Great IDEAS Game: Context Clue Strategies

Clues in the surrounding text that help determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

• Clues

• Examples

• Context Clues

• Definition

Is this an effective strategy?

Guess the meaning by swapping out the unknown word for another word you know to see if it makes sense.

• Yes

• No

According to some theories, dinosaurs met their demise when a six-mile long asteroid struck the Earth 65 million years ago.

• Died

• had a hard time

• struggled

• went shopping

Signal words that indicate comparison include:

• Like

• Too

• Similarly

• Also

Although wolves eat both plants and animals, hawks are completely carnivorous.

• eats plants

• eats plants and animals

• eats animals

• eats Carnivores

An (a)   is something you can figure out on your own without the author telling you directly.

Larger animals often treat smaller animals as prey, or something to be killed and eaten.

• predator

• small animal

• something to be killed and eaten

• bad

The meaning of the word is illustrated by examples.

• Example

• Illustration

• Inference

• Synonym

Signal words to indicate contrast include:

• But

• Anyway

• Although

• Unlike

The reader uses his background knowledge and clues from the text to draw conclusions about the meaning of a word.

• Inference

• Example

• Clues

• Synonym