Meaning is determined when students search for and find a clear understanding of an unfamiliar word or concept. If a dictionary is available in print or digital format, students can look up the unknown word to decide which of the entries best applies to the way the word is being used in the text. However, when dictionaries are not available, students need to use different strategies to figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word. For example, students may use their knowledge about prefixes and suffixes, Greek and Latin roots, or synonyms and antonyms to determine the meaning of an unknown word.

a category assigned to a word based on its syntactical function; the eight primary parts of speech include noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction, and preposition

in speech or writing, the division of words into syllables

Students should use both print and digital resources, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and diverse types of literary and academic texts, to develop a robust vocabulary. Students should learn the unique characteristics and capabilities of different types of resources. In some instances, print resources foster the development of note-taking skills, whereas digital resources expand knowledge from a multimodal perspective that may involve photographs, videos, and music.

the initial place(s) and historical era(s) in which a word was derived and developed