3. CHAPTER TWO
Use Context Clues to Study
Vocabulary
S
• Synonyms
A
• Antonyms
G
• General Context
E
• Examples
A SAGE Approach
2 Classify context clues.
4. CHAPTER TWO
S
• Parentheses ( )
• Dashes -- --
• Commas , ,
• Or
• That is
Words with
the same
meaning
Synonym Signal Words
Prince William’s bride followed the
conventions (traditions) of society by wearing
a white gown.
2 Classify context clues.
5. CHAPTER TWO
A
• But
• However
• In contrast
• Instead
• Unlike
• Not
• Yet
• On the other hand
Words with
the opposite
meaning
Antonym Signal Words
Cheryl often flouted the rules, unlike her twin who
always obeyed them.
Classify context clues.2
6. CHAPTER TWO
G
• Definition
• Description
• Logic
• Reasoning
• Prior knowledge
• Word pictures
Surrounding
words
General Context Clues
We could tell by her indifference to the chocolate
cake that she wasn’t a fan of desserts.
Classify context clues.2
7. CHAPTER TWO
E
• Consisting of
• Including
• Like
• Such as
• For instance
• For example
• Colons :
• Dashes -- --
Examples
can reveal
meaning.
Example Signal Words
Legumes include such vegetables as peas,
beans, and lentils.
Classify context clues.2
10. We discovered that the authors often
include the meaning of a word through
context clues. But what do you do if you
come across a difficult word and no
context clue was provided? You look it
up in the dictionary.
11. On Monday, Nevada became the first to approve
a license for "autonomous vehicles" -- in other
words, cars that cruise, twist and turn without
the need for a driver -- on its roads. The license
goes to the prodigious Google, known more for its
search engine and e-mail service that nonetheless
has been known to plummet into other big ideas
such as space elevators to Internet-enabled
glasses. (Taken and modified from: www.cnn.com/
“Google Gets License to Operate Driverless Cars
in Nevada” by the CNN wire staff. 5/8/12.)
12. You probably got the overall message:
Google has been approved a license for
cars that do not need a driver. However,
there was a word in the paragraph that
did not have a context clue, prodigious.
It may be an important word to know the
meaning of in order to completely
understand the paragraph. Let’s look it
up in the dictionary.
13. Dictionary Entries
Dictionary entries provide more than just the
meaning of the word.
1. Syllabication – How is the word broken down into
syllables?
2. Pronunciation – How do you pronounce the word?
3. Function of the word – What is the part of speech?
4. Etymology – Where did this word come from? What
is the history of the word?
5. Other forms – What are the different forms made by
adding to or changing the word’s suffix (ending)?
14. Dictionaries
Listed below are some recommended
Collegiate (which means “of or intended
for college students”) Dictionaries.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary
The Random House Dictionary
15. We used a hard copy dictionary to find the
meaning of the above word, but there are also
many on-line dictionaries. Let’s look up
another word in this paragraph – plummet.
This time we will use an on-line dictionary.
Listed below are some on-line dictionaries you
may want to try out.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
16. So now we have figured out three words.
We know what autonomous means by the context
clues provided.
And what does prodigious mean?
And plummet?
On Monday, Nevada became the first to approve a
license for "autonomous vehicles" -- in other words,
cars that cruise, twist and turn without the need
for a driver -- on its roads. The license goes to the
prodigious Google, known more for its search engine
and e-mail service that nonetheless has been known
to plummet into other big ideas such as space
elevators to Internet-enabled glasses.
Context Clues
Effective readers interact with new words in a number of ways.
One way is to use context clues.
The meaning of a word is shaped by its context.
The word context means “surroundings.”
The meaning of a word is shaped by the words surrounding it—its context.
Effective readers use context clues to learn new words.
Activity: Write a few sentences from various college textbooks on the board. Ask students to identify unfamiliar words. Circle these, then ask students to examine the sentences further for clues to meaning. Underline any clues that students suggest. Point out that astute readers can often discover helpful hints to meaning in the surrounding context. Suggest that students look within the sentence and also read beyond the sentence to find clues that reveal meaning.
There are four types of context clues:
Synonyms, Antonyms, General context, and Examples
Notice that, put together, the first letter of each context clue spells the word SAGE.
The word sage means “wise.” Using context clues is a wise—a SAGE—reading strategy.
Synonyms
A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.
Many times, an author will place a synonym near a new or difficult word as a context clue to the word’s meaning.
Usually, a synonym is set off with a pair of commas, a pair of dashes, or a pair of parentheses before and after it.
Antonyms
An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
Antonyms help you see the shade of a word’s meaning by showing you what the original word is not.
Sometimes antonyms can be found next to the new word. In those cases, commas, dashes, or parentheses set them off.
At other times, antonyms are placed in other parts of the sentence to emphasize the contrast between the ideas.
General Context
Often you will find that the author has not provided either a synonym clue or an antonym clue.
In that case, you will have to rely on the general context of the passage to figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word.
This requires you to read the entire sentence, or to read ahead for a few sentences, for information that will help you understand the new word.
Information about the word can be included in the passage in several ways.
Sometimes a definition of the word may be provided.
Vivid word pictures or descriptions of a situation can provide a sense of the word’s meaning. Sometimes you may need to figure out the meaning of an unknown word by using logic and reasoning skills.
Examples
Many times an author will show the meaning of a new or difficult word by providing an example.
Signal words indicate that an example is coming.