context clues.pptx

Grade 4 - Q2 - Use context clues to find meaning of unfamiliar words: definition,
exemplification EN4V-Ia-31
Grade 5 - Q1 - Infer the meaning of unfamiliar words using text clues

Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in the reading process and is critical to
reading comprehension. A reader cannot understand a text without knowing what
most of the words mean. Vocabulary knowledge is important because it
encompasses all the words we must know to access our background knowledge,
express our ideas and communicate effectively, and learn about new concepts.

Context Clues
 Background/Research Base
 Purpose/Benefits
 Description/Procedure
 How Teachers Can Make the Strategy
Work
 Applications Across the Curriculum

The National Reading Panel (2000) reported that although a great
deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly, some vocabulary should be
taught directly. Direct instruction helps students learn difficult words, such
as words that represent complex concepts that are not part of the
students’ everyday experiences. Direct instruction of vocabulary relevant
to a given text leads to better reading comprehension. Direct instruction
includes providing students with specific word instruction, and teaching
students word-learning strategies.
Background / Research Base

A reader must be aware that many words have several possible
meanings. Only by being sensitive to the circumstances in which a word
is used can the reader decide upon an appropriate definition to fit the
context.
Purpose / Benefits

Specific word instruction, or teaching individual words, can deepen
students’ knowledge of word meanings. In-depth knowledge of word
meanings can help students understand what they are hearing or
reading. It also can help them use words accurately in speaking and
writing.
Purpose / Benefits

Teaching context clues even benefit young readers. As children use
context to aid word identification, they employ pictures or sentence
context to read or decode an unknown word (Spear-Swerling, n.d.).
Purpose / Benefits

Context clues are the parts of a text that surround a word or phrase
you don’t know and that can shed some light on its meaning. Some
examples of context clues might be:
 a definition before or after the unfamiliar word or phrase
 a synonym or an antonym near the unfamiliar word
 examples in the text that illustrate the meaning of the unfamiliar
word or phrase
restatement of the basic meaning of the unfamiliar word or phrase
Description / Procedure

STUCK ON A WORD?

Key Steps for using Context Clues
1. Reread and gather clues.
Reread the sentence and see how the target word is used. Look for clues to the
meaning of the word. If there are no clues or the clues don’t help, read the sentence
before and after the target sentence.
Ask: What information in the sentence containing the unknown word will help me figure
out what the word means? Is there any information in the earlier sentences that will
help?
(Gunning, 2012).

2. Identify part of speech.
Determine the word’s part of speech.
Ask: How is the word being used?
(Gunning, 2012).

3. Summarize.
In your mind, summarize what the text has said so far. Combine that with
all the clues that the text has offered.
Ask: When I think about the information given about this unknown word, what does
the word seem to mean?
(Gunning, 2012).

4. Use background knowledge.
Use what you know, the sense of the passage, and the clues you have
gathered. Make a careful guess as to the word’s meaning.
Ask: What do I know that will help me figure out the meaning of this word?
(Gunning, 2012).

5. Check your careful guess.
See if your guess fits the context.
Ask: Does my meaning seem to fit the context?
(Gunning, 2012).

6. Revise.
If your careful guess doesn’t fit, try again. If the word is used in other
places in the selection, get the clues from there.
Ask: What do I need to do to make a better guess?
(Gunning, 2012).

Examples of the Strategy
Context Clue Strategy 1: Clue Web Sheet (Graves & Fink, 2007)
The teacher introduces the Clue Web Sheet to introduce and motivate the
students to write an unfamiliar word in the “unknown word” space and then
record the context clues that reveal its meaning as they read the text or view
media.
(Cox (2019))

Context Clue Strategy 1: Clue Web Sheet (Graves & Fink, 2007)
(Cox (2019))

Context Clue Strategy 2: C2QU (See-Two-Cue-You) (Blachowicz & Fisher, 1996)
The purpose of C2QU is to present both definitional and contextual
information about new words. Readers are expected to hypothesize about
meaning, to articulate the cues that lead to the hypothesis, and to refine and
use what they have learned with feedback.
(Cox (2019))

The strategy involves these steps:
C1: Present the word in a broad but meaningful context, such as a word selected from
a story or chapter. Ask students to form hypotheses about the word’s meaning; to
give attributes, ideas or associations, and to think aloud to explain to the group
their hypothesis.
(Cox (2019))

C2: Provide more explicit context with some definitions. Ask students to reflect on
their initial ideas and to reaffirm or refine them again in a “think aloud”mode.
(Cox (2019))

Q: Ask a question that involves semantic interpretation of the word. At this point, you
can also ask for a definition or give one if necessary. Discuss as needed with
group members, using each other’s cues and explanations as more data.
(Cox (2019))

U: Ask students to use the word in a meaningful sentence. Go back into the C2QU
loop as needed.
(Cox (2019))

Example
(Cox (2019))

Context Clue Strategy 3: Using the Cloze Procedure
The close procedure can also help students learn to use context clues to infer
word meanings. In a cloze passage, selected words are omitted from the text and
replaced with a line or space. Reading a close passage requires a reader to use their
knowledge of context to supply appropriate words and concepts to create a
meaningful passage. Teachers may provide the words that students need to fill in the
blanks.
(Cox (2019))

Context Clue Strategy 3: Using the Cloze Procedure
(Cox (2019))

Context Clue Strategy 4: Word Questioning (Bintz, 2011)
Word questioning (Allen, 1999) is a strategy that teaches vocabulary and
promotes critical thinking. It challenges students to define, analyze, synthesize, and
evaluate target words in their readings.
(Cox (2019))

Teachers need to remember that in using context clues for literacy instruction, the
following components must be evident:
1. Students must know why and when to use context. Sometimes, context clues
given by the author are explicit or merely suggested. Students thus need to see
and discuss various levels of context explicitness to develop sensitivity to varied
levels of contexts provided in the text
2. Students must have a general idea about what kinds of clues may be provided by
the context.
3. Students must know how to look for and use these clues (Blachowicz & Fisher,
2006).
How Teachers Can Make The Strategy Work

Modeling word solving should occur across content areas. This requires that
teachers select pieces of text that include complex vocabulary terms and that they
read the texts aloud, pausing to demonstrate how word solving works. Aside from
teaching word solving through morphology or words parts
Applications Across The Curriculum

context clues.pptx

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