Context Clue Activity

Which of these four types of context clues is each of the following, and what does the underlined word in each mean?  Write the appropriate letter in the space, then write a guessinition (a guessed definition).   Make it the best guess you can make based on the context clues!

A.     Definition or synonym                       

B.     Example

C.     Contrast or antonym

D.    General sense of the passage

1. Mr. Medbourne, in the vigor of his age, had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant.

Which type of context clue is this?  _______________

What do you think mendicant means? __________________________________________________________

Note: Speculation is like gambling.

2. The lizard was so lethargic that I wasn’t even sure if it was alive or dead.  It didn’t even blink. 

Which type of context clue is this?  _______________

What do you think lethargic means? __________________________________________________________

3. But Wolf Larson seemed voluble, prone to speech as I had never seen him before.

Which type of context clue is this?  _______________

What do you think voluble means? __________________________________________________________

4.  The adverse effects of this drug, including dizziness, nausea, and headaches, have caused to be withdrawn from the market.

Which type of context clue is this?  _______________

What do you think adverse means? __________________________________________________________ 

5.  “I’ve caught several students surreptitiously checking answer sheets during my exams,” said the teacher.  “However, until today I never saw one openly lay out a cheat sheet on his desk.”

Which type of context clue is this?  _______________

What do you think surreptitiously means? _________________________________________________________ 

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Self-Starter:  

1. Context Clue Activity

2. Fluency partners (Yes, Hunter, I didn't forget.)
(SRI for those who haven't taken it.)  Thanks! 


3. Remember: Multimodal Texts
4. Hugo Cabret is one of them.
We read today through page 133 to chapter 6. 




5. Individual Reading Time -- Don't forget to watch for unfamiliar words and for context clues you could use.

Interesting Article -- 8th grader and wildlife

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/national/weird-news-deer-crashes-into-school-knocks-over-student/article_b99b9fa0-4867-11e1-900d-0019bb2963f4.html

and a middle school student stuck in a vending machine
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/national/weird-news-mass-firefighters-rescue-girl-stuck-in-vending-machine/article_62f87792-4932-11e1-b574-0019bb2963f4.html

Friday, February 27, 2012

Self-Starter:  Words in Context
More on figuring out words in context.
We used pages 666  (ominous, huh?) through page 672 to learn about seven types of context clues:
1. Definitions or Synonyms  Context Clues 1. Definitions or Synonyms
2. Concrete Examples  Context Clues 2. Concrete Examples
3.  Contrast Clues   Context Clues 3. Contrast Clues
4.  Description Clues 
5.  Words or Phrases that Modify
6.  Conjunctions Showing Relationships
7.  Unstated or Implied Meanings -- What is the general meaning of the passage?
  Context Clues 7. Unstated or Implied Meanings, General Meaning

The four most used  (or at least most important to learn for school) types of context clues are

1. Definitions or Synonyms
2. Concrete Examples
3.  Contrast Clues
and 
7.  Unstated or Implied Meanings -- What is the general meaning of the passage?

The students identified which type of context clue each of these passages uses.
Use this document to make-up the assignment. 
Context Clues for Small version.docx 




Hugo Cabret and Vocabulary


http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2781978137/


Find Box: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi771923481/




Individual reading -- in your independent growth range
Don't forget to fill in any unfamiliar words and to fill out your reading log.  If you were absent, pick up a pink make-up sheet, or download one here:  Reading Log Make-Up Log.doc

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

1. Pick up a dictionary and look up the words we found in Hugo Cabret, and any words you found in the reading you did during individual reading time. 


2.  Fluency Partner Practice


3. Reading Strategies -  overall with highlighters


4. Hugo Cabret with vocabulary


5. Individual reading -- noticing vocabulary

Monday, January 23, 2012

For those "Thinking About Your Own Thinking" papers that you handed in, "Good job!"


1. Self-Starter: Pick up your folders.  Context quiz.


Hand in Disclosure Documents.




2. Receive Individual Reading Strategy Charts (with Fix-Up Strategies)  -- Highlighters!
3. Reading Strategy:  
    1) Use Metacognition to Notice When You Don't Know a Word.
    2) Decide if you need to know it. (Is it getting in the way of understanding? -- Is it a name or is it something else?) 
    3) Use Context Clues (and other clues)  to figure out unfamiliar words
          a. What's in the word?
          b.  What does it look like? (Is the word or part of it      familiar?      But there's no butter in a butterfly.)
          c. What about its surroundings?  What comes before and after it? 


4. Begin Reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret. 820L


Use context and other clues to figure out words in your own individual reading.
5. Individual reading time.
   5a. If you were absent last time, take the SRI.


If we have extra time, we will do a Fluency practice.

Here is an online quiz on using examples context clues:
http://scc.losrios.edu/~langlit/reading/contextclues/intro1.htm
and another
http://www.english-zone.com/vocab/vic02.html
and another
http://wps.ablongman.com/long_licklider_vocabulary_2/6/1626/416421.cw/index.html
and another 
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/ccdirect.htm

Thursday, January 19, 2012

1.  SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) in computer lab.
2. Finish interest inventories and pre-assessment. 
3. Stategies:  metacognition Noticing what's going on in your brain as you read.
4. Individual reading time, using metacognition.  
5. Summarize newspaper article? (If extra time.)   

 Julian Smith -- "I'm Readin' a Book!"   

Metacognition: Noticing your own thinking.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Agenda

May the Force be with you. 

Second Semester Begins!

1. Receive disclosure, take disclosure quiz, and discuss the answers.
2. Spelling Test! (assessing orthographic knowledge)
3. Book sell -- Ms. Dorsey told the class about a bunch of different books. 
4. Reading time  for 20 minutes.
5. Receive a reading log, and record your reading for today.
6. Receive folders.
7. Begin interest inventories and reading strategy pre-assessment. 

Quote about Reading

 "After all, reading is arguably a far more creative and imaginative process than writing; when the reader creates emotion in their head, or the colors of the sky during the setting sun, or the smell of a warm summer's breeze on their face, they should reserve as much praise for themselves as they do for the writer - perhaps more."
-Jasper Fforde

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Summarize the video short we watched last time -- Peter and the Wolf .

Students will watch the movie for one of the books we read this term: The Mighty.


Teacher note? SRI? MK? EX.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Individual Reading and Log
Finish Lady and the Tiger
Finish taking SRI test

We watched an award-winning short of Peter and the Wolf.  The students will summarize it.

Context Clues 1. Definitions or Synonyms

Often, context clues are found in the form of synonyms: words that mean the same as the unknown word.  Authors may instead provide a definition right after using an uncommon word.  Synonyms or definitions may be set off by special punctuation within the sentence, such as commas, dashes, or parentheses; and  they may be introduced by or ("Nuptials, or weddings, . . . "and that is ("Woolies, that is, knitted underwear. . . ").   A synonym may also appear anywhere in a sentence as a restatement off the meaning of the unknown word. 


Examples: 
Are  you averse -- opposed to -- the decision?
His naivete, or innocence, was obvious.
The salesperson tried to assuage the angry customer's feelings, but there was no way to soothe her.





See Friday, February 27, 2012.
Thanks to Improving Reading Comprehension Skills by Langan, Cader, and Anton.

Context Clues 2. Concrete Examples

If you are given examples of an unknown word, you can often figure out the meaning.

Examples:
Nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, have highly developed senses that enable them to function i the dark.
Since my grandfather retired, he was developed several avocations such as gardening and long-distance bike riding. 


See Friday, February 27, 2012.
Thanks to Improving Reading Comprehension Skills by Langan, Cader, and Anton. 

Context Clues 3. Contrast Clues

Antonyms -- words and phrases that mean the opposite of a word -- are also useful context clues.  They are often signaled by words and phrases such as however, but, yet, on the other hand, and in contrast.

Examples:
Many politicians do not give succinct answers to questions, but long, vague ones.
      An answer that is succinct would not be long and vague, so it must be short and clear.

While Irma's home is decorated plainly, her clothing is very flamboyant.

See Friday, February 27, 2012.
Thanks to Improving Reading Comprehension Skills by Langan, Cader, and Anton. 

Context Clues 7. Unstated or Implied Meanings, General Meaning

Sometimes you have to look at the general sense of the passage.  What is going on, and what would make sense in the light of the words around the unknown one.

Examples:
The car wash we organized to raise funds was a fiasco, for it rained all day.
We know that if it rained all day, a car wash would not be successful. 

A former employee, irate over having been fired, broke into the plant and deliberately wrecked several machines.
We can guess how someone would feel about being fired, especially if that person then broke into the former workplace and vandalized it. 



See Friday, February 27, 2012.

Thanks to Improving Reading Comprehension Skills by Langan, Cader, and Anton.

QARs

Whether you are answering questions or creating your own questions as you read, it is helpful to know where to look for the answers to various types of questions. When you are reading, there are four main types of question-answer relationships. Here they are, with a brief explanation for each:

1. Right There. The answer is in the text, and if we pointed at it, we'd say it's "right there!" Often, the answer will be in a single sentence or place in the text, and the words used to create the question are often also in that same place.
2. Think and Search. The answer is in the text, but you might have to look in several different sentences to find it. It is broken up or scattered or requires a grasp of multiple ideas across paragraphs or pages.
3. Author and You. The answer is not in the text, but you still need information that the author has given you, combined with what you already know, in order to respond to this type of question.
4. On My Own. The answer is not in the text, and in fact you don't even have to have read the text to be able to answer it.

Here are examples of these question-answer relationships for questions about The Giver:
1. Right There:
Question: What is one of the rituals in Jonas' community?
Answer: the evening telling of feelings
Words for the question, and the answer are both found in this sentence: "It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings." p. 4

2. Think and Search:
Question: Who does Jonas mention as his friends in the community?
Answer: Asher, Fiona, and later, the Giver [I had to go to three different pages to find this aswer.]

3. Author and You:
Question: Why doesn't the community allow more than three books?
Answer: Reading books gets people to think and wonder and consider possibilities beyond their own experiences. For Jonas's community to continue to work as it has been, the people need to be content with what they have and not think or wonder too much.
[I had to know about the community from reading The Giver, but I also used what I knew even before I read the book to help answer the question.]

4. On My Own:
Question: Have you ever experienced a sled ride? (You and I could answer that without reading any part of the The Giver!]

Another On My Own:
Question: Which do you think is more important -- freedom or security? [You and I could answer that question without reading The Giver, though once we've read it, we could use examples from that book in defense of our choice of which is more important.]

Now, everybody say "Awwwww."

Penguins in Sweaters
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3756813

Friday, January 6, 2012

1. Individual reading and reading log.

2.  Computer Lab to
       1) Take/ Retake the SRI
       2) Read an online article and answer questions about it.
              "Penguins in Sweaters" http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3756813
See the handout with questions to answer at

Penguins.docx
 

3.  Finish  packet for "The Lady and the Tiger."

4. Fluency practice if we have time.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Substitute

1. Individual Reading and Log
2. Listen to the short story "The Lady and the Tiger" and practice various reading and listening skills and strategies by working on a packet about that story.