Essential Question: How can using context clues
strengthen my reading skills?
What are Context Clues?
 Context - The parts of something written or spoken
that immediately precede and follow a word or passage
and clarify its meaning.
 It is common to encounter words that we don’t know as
we read.
 Looking up words we don’t know breaks the flow of
the reading, so good readers try to guess the meaning
by looking at the sentences and words around the
unfamiliar word.
 This is called guessing meaning from context.
Let’s figure it out…
 John got in his jalopy and drove down the road.
 Jalopy - a dilapidated old car
Let’s figure it out…
 People who suffer from acrophobia, or fear of heights,
shouldn’t climb mountains.
 Acrophobia - a pathological fear of heights.
Let’s figure it out…
 Unlike Professor Dixon, who is extremely nervous,
Professor Benton is very placid.
 Placid - Not easily upset or excited.
Types of Context Clues
 Definition – Often a sentence will contain the actual
definition of the word.
 For example: People who suffer from acrophobia, or
fear of heights, shouldn’t climb mountains.
 The exact definition of “acrophobia” is given to you in
the sentence.
Types of Context Clues
 Example – Illustration: Often, a sentence will provide
many examples and details which help you see and
understand the word even if you don’t know the exact
definition.
 For example: Mr. Jones is a real recluse. He lives alone
on the edge of town and he never comes out of his
house except to go to work.
 Recluse must mean a person who is alone and isolated.
Types of Context Clues
 Contrast – Sometimes an unknown word is used in
contrast 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,” it has
to be the opposite of nervous, so “placid” must mean
calm or relaxed.
Types of Context Clues
 Logic – Your knowledge about the world or a
particular situation can help you understand a word
you don’t know.
 For example: The baby-sitter put a pacifier in the
baby’s mouth and suddenly little Jimmy stopped
crying.
 Common knowledge about infant care will help you
understand the “pacifier” is the little piece of rubber
on a ring that is used to calm down a crying baby.
Types of Context Clues
 Latin and Greek Word Parts: Even if you don’t have
all these stems, prefixes and suffixes memorized, if you
know a few of them, you will have clues about many
unfamiliar words.
 For example: Many politicians still favor geothermal
energy.
 The prefix geo refers to the earth and the stem therm
is related to heat. “Geothermal” refers to energy that
is produced by the earth’s heat.
Types of Context Clues
 Grammar – When you know the part of speech of an
unfamiliar word, you know a lot about that word.
 For example: On a computer, you can change a word by
simply moving the cursor to the place where you want
to make the change.
 Here the article “the” gives you a clue that the
unfamiliar word is a noun. Knowing this helps you
limit your guess to nouns only. You don’t need to think
about other parts of speech, so your guessing is much
easier.
Things to Look for
 Synonyms
At first I felt trepidation when I saw the large snake,
but when the handler told me it was harmless, I was
less afraid.
 Antonyms
I attempted to avert a collision with the mattress in the
road, but my right tire hit it with full force.
 Definitions/descriptions
Magpies, black and white crow-like birds, are
protected in parts of the United States.
Things to Look for
 Comparisons or contrasts
While they are twins, Kara has dark hair and brown
eyes, but Melissa is Nordic in coloring.
 Clues from words in a series
Spring brings sparrows, finches, robins, and magpies
to our yard.
 Cause and effect
When too many students loitered in the cafeteria,
lunch periods were shortened to twenty minutes in
order to make room for the next lunch period.