CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4a

Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

http://www.flocabulary.com/context-clues/

Hints that authors give within the text to help define a difficult or unusual word.

What are context clues?

Sometimes a challenging word or phrase is explained in simpler language. Look for a synonym: a word or phrase that has the same meaning as the unknown word.

-- Example: My pet peeve is people chewing with their mouth open—it’s so annoying!

--So a “peeve” is something that annoys or bothers someone.

Synonym Clue

Sometimes we can figure out the meaning of a word by looking for a word with the opposite meaning nearby. Look for an antonym: a word or phrase that has the opposite meaning as the unknown word.

-- Example: Though some students are insubordinate, others obey their teachers and follow all the rules.

-- So “insubordinate” describes someone who disobeys or doesn’t follow rules.

Antonym Clue

Another way to be a word detective is by breaking the word into parts: roots, prefixes and suffixes. These word parts hold the key to the word’s meaning.

• helpful: “help” means assist + “ful” means full of

• thermometer: “thermo” means heat + “meter” means measure

Roots, prefixes, and suffixes clues

Sometimes the meaning of a word or phrase is explained immediately following its use. Look for an explanation for the unknown word in the sentence or in sentences nearby.

Example: My friend was so forlorn when her dog died that she cried for a week.

So “forlorn” means very sad.

Explanation Clues

Sometimes specific examples in the sentence help define the term.

Example: Whales and sharks are my favorite aquatic animals.

So "aquatic" means “in water,” since both whales and sharks live in the sea.

Example Clue

Word: Discipline

Many great athletes are legendary for the brutal discipline of their practice routines. In basketball, Michael Jordan practiced intensely beyond the already punishing team practices.

Discipline must mean a way of training your mind and body.

Explanation clue

Activity 10: Define Vocabulary using context clues

Use the context clues strategies you learned to provide definitions for the vocabulary words for this unit.

You have 10 minutes…GO!

Activity 10