ssacch04c06CO_s.fm Page 94 Friday, December 3, 2004 4:34 PM
How to Read History
Previewing Clues to Determine Meaning
Social studies reading often contains unfamiliar
words. When you are reading, use clues in the text to
figure out what these words mean. You can find clues
in the word itself, in the surrounding words and sentences, and even in how the word is printed on the
page. Read the information below to learn about
these clues and how to use them to determine word
meanings.
English-Language Arts
Reading 6.1.4 Monitor expository text
for unknown words or words with novel
meanings by using word, sentence, and
paragraph clues to determine meaning.
▲
Secondary
Source
Writing began as pictographs. . . . To
record the number of fish given to a
temple, for example, Sumerian priests
sketched a fish shape. Then they added
marks to show how many.
▲
Surrounding words
that help explain
the unfamiliar word
Sumerian scribes simplified these first
pictographs into symbols that were easier
to press into wet clay. At the same time,
they created new symbols to stand for
other objects and ideas. As a result, the
number of cuneiform symbols grew to
more than 2,000. This was a large number
of symbols for one scribe to learn.
— Ancient Civilizations by Diane Hart.
Copyright © 2006, Prentice Hall
94
Chapter 4
Unfamiliar
Word
▲ ▲
▲
Unfamiliar
Word
This unfamiliar word is made
up of word parts that you
have seen before. “Pict” is
related to “picture,” and
“graph” means “to write or
draw.” Do you think that the
word might mean something
like “picture writing”?
Surrounding words
that help explain
the unfamiliar word