G5 Context Clues Sentences

G5 Context Clues - Sentences

By Brian Tritico

How to figure out the meaning of words from context of what is written

In order the find out the meaning of words we don't know, there are a few options we can approach. We can:

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1) Look the word up in the dictionary / or online

2) Ask someone what the word means

3) Figure it out from the context in which it is written​

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In a test environment, we cannot use options 1 or 2, so developing skill in option 3 is our best option.​

What is context?

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​When some students hear 'context clues', 'context', or 'clues', they sometimes don't know what that means. Context refers to the situation presented in the writing, article, or book, where we see the word. Sometimes there is a comma right after the word or phrase, with the answer shown right after it. Look at the example listed below:

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It was an idyllic day; sunny, warm, and perfect for a walk in the park.

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What do you think the word idlylic means?​ Look at the adjectives that follow the word. Do you notice the semi colon ; and the commas?

​It was an idyllic day; sunny, warm, and perfect for a walk in the park.

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The words that follow the semi colon are sunny, warm, perfect. Those words describe an idyllic day. So we could say idyllic would be like saying perfect. The two words ​are actually synonyms.

​ She hums continuously, or all the time, and it annoys me.

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In this example, you can see the comma right after the word 'continuously'. What follows after the comma is a definition of the word! Many times students don't know to make the connection to the comma and the word in this way. Once you know how to spot this, it will be easier for you. Try exchanging the words after the commas with the word in question and see what happens. If it makes sense that way, then you have discovered the meaning.

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She hums all the time, or continuously, and it annoys me.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Try the next examples on your own and see what you can figure out

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

My friend is sometimes hasty when he does his homework. He does it too quickly and is careless.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

It’s no surprise he winced in pain after hitting his thumb with the hammer.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

We know the dog has a kind disposition because we’ve never seen her bite or scratch anyone.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

Bill felt remorse, or shame, for his harsh words.

​How did you do? Let try another one

Sometimes you will be given the opposite of something, such as in our next example:

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​This painting of the landscape is picturesque, while the one of the old house is just plain ugly.

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What do you think the word picturesque means? The sentence is comparing 2 different paintings. One of them is 'just plain ugly'. That tells us that the other one must look good. ​We can conclude that picturesque must mean beautiful, or some other word that would be the opposite of ugly. In this case we are looking for an antonym.

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Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

Marty is gregarious, unlike his brother who is quiet and shy.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

The feral cat would not let us pet him, unlike our friendly cat.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

Our sweltering summer days were quickly replaced by the cold flashes of fall.

Open Ended

Write in the space below what you think the underlined word is based on the context in the sentence:

The team was elated because they just found out they placed in the semifinals.

​Ok now we will try a bigger challenge! Read the paragraph on the next slide and see if you can figure out the meaning of the underlined words.

Open Ended

We were walking through the forest when we started to smell something odd; something that we both knew was not quite right in this wooded environment. There were no lawn mowers this deep in the forest. Panic raced through our veins like horses and we took off running to see if our instincts were correct. To our horror, our instincts were dead on. The forest ahead was consumed by locusts leaving a barren realm ahead. It was completely decimated beyond anything we could have imagined.