Discovering Meaning with Context Clues

Discovering Meaning with Context Clues

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson you will be able to identify and use context clues to improve reading comprehension.

Introduce the learning objective and explain to the students what they will be able to do after the lesson.

What do you already know about context clues in reading?

What are Context Clues?

Context clues are hints that an author gives to help you understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word or phrase.

Define context clues and introduce the concept to the students.

Types of Context Clues

There are several types of context clues, including: definition, synonym, antonym, example, and inference.

Introduce the different types of context clues and explain what each one means.

Definition Context Clues

Definition context clues provide a direct definition or explanation of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with a definition context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Synonym Context Clues

Synonym context clues use a word with a similar meaning to the unfamiliar word to help you understand its meaning.

Provide an example of a sentence with a synonym context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Antonym Context Clues

Antonym context clues use a word with the opposite meaning to the unfamiliar word to help you understand its meaning.

Provide an example of a sentence with an antonym context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Example Context Clues

Example context clues provide examples or illustrations of the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with an example context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Inference Context Clues

Inference context clues require you to use your understanding of the text to make an educated guess about the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with an inference context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The doctor prescribed medication to alleviate the patient's symptoms. What is the meaning of the word 'alleviate'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The young boy was ecstatic when he found out he won the contest. What is the meaning of the word 'ecstatic'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The teacher reprimanded the student for not completing his homework. What is the meaning of the word 'reprimanded'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Creating Your Own Context Clues

Now it's your turn to create your own context clues! Write a sentence using an unfamiliar word and provide a context clue to help someone understand the meaning of the word.

Give the students time to write their sentence and context clue. Ask a few students to share their sentence and have the class guess the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Review

Let's review what we learned today about context clues.

Summarize the key points of the lesson and ask the students if they have any questions.

Definition Context Clues

Definition context clues provide a direct definition or explanation of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with a definition context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Synonym Context Clues

Synonym context clues use a word with a similar meaning to the unfamiliar word to help you understand its meaning.

Provide an example of a sentence with a synonym context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Antonym Context Clues

Antonym context clues use a word with the opposite meaning to the unfamiliar word to help you understand its meaning.

Provide an example of a sentence with an antonym context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Example Context Clues

Example context clues provide examples or illustrations of the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with an example context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Inference Context Clues

Inference context clues require you to use your understanding of the text to make an educated guess about the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Provide an example of a sentence with an inference context clue and ask the students to identify the unfamiliar word and its meaning.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The doctor prescribed medication to alleviate the patient's symptoms. What is the meaning of the word 'alleviate'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The young boy was ecstatic when he found out he won the contest. What is the meaning of the word 'ecstatic'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Practice Identifying Context Clues

Read the following sentence: The teacher reprimanded the student for not completing his homework. What is the meaning of the word 'reprimanded'?

Ask the students to identify the type of context clue in the sentence and to explain their reasoning for identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Creating Your Own Context Clues

Now it's your turn to create your own context clues! Write a sentence using an unfamiliar word and provide a context clue to help someone understand the meaning of the word.

Give the students time to write their sentence and context clue. Ask a few students to share their sentence and have the class guess the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Review

Let's review what we learned today about context clues.

Summarize the key points of the lesson and ask the students if they have any questions.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.