U4 Rosa Poem - Blast

Context Clues

How can the relationships between words help us better understand them?

Background

What does the word “colossal” mean? Not sure? Consider the example “Due to the colossal damage to the rental car, he had to
pay a lot of money.” Often, we can guess an unknown word’s meaning once we see it in a sentence. This is because the context,
or the words around it, can offer clues to the meaning. By looking at the relationships between words, we can often better
understand the words themselves.

Some words are guides. They help readers understand how one part of a sentence relates to another. Words and phrases like
“because of,” “causes,” “since,” “therefore,” or “due to” all signal a cause and effect relationship. They show that one thing has
caused another to happen. Why is it helpful to recognize a cause and effect relationship? Consider the sentence “Because of
hibernation, bears put on lots of weight before the winter.” Even if you don’t know what the word hibernation means, the phrase
“because of” signals it has something to do with bears putting on weight to prepare for the winter. It doesn’t give you the exact
definition, but it gives you clues.

If you’re unsure of a word’s meaning, you can check to see if the author has woven in any synonyms. Synonyms are words that
have similar meanings. For example, synonyms for the word “robust” include “powerful,” “strong,” “sturdy,” and “indestructible.”
Sometimes authors will write a list of words that mean similar things.

Background

A sentence may read “The man was powerful, robust and indestructible.” If you don’t know what “robust” means, you can use its
synonyms “powerful” and “indestructible” to help you figure out its meaning.

You can also check for antonyms. A word’s antonym is its opposite. “Weak,” “puny,” “flimsy,” and “fragile” are all antonyms for
“robust.” If a sentence reads “The man looked at his puny, flimsy arms and wished he were more robust,” you can guess that
“robust” means the opposite of “puny.” If an unfamiliar word’s antonym is included in a sentence, you can use it to figure out the
word’s meaning.

Analogies can also help us figure out word meaning. You may have learned about analogies before; they are statements with the
structure “ is to as is to .” An analogy implies the relationship between two things without actually spelling it out. It can be used
to imply a similar relationship. For example, you have probably never heard of an animal called an “iriomote.” But if you were
given the analogy, “iriomote is to leopard as drop is to puddle,” you could infer that an iriomote is like a leopard, but smaller.
Analogies can also tell you that something is a part of a whole (wheel is to car) a description of something (apple is to red), or a
single item in a category of things (cat is to pets).

How can the relationships between words help us understand them?

Open Ended

How can the relationships between words help us better understand them?

Poll

Which is the most effective way to find clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word?

• Synonyms/Antonyms

• Cause and effect relationships

• Analogies

• All are equally effective

Multiple Choice

Number Crush: 100

Guess what the number above means and see if you get it right!

• The number of times people blink in a minute

• Approximate number of iriomotes still in existence in Japan

• Approximate number of islands in the world

• The number of analogies that exist