Design for Learning

Instructor: Miss Bisese Grade Level/C.Teacher: 5th grade Fields

Lesson Title: Context Clues for Date: 4/9/2015
Comprehension
Curriculum Area: ELA Estimated Time: 1 hours

Standards Connection: AL 5th grade (21) Use context to confirm or self-correct
word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary. [RF.5.4c]

Learning Objective(s): When given an anticipation guide students will correctly
identify the meaning of 4 out of 5 words through using their knowledge of context
clues.

Learning Objective(s) stated in kid friendly language: Today we will be
learning to identify the meaning of words using context clues.

Evaluation of Learning Objective(s): According to this objective, students will be
given an anticipation guide in the form of a pre and post assessment. The post-
assessment will be graded. On the post assessment, students should be able to
answer 4 out of 5 questions correctly to be considered proficient. Students
answering 3/5 correctly will be in the yellow category. Finally, students who answer
2/5 questions correctly or less will be retaught.

Engagement:
(I will use a context clues rap video to introduce the ideas but I am going to
administer a pre-test first and review these ideas to set up the video.)
Good morning class! Today we are going to be word detectives and are going to
continue learning how to identify the meaning of words using context clues
(Kid-friendly objective). But first, I need to see what you already know and can
deduce using context clues! On your desk, you should have a context clues
packet. Raise your hand if you do not have a packet. On the first page you will
write your name, then flip to the first page, which should say, Lets see what
Ive learned- Pre-test. The directions say, everyone should be reading along,
Read the sentence. Then using context clues, determine the meaning of the
bolded word. Circle the letter for the answer that best defines the word. So you
read the sentence and use the context clues in that sentence to help you
understand the bolded word. Go ahead and sign your name and begin the pre-
test. TTW give the students 5-7 minutes to complete the pre-test. Once they

are finished she will say, Now what Id like for you to do is flip to the next page
that says, Types of context clues at the top. Once you have flipped the page
and are ready to continue, show me a quiet thumb. Now this sheet is to help you
take notes on what we learn about context clues today. Ill tell you when to fill
in each section to be sure to have your listening ears on and your mouths
closed.

Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
Introducing Key Vocabulary/ Reviewing Terms:
Vocabulary:
- Context- the surrounding words that are before and after the
unknown word.
- In Context- looking back at the surrounding words that are before
and after the unknown word
- Context clues are the hints that the surrounding words give us
about the meaning of words
- Now who can tell me boys and girls what they think of when I say the
word context. (Activate Prior Knowledge) When I call on you, I expect you to
stand and answer just as Mrs. Fields does. What does the word context mean?
TTW call student with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond
to student answers, Yes it does have something to do with the passage, can
anyone think a little more specifically what context means? (Defining
important vocabulary) TTW call student with hand raised or cold call
attentive student and respond to student answers, Yes! Context refers to the
surrounding words that are before and after the unknown word. So lets fill in
the section about context. Context= the surrounding words that come before
and after the unknown word. So when say we are looking at something in
context, what does that mean we are doing? TTW call student with hand
raised or cold call attentive student and respond to student answers. Yes, in
context means that we are looking back at the surrounding words and using
those specific words to help us determine the meaning of that word for this
particular passage. The word may have other meanings in different passages so
we have to use the words (and clues) that are given to help us find the
meaning! So if context means the surrounding words before and after an
unknown word and in context means looking back at the surrounding words
that are specifically in this passage, What are context clues? TTW call student
with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond to student
answers. So Jeremiah said that context clues are the hints that the

surrounding words give us about the meaning of words. So look back at our
note-taking page, and fill in the blanks, (TTW point to the definition on the
Context Clues chart as she reads). Context clues are the hints that the
surrounding words give us about the meaning of words. Now when we look for
context clues these are the two questions we MUST ask ourselves: (Model
thinking and shown on chart paper)
- What are the surrounding words?
- Do these words contain any of the 5 types of clues?
So each time we approach an unknown word in a passage we should ask
ourselves, what are the surrounding words (before and after) and do these
words contain any of the 5 types of context clues we will talk about??

Types of Context Clues:
- Now there are many types of these hints, or context clues, that we can
look for in our reading as you can see up here on our context clues chart, these
include word parts, antonyms and synonyms, definitions or explanations, and
examples. So the first type of context clue is word parts. GO ahead and find the
W on your note-taking guide and fill Word Parts. TTW fill in on her chart
also. When using word parts, you can break apart the unknown word into parts
looking for root words, prefixes or suffixes. Now when you are examining a
word for word parts, you ask yourself, are there any root words I know in the
word that can help me understand? What is a root word class? TTW call
student with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond to
student answers. Yes its a word that is a smaller word we already know. So if
we know a smaller word within the word, we can use it to help us understand
the whole unknown word. We also look or prefixes, the syllables that come at
the beginning of the word and suffixes, the syllables that come at the end of the
word to see if they contain information. What might prefix or suffix tells us
about an unknown word? TTW call student with hand raised or cold call
attentive student and respond to student answers. Yes it may tell if the word
comes before another (ex. Prefeix of pre-, with the word preamble- we would
known that this word must come before something else because of the prefix
pre.) What are other ways? TTW call student with hand raised or cold call
attentive student and respond to student answers. Yes, a suffix could tell us if
the word is plural or singular or what part of speech the word may be. So our
first step is to look for word parts. Then we can look for if there are any
synonyms and antonyms. SO go ahead and fill in Antonyms for the A and
Synonyms for the S. TTW record on her chart also. Whats a synonym? TTW
call student with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond to
student answers. Yes a synonym is a word that has the same meaning as

another word. Then that means that an antonyms is what? TTW call student
with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond to student
answers. Yes an antonym is a word that is the opposite of another word. We
can tell if the author is using the unknown word as a synonym to another word
because they are often linked with like or such as. Antonyms can be spotted by
looking for how the author uses, but or however to pit the two words
against each other such as in the sentence, The rambunctious boy was
misbehaving but he was normally a calm boy. So the author is saying he was
one way, but he is normally calm. So what is the opposite of calm? TTW call
student with hand raised or cold call attentive student and respond to
student answers. Yes, loud, crazy, silly, all good answers! So we can infer that
rambunctious must mean loud, crazy or silly because of the authors use of
antonyms. We also keep reading or look directly before the word for if there is a
definition of the word. So go ahead and fill in Definition for the D section of
your organizer. TTW record on her chart also. Sometimes the author will just
tell us plainly what the word means! This may be directly after we hear the
word for the first time or a few sentences after. Then finally, we look for
examples of the word. Lets fill in Examples for the E section. TTW record on
her chart also. When the author tells us it is like ____________, or such as
__________ something. Those are examples of that word. Now that weve
explored our 5 types of context clues, lets say them, we can look for Synonyms-
and- Antonyms- and- an Explanation- Examples- and for- Word parts. Very
good! Now were going to watch a short video that gives us examples of using
four of these 5 strategies. It doesnt talk about one of these types so listen for
which types if doesnt talk about. Also, listen for examples of how the narrator
determines the meaning of tricky words by using these strategies.
Video: https://www.flocabulary.com/context-clues/
So in this video, which 4 of the 5 types of context clues did he use to find the
meaning of unknown words? TTW call student with hand raised or cold
call attentive student and respond to student answers. Yes he used,
synonyms, antonyms, examples, and definitions. So which on did he not talk
about? TTW call student with hand raised or cold call attentive student
and respond to student answers. Yes, word parts. So in the video, he
modeled how to think about finding context clues when we come to an
unknown word. Lets look back at the lyrics of what he said. The first word
he came to that he didnt know what peruse Lets read through how he
used context clues to find the meaning of this word. Cold call__________, Read
the first part of lyrics from the beginning until here (point) where it says
read through. TSW read through the passage. Alright so he was unsure
about the word peruse so he thought first What are the surrounding

words? Do these word contain any of the five types of clues? He looked back
at these surrounding word to find a clue. He read back in the passage where
it said, The actress read through a book and perused a newspaper. He saw
that read through was being used as a synonym of perused so he
determined that perused must mean to read through. So he used the
context clue of synonyms to find the words meaning. So Ketra since you told
us he used a synonym come place the word peruse on the synonyms area
of the chart. TTW allow each student that answers correctly to come place
the word on the chart. Then the next word he couldnt understand was
jubilant, how did he determine the meaning of the word jubilant? What
context clue strategy did he use. TTW call on and respond to student. Yes,
he used antonyms to find out the words meaning. How did you know that?
TTW listen to and respond to student. Yes so again he thought: What are
the surrounding words? Do these words contain any of the 5 types of clues?
He saw the passage says, Langston was jubilant when he heard the news,
but it wasnt long before he was depressed with the blues. The word but
signifies that jubilant is being used as an opposite. So he was jubilant but
then was depressed. So if jubilant and depressed are opposites, what do you
think jubilant means? TTW call student with hand raised or cold call
attentive student and respond to student answers. Ok, Azzurion says
happy. What else might it mean? TTW call on 2 more students. Yes it does
mean excited, happy, and joyful. SO he used what context clue to figure out
the word jubilant class? Yes antonyms!
o TTW repeat this procedure with the words
dilapidated(definition) and nutritious (examples).
o Also: TTW break words (dissect, cheerful, and jabberwockies)
into parts Word parts: prefixes, root words, and suffixes. These
words parts hold keys to the words meaning
Now lets practice finding the meaning of the bolded words within the
passage on the next page. Flip to page 4 and it should say A Vicarious
Journey. We will read the passage as a class and then go back to the
first 2 paragraphs and determine the meanings of these two words
together. Now this passage is all about a womans trip to Africa. There
are going to be some words and names of places that are part to
pronounce so I will help you with those! Lets go ahead and see what
happens on her trip! TTW call on a student to begin reading the
passages first passage then she will continue to call on students until
the entire passage is read. She will go back to the bolded words and
say, Now boys and girls lets go back to the first paragraph and look at
the word, vicarious. We know that this word is important because it is

II.

in the title! So class weve go to think: what are the words surrounding
before and after vicarious. And within these words are any of the 5
context clues surrounding the word to give hints about the words
meaning? Who thinks that they know what words are a context clue to
help us know what vicarious means? TTW call student with hand
raised or cold call attentive student and respond to student answers.
Yes, DeShayla says that, a trip that I would like for you to experience
through my description. And why is this a context clue DeShayla? Yes,
because it is a description. So we found our context clue. Now lets
highlight that context clue. Next ,we have to flip to the next page that
says A Vicarious Journey Worksheet. The directions say ______. So we
have to find the word vicarious, and circle the answer that we think the
word means based on our context clue weve highlighted. So would the
word mean _____, _________, or ________ cold call? Yes it would mean _______.
SO we circle the word _______. Lets do a few more together. The teacher
will do the first 3-4 words with students and then the students will
finish the remaining words on their own.
https://teacher.ocps.net/leanda.mcmurtry/web_handouts/09-
10%20Handouts/Context_clues.pdf
Opportunity for Practice:
Context Clue Multiple Choice Passage- Now that weve gone through a few
examples, I would like for you all to finish the remaining words on your
own. Think about the surrounding words and if they contain any of the 5
types of context clues to give you a hint at the words meaning. Once we find
the context clue we do what class? Yes highlight it. Then circle the answer
on the next page that you think the bolded word means. You will have about
10 minutes to complete this so please use your time wisely. You may begin.
Creating Context Clues- 3-2-1. Please close your packets now and let me see
all of your eyes on me. Now we are going to get to create our own made up
words to practice more with context clues. What you will do is you will
create (3) made up words and write them here in the blank on the cards I
will give you. TTW model with her example cards . After you have thought
of and written down your made up word, you will write the definition of
your word here. Then on the back of the card, you will write a sentence that
includes at least one of the 5 types of context clues weve talked about and
your word so that people can determine what your made up word means!
So Ive made an example for you guys and my word is giddywiddy. So Im
going to cover up the definition and read you my sentence. The giddywiddy
boy jumped up and down like an excited baby. So what do you think my
word, giddywiddy means? TTW call on 3 students. Alright so you think it

means happy, excited, joyful. And what context clue made you think that?
Yes you could say that it was the example I gave of how he acted he jumped
up and down or you could say that I wrote in a synonym that a giddy widdy
boy was like an excited baby. So now youre going to create your own three
words and read them to your partner. I will be coming around to read and
listen to the words and sentences you have created and will read a few good
examples to the class. TTW observe students and read quality examples to
the class.

o Notecards:
Front: My word is_____________ My word means:
Back: Word in sentence using context clue.

III. Assessment:
Students will complete the post-lesson section of the Anticipation guide.
Students should answer 4 out of 5 correctly to be considered proficient.
3-2-1. Now as I come around, be sure to stack your cards together and write
your name on the top card of your stack. Then put them in the corner of
your desk so I can staple them together. Once you have done this open up to
the last page in our packet that says Lets see what Ive learned- Post
lesson. Read the directions and answer the 5 questions. Once you are
finished you may read a book quietly. You will have about 5 minutes to
complete this task. You may begin.
III. Closure:
TTW close the lesson by asking and reviewing the following questions:
What does the word context mean?
What do we mean when we look at a word in context?
What two questions should we ask ourselves when we look for context
clues?
What are the types of context clues we should look for? Think WADES.
Materials and Resources:
- Anticipation guide!
- Objective displayed!
- Chart Paper- Types of Context Clues examples on reading rockets!
- Additional Chart: context in context 2 questions to ask ourselves
- Promethean Board
- Context Clues Video: https://www.flocabulary.com/context-clues/ (use
lyrics page when going back through!)
- Note-taking guide: WADES- fill in!
- Words on sentence strips!

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PRINT: Model finding Context clues Passage:

https://teacher.ocps.net/leanda.mcmurtry/web_handouts/09-
10%20Handouts/Context_clues.pdf
Write out passage on chart paper!
PRINT: Passages for students
Adapt worksheet for passage
Creating Words Notecards
Teacher Creating Words Notecards Example

Differentiation Strategies
Extension- Create a short story using your three made up words. Be sure to include
context clues to determine the meaning of these words.

Re-teaching- Super sleuth Context Clue Hunting- Work with the child/children as a
small group with a simpler passage. TTW have the unknown words written on
sentence strips. The teacher will review the 5 types of context clues on the chart.
Then, students will take turns finding the context clues in the passage for that word
and identifying the type of context clue. Once they have done this the will tape that
word to the correct type of context clue on the chart. The teacher could also have
students do this activity in pairs.
Data Analysis:
Data: I had
5/5: 5
4/5: 7
3/5: 5
2/5: 1
1/5: 2

From this data, I see that the students seem to have gotten the content. I worry that
the assessment was a little too easy but it seems like the students understood the
concept of context clues and the process of using them as I formatively assessed
students throughout the lesson. I would reteach the 3 students that answered 2 or
less correctly. I also think that I should reteach the students that answered 3
correctly.

Reflection:

What went well:
After teaching this lesson, I found that overall it was a good lesson plan. I felt
that the content was through, gave many examples, and also used the skill in a way
that the students needed to practice (the test passage like they will see on their
Aspire test in a week). The students loved the video and were able to were
challenged at an accurate level to think about the context clues the author used. The

students especially loved the practice activity where they were able to make up
their own words! They did very well with this activity and for the most part used
context clues accurately to describe at least 1 word.

What I would do differently:
- Change the name of the pre and post- lesson assessments
- My graphic organizer- I would model it to look exactly like the kids I
changed the organizer on my computer. For the lesson, it only had the Types
of Context Clues and the WADES with the blanks. I should have had a place
for them to take notes about context, in context, and context clues.
- I also forgot to administer my pre-assessment! I was upset because
this would have given me more accurate data about their progress so I cant
forget this in the future!
- I should add a cover page to their context clues packet
- I know that I shouldve gone over their practice questions but the
lesson had been going on for a long time at this point so I wanted to try to
finish up so I could get to the higher level practice activity.
- I also forgot to ask the closure questions and should do this in the
future.

Lets see what I know & What Ive

Learned!
Directions: Read the sentence. Then using context clues, determine the
meaning of the bolded word. Circle the letter for the answer that best
defines the word.

Pre-Lesson
1. The boy showed tenacity when he worked hard to finish his work. In this
context, the word tenacity likely means:
a. Shyness
b. Laziness
c. Determination
d. Joy
2. Amiya was enthusiastic about her new shoes, however her sister was not
happy. In this context, the word enthusiastic likely means:
a. Excited
b. Angry
c. Disappointed
d. Indifferent
3. His cheeriness was clear to all around him. In this context, the word
cheeriness likely means:
a. Smell
b. Happiness
c. Sadness
d. Anger
4. Some animals go through a process of molting. This is when the animal sheds
its old skin or outer coating and grows new skin. In this context, the word
molting likely means:
a. To feed on their prey
b. To care for their young
c. To shed their old skin for new skin
d. To migrate for a season
5. The colossal and massive volcano towered into the sky. In this context, the
word colossal likely means:
a. Lovely
b. Gigantic
c. Hot
d. Tiny

Lets see what I know & What Ive

Learned!
Directions: Read the sentence. Then using context clues, determine the
meaning of the bolded word. Circle the letter for the answer that best
defines the word.

Pre-Lesson (had name space at top)

1. The boy showed tenacity when he worked hard to finish his work. In this
context, the word tenacity likely means:
a. Shyness
b. Laziness
c. Determination
d. Joy
2. Amiya was enthusiastic about her new shoes, however her sister was not
happy. In this context, the word enthusiastic likely means:
a. Excited
b. Angry
c. Disappointed
d. Indifferent
3. His cheeriness was clear to all around him. In this context, the word
cheeriness likely means:
a. Smell
b. Happiness
c. Sadness
d. Anger
4. Some animals go through a process of molting. This is when the animal sheds
its old skin or outer coating and grows new skin. In this context, the word
molting likely means:
a. To feed on their prey
b. To care for their young
c. To shed their old skin for new skin
d. To migrate for a season
5. The colossal and massive volcano towered into the sky. In this context, the
word colossal likely means:
a. Lovely
b. Gigantic
c. Hot
d. Tiny

Context Clues:
Context = the _______________words that come before and after the
unknown word.
Context- THINK SURROUNDINGS
In context= __________ ________ at the surrounding words that are
before and after the unknown word.

Context Clues: are _________ that the _____________ words

give us about the __________ of words.

Types of Context Clues:

W_________________________
A_________________________
D_________________________
E_________________________
S_________________________

Lets see what I know & What Ive

Learned!
Directions: Read the sentence. Then using context clues, determine the
meaning of the bolded word. Circle the letter for the answer that best
defines the word.

Pre-Lesson
6. The boy showed tenacity when he worked hard to finish his work. In this
context, the word tenacity likely means:
a. Shyness
b. Laziness
c. Determination
d. Joy
7. Amiya was enthusiastic about her new shoes, however her sister was not
happy. In this context, the word enthusiastic likely means:
a. Excited
b. Angry
c. Disappointed
d. Indifferent
8. His cheeriness was clear to all around him. In this context, the word
cheeriness likely means:
a. Smell
b. Happiness
c. Sadness
d. Anger
9. Some animals go through a process of molting. This is when the animal sheds
its old skin or outer coating and grows new skin. In this context, the word
molting likely means:
a. To feed on their prey
b. To care for their young
c. To shed their old skin for new skin
d. To migrate for a season
10. The colossal and massive volcano towered into the sky. In this context, the
word colossal likely means:
a. Lovely
b. Gigantic
c. Hot
d. Tiny

A Vicarious Journey Worksheet

Directions: Read the passage, A Vicarious Journey Then using context clues,
determine the meaning of the select bolded words listed below. Circle the letter
for the answer that best defines the word.
1. Vicarious
a. To be wonderful
b. To experience through someone else
c. To bore someone
2. Bordered
a. To surround on all sides
b. To be near
c. To be far from
3. Solitary
a. Massive
b. Single
c. One of many
4. Mute
a. Jumping up and down
b. Talkative
c. Silent
5. Infinite
a. Dry
b. Small
c. Vast
6. Migratory Animals
a. Animals that migrate or move from place to place
b. Animals that feed on grasslands
c. Animals that care for their young
7. Ngorongoro
a. A sheltering forest
b. A 20 miles wide volcanic crater within the Serengeti
c. A grassland
8. Dispersed
a. Spread apart
b. Close together
c. Visible
9. Ecstatic
a. Amused
b. Excited
c. Disappointed

10. Primary
a. Main
b. Large
c. Small

*The packet also contained a printed copy

of the passage A Vicarious Journey

Lets see what I know & What Ive

Learned!
Directions: Read the sentence. Then using context clues, determine the
meaning of the bolded word. Circle the letter for the answer that best
defines the word.

Post-Lesson
6. The boy showed tenacity when he worked hard to finish his work. In this
context, the word tenacity likely means:
a. Shyness
b. Laziness
c. Determination
d. Joy
7. Amiya was enthusiastic about her new shoes, however her sister was not
happy. In this context, the word enthusiastic likely means:
a. Excited
b. Angry
c. Disappointed
d. Indifferent
8. His cheeriness was clear to all around him. In this context, the word
cheeriness likely means:
a. Smell
b. Happiness
c. Sadness
d. Anger
9. Some animals go through a process of molting. This is when the animal sheds
its old skin or outer coating and grows new skin. In this context, the word
molting likely means:
a. To feed on their prey
b. To care for their young
c. To shed their old skin for new skin
d. To migrate for a season
10. The colossal and massive volcano towered into the sky. In this context, the
word colossal likely means:
a. Lovely
b. Gigantic
c. Hot
d. Tiny

Work Samples: