Context Clues: Meaning of Words from its Surroundings

Contributed by:
Ivan
This presentation will teach students how to deduce meanings of unknown words from words, phrases, and sentences that surround them.
1.
2. What does context mean?
A word’s context is the words, phrases, and
sentences that surround it. If you look closely
at the context of an unknown word, you often get
clues about that words meaning.
Look for:
+ Synonyms
Read Surrounding Sentences
When ALL ELSE FAILS use a Dictionary

3. From “Boys Against Girls” by Phyllis Reynolds
Naylor: What does precocious mean?

4. Look for Antonyms
| Watch for words with opposite meanings.
Sometimes authors use them to make a point.
From “ Nomi and the Magic Fish” by Judy Sierra:

5. Look for Definitions
| | Watch for definitions defined near a word.
‘Sometimes you'll see words and phrases — such as
lor, that is, and in other words — with a definition
right after it in parentheses.
From “Census Surprise!” from Junior Scholastic:
What does census mean?

6. BAS on TORE oe ks ane of
Look for Examples
| Watch for examples that explain what a word
\means. Examples often follow words or phrases,
\such as for example, such as, like, and especially.
From “Boys Against Girls” by Phyllis Reynolds
Naylor: What is an abaguchie? 3

7. Read Surrounding Sentences
| Look closely at the sentence containing the word,
jas well as the sentences that come before and after
From “The Sultan’s Perfect Tree” by Jane Yolan:
What does blemish mean?

8. What to do when context clue ~
strategies don’t help?
| Sometimes we still don’t understand the
| meaning of a word even after looking for
synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples, and
reading surrounding sentences.

9. Give the meaning and the type of context clue
used to find the meaning of the red word(s).
A Vicarious Journey
By Menkeli Kanaa, 2003
I would like to take you ona trip, a trip
I want you to experience through my
description, to Tanzania. I visited Tanzania with
five other teachers this summer, and I can truly
claim that it was the most summer
I’ve had. I doubt I will ever forget it.


10.
11. Give the meaning and the type of context clue
used to find the meaning of the red word(s).
* Carly is fond of , worn-out expressions in
her writing. Her favorite is “You can lead a
horse to water, but you can't make him drink.”




* Animals to the environments they live in.
Some animals live in the Arctic where it is very
cold and their fur keeps them warm. Other
animals live in the ocean, or in ponds, streams, @
lakes, and rivers. They use gills to breath.


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