Context Clues

Context Clues

Identifying the Meaning of Words Without Looking Them Up

What are context clues?

• Context clues are hidden in the context of a phrase, as the name implies.

• These clues help you figure out the meaning of a word you don't know or understand.

• Context clues can be in the same sentence as the unknown word or in a sentence before or after.

• A general sense context clue lets the reader puzzle out a word meaning from whatever information is available - and is the most common kind of context clue.

Open Ended

When you are reading and come across an unknown word, what do you do? (3 minute response)

So what do I do when I come to an unknown word?

• An easy way (at least to start) is to just skip the unknown word. Pretend it isn't there. Sometimes, you do not actually need the word to understand. Read another sentence or two and see if the word is needed for you to understand the main idea.

• Tip: "Good readers" often skip words. Knowing that one word often does not take away from the main idea is a marker of fluency.

• When the word IS needed, think of it as a "fill in the blank." What word that you already know could go in that spot and make sense with the rest of the sentence? This might be a synonym.

• If you cannot think of a word to go there, try to identify the part of speech (especially on tests and SOLs). This will narrow down your choices.

Multiple Choice

What part of speech is the underlined word? (1 minute)

Yesterday, we had nachos for dinner.

• Adjective

• Noun

• Verb

• Adverb

Multiple Choice

What part of speech is the underlined word? (1 minute)

Context clues are useful for any words you don't know, not just big words.

• Adjective

• Noun

• Verb

• Adverb

Multiple Choice

What part of speech is the underlined word? (1 minute)

He worked quietly so he wouldn't disturb his classmates.

• Adjective

• Noun

• Verb

• Adverb

Multiple Choice

What part of speech is the underlined word? (1 minute)

It is good to stop and think before you answer a question.

• Adjective

• Noun

• Verb

• Adverb

Parts of Speech

• The four most common parts of speech, which you will look for with most context clues:

• Noun (n.): a person, place, or thing - The cute dog ran quickly.

• Adjective (adj.): a descriptive word - always describes a noun - The cute dog ran quickly.

• Verb (v.): an action word; something you do/can be done at different times; past, present, or future - The cute dog ran quickly.

• Adverb (adv.): a word describing how. verb is done - usually ends in -ly - The cute dog ran quickly.

Why know a part of speech?

• Language is weird. When there is a "blank" in a sentence, only one type of word can go there. Words also have to go in a specific order.

• For example, the cute dog must always run quickly. "The dog cute quickly run" makes no sense and neither does "The cute run quickly dog." Your sentence dictates what type of word is needed to make sense.

• If you had the sentence "The ____ dog runs quickly," you would know the blank has to describe the dog, so it would be an adjective.

Returning to Context Clues...

• In situations where you cannot just skip or replace a word and the definition is needed, there are four kinds of context clues that are quite common:

• Synonym (or repeat) - a word or phrase that means the same is repeated so you can infer the definition - Some authors like using big words, bombastic terms, to show their vocabulary.

• Antonym (or contrast) - a word or phrase that has the opposite meaning is used so you can infer the definition - She did not sneak around surreptitiously and constantly drew attention to herself.

• An explanation for an unknown word is given (or definition) within the sentence or in the sentence immediately after - As I began my speech, my nervous feelings quickly abated. They faded away so fast I forgot I ever was nervous.

• Specific examples are used to show what the term means - She was a benevolent girl who often volunteered at animal shelters, helped the elderly, and made donations to charity every month.

Multiple Choice

A word from what part of speech would be appropriate in the blank? (1 minute)

Going grocery shopping is ____, but we still have to do it every week.

• Adjective

• Noun

• Verb

• Adverb

Multiple Choice

How confident do you feel in your ability to identify a part of speech in a sentence? (30 seconds)

• Very Confident

• Confident

• Not Very Confident

• Not Confident At All

More context clues!

• There may also be a word-part context clue in which a common prefix (letters at the beginning of the word), suffix (letters at the end of the word), or root (the "base" word) will suggest at least part of the meaning of a word. Prefixes and suffixes always have the same meaning, regardless of which word they are attached to.

• Unloving: un- is the prefix that means "not" and love is the root

• Reuse: re- is the prefix that means again and use is the root

• Wishful: -ful is the suffix that means full of and wish is the root

• Agreeable: -able is the suffix that means able to and agree is the root

Multiple Choice

What is the prefix of the word unidentifiable? (30 seconds)

• un

• identify

• able

Even more!

• Semantic (or meaning) - For example, when reading a story about cats, good readers develop the expectation that it will contain words associated with cats, like tail, purr, scratch, or whiskers.

• Pictures - illustrations help with the identification of a word.

• Overall, anything that can help you identify and understand the meaning of a word can be considered a context clue.

• Ready for some practice?

Multiple Choice

The sweltering weather made the baseball game very uncomfortable. We tried using paper fans, but it didn't help much. (1 minute)

• rainy

• windy

• stormy

• very hot

Multiple Choice

I am running late and have to leave in two minutes. Can you give me a condensed version of the story? (1 minute)

• a story with a happy ending

• more detailed

• shortened

• longer

Multiple Choice

My parents decided to update their kitchen. Yesterday, my dad let me demolish the cabinets with a sledgehammer! (1 minute)

• fix

• build

• break apart

• fill up with food

Multiple Choice

Is it true that the person sitting on the back of a tandem bicycle doesn't have to pedal as hard? (1 minute)

• a type of motorbike

• a type of bike with three wheels

• to have two seats side-by-side

• to have seats one behind another

Multiple Choice

The parade will commence as soon as it stops raining. (1 minute)

• to end

• to command

• to cause a delay

• to start or begin