CONTEXT CLUES STRATEGIES BY Kathleen Borja 2008

Purpose of Context Clue Strategies To help you figure our unfamiliar or unknown words when no dictionary, parent or other source is available. To help you work out the meaning of the word by the context of the surrounding words.

Definition Often a sentence will contain the actual definition of the word. Example: People who suffer from acrophobia or the fear of heights, shouldn’t climb mountains. The actual definition of acrophobia is given to you in the sentence.

Example/illustration Often a sentence will provide many examples, details which help you understand the word. For example: Mr. Jones is a recluse. He lives along on the edge of town and never comes out of his house. It is easy to picture what “recluse means. It must mean that a person who is alone or isolated.

Contrast Sometimes an unknown word is used in contrast/opposite(antonym) to a word that you do know or that is explained in the sentence For example, Unlike Professor Dixon, who is extremely nervous, Professor Benton is very placid. Even if you don’t know the meaning of placid, you do know that it is the opposite of nervous therefore it must mean calm.

Logic/common sense Your knowledge about the world or a particular situation can help you understand a word. For example: the baby-sitter put a pacifier in the baby’s mouth and suddenly little Johnny stopped crying. Common knowledge about caring for infants helps you understand that the little piece of rubber that is used in baby’s mouth to calm them down is called a pacifier.

Latin and Greek Roots You need to try to know as many prefixes, suffixes and roots as possible because they give you clues about unfamiliar words. For example: Many politicians still favor the use of geothermal energy. The prefix geo may remind you of geography, so you have a clue that it must have to do with earth. The stem therm reminds you of thermometer, which is a clue that it is a word related to heat. Geothermal refers to energy that is produced by earth’s heat.

Reflection Tell your neighbor the 5 strategies or the types of clues to look for when figuring our unknown words in text. Now write the summary to your Cornell Notes