible with my homework.

2. PATIENT

• Meaning: Able to wait calmly without getting upset
• Example: The patient teacher helped the slow learner.
• Use: You need to be patient when learning to ride a bike.

3. CREATIVE

• Meaning: Good at thinking of new ideas and making new things
• Example: The creative artist painted beautiful pictures.
• Use: My creative sister makes up wonderful stories.

4. HONEST

• Meaning: Always telling the truth and not lying
• Example: The honest boy returned the money he found.
• Use: It’s important to be honest with your parents.

5. RESPECTFUL

• Meaning: Showing good manners and treating others well
• Example: The respectful student always listened to the teacher.
• Use: We should be respectful to our elders.

Set 2: Action and Learning Words

6. INVESTIGATE

• Meaning: To look for information or try to find out about something
• Example: The detective will investigate the missing jewelry.
• Use: Let’s investigate why the plants are dying.

7. CONCENTRATE

• Meaning: To focus your mind on one thing
• Example: I need to concentrate on my math homework.
• Use: Please concentrate while I explain the lesson.

8. PARTICIPATE

• Meaning: To take part in an activity with others
• Example: All students should participate in the school play.
• Use: I like to participate in sports activities.

9. COOPERATE

• Meaning: To work together with others
• Example: The team members cooperate to win the game.
• Use: If we cooperate, we can finish the project quickly.

10. ORGANIZE

• Meaning: To arrange things in order or plan activities
• Example: Please organize your books by subject.
• Use: I need to organize my room before guests arrive.

Set 3: Descriptive Words

11. ENORMOUS

• Meaning: Extremely large in size
• Example: The enormous whale was bigger than our boat.
• Use: We saw an enormous tree in the forest.

12. ANCIENT

• Meaning: Very old, from long ago
• Example: We visited ancient buildings in the old city.
• Use: My grandmother has an ancient jewelry box.

13. PECULIAR

• Meaning: Strange or unusual
• Example: There was a peculiar smell coming from the kitchen.
• Use: That’s a peculiar way to solve the problem.

14. BRILLIANT

• Meaning: Very bright or very smart
• Example: The brilliant student solved the difficult puzzle.
• Use: The brilliant stars lit up the night sky.

15. FRAGILE

• Meaning: Easily broken or damaged
• Example: Please handle the fragile glass carefully.
• Use: The fragile butterfly landed on the flower.

Reading Techniques Analysis

Technique 1: SCANNING

What it means: Looking quickly through text to find specific information When to use: When you need to find a particular fact, date, or name How to do it:

• Don’t read every word
• Move your eyes quickly over the text
• Look for key words
• Stop when you find what you need

Example: Scanning a story to find when something happened or who did something.

Technique 2: SKIMMING

What it means: Reading quickly to get the main idea When to use: When you want to know what a passage is about How to do it:

• Read the title and headings
• Read the first sentence of each paragraph
• Look at pictures
• Read the conclusion

Example: Skimming a news article to understand the main story.

Technique 3: INTENSIVE READING

What it means: Reading carefully and slowly to understand everything When to use: When you need to learn or remember detailed information How to do it:

• Read every word
• Stop to think about meaning
• Reread difficult parts
• Take notes or ask questions

Example: Reading instructions for a science experiment.

Technique 4: EXTENSIVE READING

What it means: Reading for enjoyment and general understanding When to use: When reading stories, novels, or magazines for fun How to do it:

• Read at a comfortable speed
• Don’t worry about every word
• Focus on enjoying the story
• Don’t stop too often

Example: Reading a favorite storybook at bedtime.

Creating New Words Practice

Activity 1: Build with Prefixes Add UN- to make opposite words:

• happy → unhappy
• lock → unlock
• fair → unfair
• pack → unpack

Activity 2: Build with Suffixes Add -ER to make “person who” words:

• paint → painter
• farm → farmer
• drive → driver
• clean → cleaner

Activity 3: Make Compound Words Combine these words:

• tooth + paste = toothpaste
• school + yard = schoolyard
• hand + shake = handshake
• note + book = notebook