RI 5.4/ L 5.4RL 5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as
they are used in text.
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“They stared adoringly at his plaques, his
silver bat, the signed baseballs, and Dad’s
bronzed college football cleat.”
What are they staring at? Why do you think
that these things are important to someone?
adoringly– showing love or admiration for
someone or something
“In 1945, baseball, like most of America, was
segregated.”
 Can you determine the meaning of
segregated? Did you use background
knowledge or text clues?
 Segregated – to separate people or things, to
keep apart in smaller groups.
 What is the present tense form of this verb?
 segregate
 “I thought of the doors opening to
other black players after me, and
how the color barrier of baseball
would be shattered.”
 Barrier – something that separates
 Some barriers are easy to see such
as road barriers on the interstate.
What do road barriers do?
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“Dad was hiding sheepishly behind his
newspaper.”
This word is an adverb describing the way
“dad” was hiding behind his newspaper. Have
any of you heard this word before?
Sheepishly – a way of acting embarrassed or
meek because you did something awkward or
wrong
Does this word have any connection to a
sheep?
Yes, sheep are usually though of as “meek.”
 “The reality suddenly dawned on me.”
 Dawned- to become apparent or clear
 This is a multiple meaning word. What
is another meaning of dawned ?
 When do your best thoughts “dawn” on
you?
 We all came to an abrupt halt when
Dad turned to us and yelled, “Wait!”
 What part of speech is abrupt? How
do you know?
 Abrupt- an adjective meaning
sudden and unexpected
 What might cause you to come to
an abrupt halt?
“We listened to the eerie sounds the lake
made as it froze.”
 What kind of sound does a lake make as
it freezes over?
 Try substituting one of these synonyms
in the sentence: creepy, weird, unnatural.
 What would be an antonym for eerie?
 Eerie- strange and mysterious , and
sometimes frightening
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“Dad walked in protest marches alongside Dr.
Martin Luther King and raised money for the
Civil Rights Movement.”
What was being protested? (Use context
clues and background knowledge)
Protest- showing disapproval or
disagreement to something
What song might be sung in a protest march?
“In thirteen years, the former Negro
Leaguers made an indelible mark on
baseball.”
 Indelible- impossible to remove,
remaining forever
 Can an indelible mark be good or bad or
both? Explain.
 What can YOU do to make an indelible
mark on this world?
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“It was his extraordinary performance
and undaunting spirit, in spite of
physical and verbal abuse, that kept the
doors open.” Daunting means
“discouraging” and overwhelming.”
 What does un-daunting mean?
 Undaunting means not giving way to
fear, and having an encouraging
attitude.
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