English I – Academic Fall, 2005 Using Context Clues English I – Academic Fall, 2005

Take a moment Define: panoramic Define: elated Define: futile

Now try defining them again… The backdrop of the sea provided for a beautiful panorama in the background of our family picture. I was quite elated when I saw my sister for the first time in several months. I wanted to jump up and down and scream with excitement! Lou thought that her mother's recovery was futile, but Dan remained sure that his love and caring would lead to great things and that the battle was not lost.

What is a context clue? A context clue is a hint in the sentence that lets you know what the meaning of the word is. Context clues help you to expand your vocabulary and impress others while still being clear in your writing.

The four types of context clues Definition/Explanation Clues Restatement/Synonym Clues Contrast/Antonym Clues Inference/General Context Clues

Definition/Explanation Clues Sometimes a word's or phrase's meaning is explained immediately following its use. "Etymology, which is the study of the origin of words, finds many teachers taking the bull by its horns when unraveling the mysteries of vocabulary studies."

Restatement/Synonym Clues Sometimes a challenging word or phrase is clarified in simpler language. "Lou felt as though she had been sent to the doghouse when Louisa admonished her for fighting at school.“ Because the phrase "being sent to the doghouse" means being punished, admonish could mean to disapprove or to scold

Contrast/Antonym Clues Sometimes a word or phrase is clarified by the presentation of the opposite meaning somewhere close to its use. Look for signal words when applying context clues. I think that Mr. Rubenstein is a very nice looking man, but not everyone is so enamored with his good looks. The signal word but tells the reader that an opposite, contrasting thought is occurring.

Inference/General Context Clues Sometimes a word or phrase is not immediately clarified within the same sentence. Relationships, which are not directly apparent, are inferred or implied. The reader must look for clues within, before, and after the sentence in which the word is used. "Dementia almost overcame Lou when she stepped off the train at Rainwater Ridge and felt as crazy as a betsy bug as she realized how different her new life would be.“ Dementia can be defined as being insane because the phrase "as crazy as a betsy bug" indicates insanity.

Using other clues Deduction - What does the sentence concern? Which words does the unknown word seem to relate to? Part of Speech - Which part of speech is the unknown word? Is it a verb, noun, preposition, adjective, time expression or something else? Chunking - What do the words around the unknown word(s) mean? How could the unknown word(s) relate to those words? - This is basically deduction on a more local level.

Let’s try them together… Vocabulary Activation - When quickly skimming through the text, what does the text seem to concern? Does the layout (design) of the text give any clues? Does the publication or type of book give any clues to what the text might be about? Which words can you think of that belong to this vocabulary category? Learning about Context clues (click here)