Context Clues
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Presentation Transcript
Context Clues How to be a Reading Detective
What Are Context Clues? • One way to figure out new words is to use context clues. • Context means “the parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede (come before) and/or follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning.” • Context clues are hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual words. • They are usually nearby the difficult or confusing word.
Context Clues: Punctuation Marks • Punctuation marks, like commas ( , ) or dashes ( - ) can help you understand how the word is being used. • Example: A ceiling fan uses the same energy as a 40 watt incandescent light bulb, the normal screw-in type light bulb. • Incandescentis a big word, but if we look at the words after the comma, we can get a hint of what it means. It says “normal screw-in type light bulb,” so we can probably guess that incandescent might mean the same thing as a normal light bulb. • Example: During the song's crescendo, the part where the music gets louder, the trumpets can be heard over the singer's voice. • Crescendo is another big word, but if we look at the words after the comma, we can guess that it might mean when the music gets louder.
Context Clues: Key Words • Key words, like “and,” “or,” and “that is” can also give you a hint that a definition is nearby. • Example: Good ventilationor air flow can help the people in the room feel cooler. Ceiling fans give better indoor ventilation. • Since it says “ventilation OR air flow,” we can assume that ventilation and air flow probably mean the same thing. • If we replace the word “ventilation” in the second sentence with “air flow,” it still makes sense: Ceiling fans give better indoor air flow. • Replacing the word in the sentence with what you think it might mean helps you determine if your definition makes sense. • Example: Blake studied every facet of the statue, and every part of it impressed him. • Looking at the words that follow “and,” we can guess that “facet” might mean “part.” • If we replace “facet” with “part,” the sentence still makes sense.
Tip: Read the entire paragraph! Sometimes a word’s definition may become clearer by reading the entire paragraph where it appears.