Students will read faster and with better comprehension when they learn how to find word meaning independently. While there will always be a need for a dictionary and help from the teacher, students will become better readers when they learn how to unlock word meaning using context clues.
Materials
- paper
- textbooks
- teacher made copies with two or three paragraphs
- pencils
Context Clues Lesson Plan Objectives
- Students identify context clues, i.e. synonyms, antonyms,restatements, definitions, examples
- Students use context clues to find the meanings of new words
Hints About Meanings of New Words
Tell students that they are going to be word detectives. Explain that when they come to a new word in their reading the first thing they should do is decide whether they have to know the word in order to get the meaning of the paragraph. As word detectives they may not have a case. If they can understand the meaning of the story or article without knowing a certain word, it’s okay to skip over that word and keep reading.
Tell them there is a way for word detectives to find the meaning of new words by themselves. Authors sometimes give clues called context clues. Context clues are hints that help readers discover the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Different Kinds of Context Clues
Explain that context clues are words that come before or after the new word and that there are several different kinds of context clues. Write these words on the dry erase board, saying them and reviewing their meanings as you write.
- definition
- synonym
- antonym
- example
- explanation
Write these sentences on the dry erase board, underlining the unfamiliar words. Do not write the answers in parentheses.
The joey, which is a baby kangaroo, peeked out of his mother's pocket. (definition)
The beach was covered with debris like paper and cans,and the children picked up all the trash. (synonym)
The ancient dress looked like new after she washed it. (antonym)
Every day he brought a delectable, delicious, wonderful, yummy lunch to school. (example)
My mother used to pull across the bay to catch flounder. Pull is a word that is sometimes used to mean row. (explanation)
Ask students to identify the meaning of each new word and tell which kind of context clue the author used to unlock the word’s meaning. Write the correct answers after each sentence.
Hints Around Unfamiliar Word
Give each student a copy of a worksheet with two or three paragraphs. The worksheet should have several nonsense words like gluck, silubble, and crange in place of some of the words. Place context clues before or after the nonsense words to help the students guess their meaning.
Form groups of four and tell students to work together to guess the meanings of the unfamiliar words. Tell them to work together and write the meaning of each nonsense word and the context clue that helped them. When all the groups have completed the activity, have them share their work with the class.
When readers have to stop reading to ask the teacher for word meaning or use the dictionary, the flow of reading comprehension is interrupted and sometimes lost. When students learn to skip over words that are not important and to figure out words on their own using context clues, they are better able to comprehend what they are reading.
