WORD-ATTACK STRATEGIES

What do you do when your child gets stuck on a word he or she doesn’t know? Word-attack strategies help students decode, pronounce, and understand unfamiliar words. They help students attack words piece by piece or from a different angle. Here are some strategies you can use at home with your child.

Use Picture Clues

· Look at the picture.

· Are there people, objects, or actions in the picture that might make sense in the sentence?

Look for Chunks in the Word

· Look for Familiar letter chunks. They may be sound/symbols, prefixes, suffixes, endings, whole words, or base words.

· Read each chunk by itself. Then blend the chunks together and sound out the word. Does that word make sense in the sentence?

Connect to a Word You Know

· Think of a word that looks like the unfamiliar word.

· Compare the familiar word to the unfamiliar word. Decide if the familiar word is a chunk or form of the unfamiliar word.

· Use the known word in the sentence to see if it makes sense. If so, the meanings of the two words are probably close enough for understanding the new word.

Reread the Sentence

· Read the sentence more than once.

· Think about what word might make sense in the sentence. Try the word and see if the sentence makes sense.

Keep Reading

· Read past the unfamiliar word and look for clues.

· If the word is repeated, compare the second sentence to the first. What word might make sense in both?

Use Prior Knowledge

· Think about what you know about the subject of the book, paragraph, or sentence.

· Do you know anything that might make sense in the sentence? Read the sentence with the word to see if it makes sense.