Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your child is currently working on the literacy strategy, Use word parts, which helps with the overall goal, Expand Vocabulary.

No matter what age, readers occasionally encounter new words that they must break apart in order to read and understand. Looking at parts of words helps readers to break the word's meaning apart and gives them a strategy to understand new words. When looking at familiar word parts, readers are able to use their background knowledge of these word parts, along with their knowledge of the text, to understand the meaning of the word. Although each year children learn many new words in the classroom, there is no way they can be taught all of the words they will come across when reading. Learning the strategy Use word parts, gives readers a tool to figure out words they come across when reading.

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?
  1. When stumbling on a new word, remind your child to ask, “Do I know any part of this word?” This question directs the reader to search the word for a prefix, suffix, chunk, or blend they are familiar with.
  2. Help your child infer the meaning of the word based on familiar parts of the word. Look for a prefix or suffix and discuss how it affects the meaning of the word.
  3. When you have a few extra minutes, give your child a prefix or a suffix and talk about what it means. Give your child two minutes to come up with a list of words that include that prefix or suffix.

Common English prefixes:
un-, re-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-, en-, em-, non-, in-, im-, over-, mis-, sub-, pre-, inter-, fore-, de-, trans-, super-, semi-

Common English suffixes:
-s, -es, -ed, -ing, -ly, -er, -or, -ion, -tion, -ation, -ition, -ible, -able, -al, -ial, -y, -ness, -ity, -ty, -ment

Thank you for your continued support at home!

—Mrs. Boushey

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