Vocabulary in Context

This resource will help students to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9-10 &11-12 reading and content, using a range of strategies. Students will use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase, as opposed to being "given" a list of words and definitions. This resource will help students to identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech. In completing the skill sheet, students will consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, its etymology, or its standard usage. In addition, students will verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary.

This resource is suitable as a 1-day vocabulary activity used in conjunction with any fiction or non-fiction piece of reading or as a weekly vocabulary sheet that is given on Monday and reviewed/collected on Friday.

Overall, the adage "give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime" applies to this activity. By teaching students to determine word meaning based on context clues, word patterns, and resource inquiry, they learn to authentically determine the meanings of unfamiliar words on their own, an authentic practice that can be used a lifetime.