Reading Strategy: Monitor Your Reading

As you read, you may see words that you don’t know. Ask yourself, “What could this mean?”

Reading Strategy: Monitor Your Reading
    How to Clarify Vocabulary

  • 1. As you read, stop when you come to a word you don’t know. Look for other words that give you clues to the meaning.

  • 2. Use the clues to figure out what the unfamiliar word might mean.

  • 3. Use the meaning you guessed in the sentence. Does the sentence make sense?

Strategy in Action

Here’s how one student clarified the meaning of the words bade farewell.

Look Into the Text

And so the brothers hugged and bade farewell to each other and their father. They got into their cars and drove off in three different directions.

Pereza hadn’t gone very far when he saw a small piece of land for sale at 120 pesos. On the land was a bale-mountain of straw. He said to himself, “A house of paja does seem foolish, but I can build it in no time and then take a nap.”

I’m not sure what “bade farewell” means.

“The clue words make me think the brothers are leaving so they are probably saying goodbye.”

Practice Together

Reread the passage. Follow the steps in the How-To box to figure out the meaning of the word directions.