• Unit 3: Reading to Improve

    In unit 3, you will use your active reading skills to learn new words. You will see how reading helps you learn new ways to say things in English. This unit ends with a WebQuest, where you'll create a vocabulary list of your own by searching for words online.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • list basic vocabulary-building skills; and
      • practice vocabulary strategies to collect general academic words.

      • 3.1: Vocabulary Building

        Building a large vocabulary of English words will help you feel confident communicating, or talking and writing, with other people in English. But how do we start learning new words? Pick up a dictionary and start reading? No! There are a number of things you can do (we call these strategies) every day to learn – and remember – new words.

          • 3.1.1: Vocabulary Building: Let's Study

            These materials include vocabulary-building strategies for learning new words in Standard English. After you read the explanations and watch the videos to learn about vocabulary-building strategies, you will have a chance to test your understanding by completing practice activities.

            • Vocabulary Strategies Overview Page

              There are several proven benefits in improving your vocabulary, but how should we go about learning new words in the most effective way? By using the following ten vocabulary-building strategies, you are guaranteed to develop a strong vocabulary and keep improving it every day.

            • Context Clues Page

              Do you know what to do when you come across a word you don't know? Sometimes, you'll find the meaning of a word hidden in the sentence you're reading. Words and phrases that you already understand can act like clues in a puzzle. Using the clues given to you in a sentence to figure out the meaning of a word or phrase is called using context clues.

            • Word Families Page

              The meaning of new words can be guessed from their parts, too. If you know what the parts of a word mean, you can often guess the meaning of the word without looking it up in the dictionary.

            • Finding New Words Page

              We learn new words by listening to and reading in English and using it every day. If you don't have many English speakers where you live, try watching videos or reading in English. As you listen and read, pay attention to the new words you find, then use vocabulary-building strategies to find their meaning. In this section, you will learn practical ways to build your vocabulary every day.

          • 3.1.2: Vocabulary Building: Let's Practice

            Now that we know some vocabulary-building strategies, let's put our knowledge into practice.

            • Vocabulary Building Practice Book

              The activities below give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand vocabulary-building strategies. If you have a difficult time recognizing these strategies, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

          • 3.1.3: Vocabulary Building: Let's Apply

            Now that you know some vocabulary-building strategies, let's see if we can easily use them to learn some new words in English.

            • Vocabulary Building Discussion Forum
              Make forum posts: 1

              Now that you know more about vocabulary strategies, pick a strategy to try today. Give it a try, and then write about it in the discussion forum. Did it work for you? What new words did you learn? Share the strategy you chose to build your vocabulary.

        • 3.2: Putting It All Together

          You have learned about some vocabulary-building skills that can help you communicate better and easier in English. This is a lot to take in, for sure! This section will help you review what you have learned in Unit 3.

          • Let's Review Unit 3 Page

            Go through these videos, which provide a basic overview of some of the vocabulary-building skills you have learned about in this unit.

        • Unit 3 Assessment

          • Let's Go on a WebQuest! Page
            In this section, you will complete a WebQuest, which is an activity that consists of inquiry-oriented tasks that will help you understand the meaning of a word.

            To complete this activity, you'll review three links and three tasks. These tasks will help you build a stronger vocabulary and show you how daily activities can help you learn more words.