SOL Review – Week 4: April 25 – May 2
Test on Friday, May 2, on material from Weeks 1, 2, 3, & 4.
Dictionary
A dictionary is a reference book containing definitions, word origins (where the word comes
from), and pronunciations of words.
Ex.
If you needed to find the definition of the word “reference” you would look in a
dictionary.
Thesaurus
A thesaurus is a book of synonyms of words (words that mean the same or nearly the same as
other words).
Ex.
If you were writing a story and wanted to find a better, more interesting word for “nice”
you would look in a thesaurus.
Almanac
An almanac is a book of statistics and trivia information.
Ex.
If you wanted to find out which baseball player hit the most homeruns last year, you
would look in an almanac.
Atlas
An atlas is a book of maps.
Ex.
If you wanted to find out which region of the U.S. was most mountainous, you would
look in an atlas.
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a collection of reference books that contain factual information on a wide
variety of topics. The books are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Ex.
If you wanted to find out if cheetahs were endangered or not, you would look in the
encyclopedia – book “C”.
Internet (Worldwide Web)
The internet is an electronic web of informational pages on the computer. The internet can be a
useful tool in researching, as you can call up information quickly and from a wide variety of
sources. You must be careful, however, in using the internet to make sure that each site you look
at is from a reputable source.
Biography
A biography is a book about someone’s life that is written by someone else.
Ex.
If you wanted to learn about the life of Benjamin Franklin, you would read a biography
written about him.
Root Word
The root word is the base word that could have prefixes or suffixes attached.
Ex.
The words “preheat” and “reheat” have different prefixes, but the same root word.
Prefix
A prefix is a group of letters that comes at the beginning of a word and has a particular meaning,
which changes the meaning of the root word.
Ex.
The words “preheat” and “reheat” have different prefixes.
The prefix “pre” means “before”; therefore “preheat” means to heat before. You
would preheat an oven before cooking a meal (heat the oven before putting the food in).
The prefix “re” means “again”; therefore “reheat” means to heat again. You would
reheat your leftovers.
Suffix
A suffix is a group of letters that comes at the end of a word and has a particular meaning, which
changes the meaning of the root word.
Ex.
The words “doubtful” and “doubtless” have different suffixes.
The suffix “ful” means “full of”; therefore “doubtful” means something is full of doubt.
It is doubtful that we will get anymore snow days this school year.
The suffix “less” means “without”; therefore “doubtless” means without doubt.
Doubtless, you will pass the SOL.
Word Origin
The word’s origin is where the word comes from.
Ex.
The origin of the word “origin” is from the Latin word “originem” meaning “to rise”.