Teaching of New and Difficult Words – Basic 4 English Lesson Note (First Term)

New and difficult words are words a pupil has not met before, or words that are hard to read, say, spell or understand.

Behavioural objectives

1. Identify new and difficult words in a list or passage.
2. Pronounce the words correctly, syllable by syllable.
3. State the meaning of each word in simple language.
4. Use each new word correctly in a sentence of their own.

What are new and difficult words?

A new word is any word you are learning for the first time.

• New word: a word you have not seen or heard before, such as “umbrella” for a young learner.
• Difficult word: a word that is long, has silent letters, or has a spelling that does not match its sound, such as “February”.

Examples of new and difficult words for Basic 4

1. neighbour
2. beautiful
3. enough
4. library
5. vegetable
6. February
7. enormous
8. honest
9. comfortable
10. umbrella

Why are some words difficult?

• Length: long words have many syllables, as in “comfortable”.
• Silent letters: some letters are written but not said, as in the “h” in “honest” and the “k” in “knife”.
• Odd spelling: the letters do not match the sound, as in “enough” and “neighbour”.
• Missing sounds: some syllables are said quickly or dropped, as in “vegetable” (veg-ta-bul).

How do we pronounce new and difficult words?

To pronounce a new word, break it into syllables, say each part slowly, then join the parts.

Steps for pronouncing a new word

1. Look at the whole word carefully.
2. Break it into syllables (clap once for each beat).
3. Say each syllable slowly.
4. Join the syllables and say the word smoothly.
5. Say it aloud after the teacher, then say it alone.

Pronunciation guide

The capital letters show the syllable that is said loudest (the stressed syllable).

Common silent letters

• Silent h: honest, hour.
• Silent k: knife, knock, know.
• Silent w: write, wrong.
• Silent t: listen, castle.

What is the meaning of new and difficult words?

The meaning of a word is what the word tells us or stands for.

Ways of finding the meaning of a new word

• Dictionary: look the word up and read its meaning.
• Context: read the words around it for clues.
• Pictures: look at a picture or object that shows the word.
• Asking: ask the teacher or an older person.
• Actions: the teacher acts out the word, for example “enormous” with wide arms.

Meanings of the words

How do we make sentences with new and difficult words?

A sentence with a new word must make sense, start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Steps for making a sentence

1. Say the word and recall its meaning.
2. Think of a person, place or event you know.
3. Build a short sentence that shows the meaning.
4. Check the spelling, capital letter and full stop.
5. Read it aloud to see if it makes sense.

Example sentences

1. Our neighbour sells fresh fish in the market.
2. Ada wore a beautiful dress to church.
3. We have enough chairs for every pupil.
4. I borrowed a storybook from the school library.
5. Mother cooked a pot of vegetable soup.
6. My brother was born in February.
7. An enormous tree stands beside our house.
8. An honest boy returned the lost money.
9. The new sofa is very comfortable.
10. Take your umbrella because it may rain.

Evaluation

1. What is a difficult word? Give two examples.
2. Break these words into syllables: beautiful, vegetable, umbrella.
3. Which letter is silent in “honest”?
4. Write the meaning of “enormous” and “library”.
5. Make one sentence each with “neighbour” and “comfortable”.

Assignment

Choose five words from today’s list. For each word, write the syllables, the meaning and one sentence of your own.