1. LEARNING TARGET
I will determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing from a variety of strategies.

2. Warm up Guess what the underlined word means?
1. Children who are hyperactive are easily distracted; teachers should make sure there are no distractions to keep them focused.
2. She’s resilient, not weak.

3. Context Clues: You be the Detective

4. Context Clues
As you read along, write down the underlined phrases to complete your notes. You will then paste or staple your CLOZE notes in your interactive notebook.

5. Context Clues – What Are They?
Context clue is information from the text that help you to decide the meaning of unknown words in the story or article you are reading.
As a reader you must act similar to a detective and put together clues from sentences surrounding an unknown word in order to make an intelligent “guess” or “infer” what the definition of a word is.

6. Context Clues – How Do They Help You Read New Words?
Textbook writers and authors include words or phrases to help their readers understand the meaning of a new or difficult word.

7. Still Wondering What a Context Clue Is?
Click on the link below to watch a video clip. Pay careful attention to what the song tells you

8. Types of Context Clues
Authors use many different types of context clues when writing texts.

9. Five Types of Context Clues
1. Definition/Explanation Clues
2. Restatement/Synonym Clues
3. Contrast/Antonym Clues
4. Inference/General Clues
5. Punctuation

10. 1. Definition/Explanation Clues
Sometimes a word’s or phrase’s meaning is explained immediately after its use.
Example: “Haberdashery, which is a store that sells men’s clothing, is becoming more common today.

11. 2. Restatement/Synonym Clues
Sometimes a hard word or phrase is said in a simple way.
Example: “Lou was sent to the haberdashery to find a new suit. He needed to wear it for his uncle’s wedding.”
Because the sentence says that Lou would find a suit at the haberdashery, then it must be a place where clothes for men are sold.

12. 3. Contrast/Antonym Clues
Sometimes a word of phrase is clarified by the presentation of the opposite meaning somewhere close to it. Look for signal words when applying context clues.
Example: “Lou wanted to go to the haberdashery, but Ann wanted to shop at the boutique.”
The signal word but tells the reader that an opposite thought is going to be stated.

13. 4. Inference/General Context Clues
Sometimes a word or phrase is not immediately clarified within the same sentence. Meaning must be inferred or implied. The reader must look for clues within, before, and after the sentence in which the word is used.
Example: “The haberdashery was Lou’s favorite place. He loved shopping for nice suits. The people who worked there were so kind and helpful.”

14. 5. Punctuation
Readers can also use clues of punctuation and type style to infer meaning, such as quotation marks (showing the word has a special meaning), dashes, parentheses, or brackets (enclosing a definition), italics (showing the word will be defined), or a comma before defining the word.
Examples:
Tom’s father was a haberdasher, or men’s shop keeper, in the story.
Tom’s father was a haberdasher (men’s shop keeper) in the story.
In the story, Tom’s father was a haberdasher – or men’s shop keeper.
Tom’s father was a “haberdasher”. He had a clothing store for men.

15. CONTEXT CLUES PRACTICE
Word Definition Context Clue Type of clue
Read the passage and
complete the chart:

16. Direct definition context clues are words that say, “Stop - don’t touch that dictionary. The definition of the word you don’t know is right here in the text!"
EXAMPLES:
There are many theories, or ideas, about what made the Ice Ages happen.
In this sentence the word “ideas” tells us that theories are different thoughts people have about something.
After a time, glaciers, or slowly moving rivers of ice, formed over many parts of the Earth.
In this sentence the words “slowly moving rivers of ice” tell us what glaciers are.

17. Synonym context clues are words around a difficult word that mean the same or nearly the same as the word.
EXAMPLES:
After seeing the picture of the starving children, we felt compassion or pity for their suffering.
In this sentence the word “pity” tells us that compassion means to have understanding for.
Mary admonished her students and they knew they were in hot water for their actions.
In this sentence the words “in hot water” tell us that admonished means cautioned or scolded.

18. Antonym context clues are words around a difficult word that mean the opposite or nearly the opposite as the word.
EXAMPLE:
Joe was reluctant to take the job of captain of the team. He was afraid that the time it would take would hurt his grades. On the other hand, Billy was eager for the chance to be the team captain.
In this sentence the words “on the other hand” and “eager” tell us that Billy feels the opposite of Joe, therefore, reluctant means uncertain or cautious.

19. Now it is your turn to be a detective and follow the clues!
Use what you have learned about context clues to complete the activity on the next 5 slides.

20. Context Clues Practice Activity
Your friend Ryan has moved to a new country and is learning a new language. Read what he wrote in his diary and see if you can figure out the meaning to the underlined words.
Dear Diary,
I overslept this morning. I had to eat my bowl of poof-poofs very quickly, and I almost missed the tramzam. When I got to school, I realized I had forgotten my zilgping . Luckily, Ms. Jutzi is very zoosh, and told me I could bring it tomorrow.
After school, some friends and I played plingming. It’s a new game I am learning. We scored 7 points and they only scored 5 points, so we were the zoiters!
Dad says that next weekend we’re going to the fladder . I can’t wait! I love to swim and play in the sand. I hope I don’t get a sunburn though.
Well, I better go to bed soon. I don’t want to wake up late again and miss my tramzam!
Until tomorrow,
Ryan

21. CONTEXT CLUES Warm up
1. The archeologist carefully removed the tome from its ancient
resting and proceeded to read the pages related to marriage in
ancient Greece.
What does the word tome probably mean?
a. Pen b. weapon c. book d. sausage
2. The Navajo language is an unwritten language of extreme
complexity with no alphabet or symbols, and is spoken only on
the lands of the Navajo Nation in the American Southwest. During
World War II a Navajo code was created for the U.S. Navy. This
code was virtually undecipherable to anyone except Navajo
speaking persons.
What does the word virtually probably mean?
a. Pleasant b. almost c. never d. always

22. CONTEXT CLUES Warm up
3. Lakes occupy less than two percent of the Earth’s surface, yet
they help sustain life. For instance, lakes give us fish to eat, irrigate
crops, and generate electrical power.
What does the word sustain probably mean?
a. support b. obstruct c. prolong d. destroy
4. The ancient Greeks pioneered many of the kinds of writing we
consider standard today. They wrote speeches, plays, poems,
books about science and learning, long histories of the things
that happened to them.
What does the word pioneered probably mean?
a. complicated b. developed c. destroyed d. explored

23. CONTEXT CLUES Warm up
5. Fifty-five mostly prominent, male delegates attended the Philadelphia Convention in About seventy-five percent of the delegates had served in Congress and others were important people in their home states. These men are often referred to as the Framers of the Constitution.
What does the word prominent probably mean?
a. unimportant b. unknown c. common d. important
6. Bats that eat fruit and nectar spread seeds and help flowers
grow. Without bats many important plants would not thrive.
What does the word thrive probably mean?
a. flourish b. die c. wither d. deteriorate