Word Attack Skills
An essential reading skill
1. Guess and check
The schnordblatt, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a schnordblatt for Christmas!
A schnordblatt is a schnordblatt, but it definitely is not a
dinkelfritz!
I was sure that the schnordblatt would break before we
had a chance to use it in history class again.
2. Skip the word
My friend was having a schnordblatty kind of day.
The schnordblatt, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore. It paused in the
water, coughed once, and quickly sank into the depths of
the sea.
I went in quest of a perfect dinkelfritz—one neither too
frilly nor too beautiful.
My cousin gave me a dinkelfritz for Christmas! Would you
like to see it? Would you like to have it set on your head
while you sit on the sofa?
3. Ask somebody
The schnordblatt, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a dinkelfritz for Christmas!
A schnordblatt is a schnordblatt, but it definitely is not a
dinkelfritz!
I was sure that the dinkelfritz would break before we had
a chance to use it in science class again.
4. Use a dictionary
The marmoset, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a phantasm for Christmas!
A palliative is a palliative, but it is definitely not a
placebo!
I was sure that the bassoon would break before we had a
chance to use it in music class again.
5. Use the internet
The marmoset, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a phantasm for Christmas!
A palliative is a palliative, but it is definitely not a
placebo!
I was sure that the bassoon would break before we had a
chance to use it in music class again.
6. Tear it apart
He was prone to a certain type of
antidisestablishmentarianism.
My premonition was that something terrible was going to
happen.
We waited in the antechamber for the butler to appear.
He received a posthumous job offer.
Please don’t be so recalcitrant in your expectations!
7. Use context
The schnordblatt, a type of weasel, dove out of the boat
and swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a dinkelfritz for Christmas, and I was
happy to get the silly guy for a present.
A schnordblatt is not the gift to give to a small friend.
I was sure that the schnordblatt, red and shiny, would
break before we had a chance to use it in phy. ed. class
again.
8. Create a mental image
The schnordblatt, long and lean, dove out of the boat and
swam menacingly towards the shore.
My cousin gave me a dinkelfritz for Christmas!
A schnordblatt is a schnordblatt, but it definitely is not a
dinkelfritz!
I was sure that the schnordblatt would break before we
had a chance to use it in phy. ed. class again.
9. Activate background knowledge
For many days, the boy had sat, sad and forlorn. He knew that
he should be involved in the process, but was unable to get up
off the bench, or even concentrate much on the events going on
in the room. He just sat there, watching people go back and
forth—the small but important dramas of life passing him by
like shooting stars. He wondered if he would ever get out of
here, out of this terrible court.
It was almost too late—almost at the end of the time allotted—
when the boy heard a voice call out his name. Now he knew
that he was free to be involved, and up he sprang, ready for
action! A stern and pungent face entered his vision, barking
terse commands. Now he would be tested as he never had been
before! Now at last he could do it!
10. Check the glossary
Bicameral
Coeducation
Empresario
Stagflation
Transcendentalist
Vietcong