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Determining Meaning of Unfamiliar Words in Sentences.
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Determining Meaning of Unfamiliar Words in Sentences Most people get frustrated when they read something with too many unfamiliar words. They would enjoy reading if they knew how to understand what those words meant. This lesson was designed to help you figure out what a word means by using the context clues of that word’s sentence.
Meaningful sentencesoftenhave context clues which convey the meaning of words which may be unfamiliar to a reader.For example…
Purring loudly while rubbing its plush fur against my leg, the ginger-colored squelbolump gently prodded me with its razor sharp claws in a bid to gain my attention. 1. What is a squelbolump? 2. How do you know? (You must use context clues to understand the meaning of this nonsense word.)
Types of Context Clues • synonym (or paraphrase) clue: The sentence contains a word or group of words that means the same or nearly the same as the unfamiliar word. • example (or cause & effect) clue: The sentence includes an example of the word or a cause and effect relationship which explains the word. • antonym clue: The sentence contains a word that means the opposite as the unknown word. • type of word clue: The part of speech or the position the word holds in the sentence helps to indicate its meaning.
For Example: Suppose your vocabulary word is… ostracize. • Chad felt ostracized, left out, because he was made to sitalone in the cafeteria. (synonym & paraphrase clues) • The boy, who was ostracized from his friends because he was punished, wished he could have joined them in the game. (example or cause & effect clue) • Courtney was so worried that her friends would ostracize her, but instead she was included in their group. (antonym clue) • Many white students ostracized their new African American peers in the newly integrated schools of the 1960’s. (type of word clue – action verb) So what does OSTRACIZE Mean?
On the following slide, you’ll see a mini-quiz. For each numbered sentence, put two responses. (A) First, use the context clues given in the meaningful sentence to compose a reasonable definition for the italicized word. (B) Second, list which of the four types of context clues you used to determine the word’s meaning.
Context Clues Mini-Quiz • My friend, an artist who has paintings in several galleries, is a true connoisseur of art, and so she was selected to judge the art show. • I was scared walking through the catacombs beneath the ancient castle. • The kids at the movies made a clamor, and the others in the theater were annoyed by the noisy disturbance. • If it weren’t for the small aperture in the cave, no light or air would have gotten in. • The man was fettered to the wall in such a way that he could not escape.
Context Clues Mini-Quiz • My friend, a true connoisseur, was selected to judge the art show, since she holds a Doctoral Degree in Art History and has several paintings in local galleries. connoisseur – an expert in a certain field (example / cause & effect clue) • I was scared walking through the catacombs beneath the ancient castle. catacombs – underground passageways used as a tomb or crypt (type of word clue)
The kids at the movies made a clamor, and the others in the theater were annoyed by the noisy disturbance. clamor – noisy disturbance; uproar; commotion (synonym / paraphrase clue) • If it weren’t for the small aperture in the cave, no light or air would have gotten in. aperture – an opening; gap; crack; hole (antonym clue) • The man was fettered to the wall in such a way that he could not escape. fettered – shackled; chained; bound (cause & effect clue)
