73 Setting, Conflict, Context Clues Setting refers to the physical and psychological background against which the action in the story takes place. It is the time and place that the narrative occurs. There are three types of setting: Historical: place, time period, dates Cultural: ways of living, fashion, music, entertainment Social: socioeconomic status, race, age group Conflict: The clash or problem between opposing forces. There are four types of conflict: Character v. Self Character v. Character Character v. Nature Character v. Society Context clues: the words around an unfamiliar word that gives you clues about the unknown words meaning. There are five types: Definition/explanation clues: a word or phrase is explained immediately after its use. Restatement/synonym clues: a hard word or phrase is said in a simple way. Contrast/antonym clues: a word or phrase is clarified by the presentation of the opposite meaning somewhere close to its use. Inference/general context clues: The relationship, which are not directly apparent, are inferred or implied. The reader must look for clues. Punctuation: sometimes punctuation will help readers infer meaning. Things like quotation marks, dashes, parentheses, brackets, and italics can be used.