Chapter 5

Noun Nouns Constrain

At times, however, linguistic context is surrounding print does not help to either confirm or suggest the meaning of a word, even though it indicates the part of speech. For example, read the following: (a) I always wanted a ______, and now I finally have one! My long wait for a ____ was over, and I was so happy! No longer would I be left out of the group. Even though linguistic context in the surrounding print predicts a _____, there are so many possibilities that context provided by the surrounding print is not helpful. However, if a picture were available, perhaps showing a just-opened present with someone happily holding the unwrapped item, then picture-based context would help narrow the possible _____. And, of course, a reader's phonics knowledge would be brought to bear on the word and _____ possibilities, as well.

Context Effective

Authors do not supply the needed clue. Therefore, if readers rely on using only _____, their word analysis strategies will not be as _____ as they could be.

Context Synonym, Mood

Authors find many ways to help readers discover the meaning of words by providing _____ clues. The examples given previously provide some of the common types of context clues. Definition, example, _____, and ______ are common types of context clues.

Whole Within

Context applies not only to a _____ word but also within _____ contexts.

Clause

Context clues can also be provided by a _______ or an appositive phrase that follows the target word. For example, (a) He was delayed, or made late, because his car broke down. (b) The jockey (a person who rides racehorses) was very good at her job.

Meaning Sense Word

Context clues can be used in the following ways; (a) as a technique to determine the _____ of an unfamiliar word. (b) to check a pronounced word to see if the word makes _____. (c) as a step when using other _____ analysis strategies.

Listening and Speaking Vocabularies

For children in the early elementary grades, words encountered in their reading materials are usually part of their ________ _____ _________ ________.

Pronunciation Context Analysis Combination

From the previous examples, you probably noticed that context clues have more to do with meaning than with _____. It is possible that readers could use a synonym for an unfamiliar word when using ____ clues as their only form of word analysis. Other types of word ______ strategies, as discussed in other chapters, including knowledge of phonics, phonemic awareness, and the alphabetic principle, in _____ with context clues, add to accuracy.

Images Graphics

In addition to surrounding print, other context clues, such as ______ and other _____, also provide help with meaning and pronunciation.

Noun Context

In the following sentence, context predicts a _______, and if unaware of the initial p, most readers predict the word brother. (a) Sarah, who was now six, had always wanted either a sister or a p_______. In this case, let name knowledge interacts with context clues and the reader may predict pet using, in part, alphabetic and phonics knowledge, aided by ______.

Oral (speaking) Meaning

Look also at the following example. (a) I was told the ethmoid was broken. however, although it was painful, it was not life threatening. This example shows that unless an word is already defined within a reader's ____ vocabulary, attempts at pronunciation might be correct but will not result in _____. (Did you know that ethmoid is a bone in your nose?)

Clues Words (terms; concepts)

Many authors intentionally provide context _____ for their readers. Special efforts are often made when new or difficult _____ are introduced. The following examples illustrate several of the more commonly used techniques.

Context Clues

can be used to identify and pronounce these words. Context clues include using the surrounding information to help identify a word. Context is a very important aid to word analysis and comprehension. It helps to determine word pronunciation and meaning.

no /hope/ context

As another example, let's imagine that you looked at the word hoping and pronounced it /hop/ing. Would that be correct? _____ The word should be pronounced _____ing. If you did not correctly recognize the pronunciation of the word and you checked the ________ from which the word came, you would probably be able to correct yourself. (a) mary was hoping for a nice birthday present.

Context Change

Context is used in combination with other word analysis strategies. Sometimes, vowel pronunciation generalizations can be used to predict the pronunciation, but the _____ must be used to confirm such pronunciations. At other times, context might predispose a reader toward a certain pronunciation, but pronunciation generalizations force a _____ in the prediction.

Sense

Even when readers use strategies other than context, they often use context to check their efforts at pronunciation and see if the word makes ________.

Party

Example 6: Mary had a birthday <predicted word would go here>. If asked for a predicted word, one might substitute words such as today, party, or surprise. However, because readers look closely at the initial consonant, when the example readers look closely at the initial consonant, when the example reads "Mary had a birthday p_____" the reader's choices are limited. Now, of the words listed, only _________ will fit.

Background (prior) Example Example

Example patterns are very helpful but often depend on a reader's ____ knowledge. The following sentence illustrates an ____ pattern: (a) Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa, Australia and Antarctica are the seven continents. Note that while they can be useful, without appropriate background knowledge, an _____ pattern will not provide the context clues that are necessary to determine the target word.

Definition Set Defining

Example: Jim and Joan played a set of tennis. A set of tennis is completed when one player has won six or more games by a margin of two games. In this examples, the author has provided a _____ for the term ____ of tennis. The technique of ____ words is the usually limited to situations where the word is used for the first time in a passage.

Clue Mood

Example: Many children came to Mary's birthday party. They played games, ate cake and ice cream, and sang "Happy Birthday" to Mary. She thought it was one of the best days of her life. She was ecstatic. In example 5, the mood of the story was the _____ to the meaning of ecstatic. Ecstatic, as used int he above context, means very happy. Readers might not know how to pronounce the word ecstatic, but they can come closer to an accurate meaning due to the ______ created by the story.

Synonym Synonyms

Example: Many young children are hyperopic, or farsighted. In this case, the author has provided a ____, farsighted, for the unfamiliar term. ______ are used in the same manner as definitions when an author wants to explain a difficult word or concept.

Example Experience(event)

Example: Reading aloud can cause anguish for some children. John, a boy of ten, suffered much embarrassment because he was shy and felt that he read poorly when reading aloud. He felt terrible, almost tortured, when asked to read aloud. In the example, clues are provided for the term anguish by an _____. In such cases, the author attempts to relate to an ______ that the reader can understand. Many authors find that using examples makes their writing more meaningful.

Metropolitan Example

Example: Suburban dwellers are seeing their communities grow ever more crowded, as they witness the development of a megalopolis. High-rise buildings, shopping centers and housing developments, schools, parks, museums, and medical facilities seem to appear constantly. For example, some areas between major cities are growing at a rate that predicts a continuous expanse of structures and people between citifies that used to be separated by significant green space or natural environments. In the above paragraph, readers can tell that a megalopolis is the continuous development of ____ areas. Readers can use two clues. Their first clue is that the topic being discussed is related to suburban development. Their second clue is an _____.

Background (or prior) Structure (or grammar) English Learners

Perhaps the most commonly used context is information surrounding an unfamiliar word. In addition, readers use their linguistic and _____ knowledge to help them with unfamiliar words. Pictures and knowing the story ________ are also important sources of context clues. This can be especially important for struggling readers or ______.

Meaning Pronunciation

Predicting ____ and _____ are important aspects of using context clues.

After

Read the following sentence: (a) A swimmer is a person who swims. In this example, the context clues are located _____ the target word.

/leed/ interacts /led/

Read the following sentence: (a) I'm looking for some heavy metal. Please lead me to the lead. In this example, a vowel pronunciation generalization predicts that each word written as lead is pronounced ____. However, context as a word analysis strategy indicates that the first instance of lead must be a verb, and the second instance must be a noun. A reader's linguistic knowledge _____ with context and the vowel pronunciation generalization to confirm the pronunciation /leed/ in the first instance and _____ /led/ in the second.

Contrast

Read the following sentences and decide how context can help to determine the italicized target word. (a) My car is quiet, unlike the noisy thing that my brother drives! (b) Even though I was fond of Bill, I truly loved Bob. (c) It is warm during our winters, especially when compared to winter in Alaska. The above sentences illustrate _____ patterns that help readers use context clues.

Comparison Back

Readers also use comparison patterns in using context to determine meaning and pronunciation. _____ patterns can also requires that readers read past the target word or look _____ at what preceded it.

Meaning

Readers might be able to supply a missing word in a sentence, but they might have a limited understanding of the word's ______ because they lack knowledge of the concept (s) that the word represents.

Pronunciation (b) (a) context

Readers use context to determine whether their word analysis techniques were successful. For example, say the following word to yourself: object. Even when readers apply appropriate phonics knowledge, the actual ______ can't be determined until the word is used in context. In which of the following sentences does the word you pronounced best fit? (a) I ______ to your insults. (b) The ______ of the game is to win. If your pronunciation was object, you would pick sentence ______. If your pronunciation was object', you would pick sentence _______. Neither pronunciation was right or wrong until it was checked within the _____ of the sentence.

Context Word

Readers will also find _____ to be an effective means for checking other attempts at _____ analysis.

Around (surrounding) Types

Readers will find that they need to know the words, ideas, and pictures ______ an unfamiliar word to use context effectively, and authors provide many different _____ of context clues.

Verb Noun

The following sentences contain language structure clues: (a) John ____ to the store. (b) the ____ is getting cold. In sentence (a), you know the word will be a _____. In sentence (b), you know the word will be a _______.

Comparison Contrast Example

The types of patterns that readers find useful with applying content clues are _____ patterns, _______ patterns, and _______ patterns.

Before

To use context effectively, readings need to be flexible in using surrounding text. In the following example, the context clues are located ____ the target word. (a) the teenager had been swimming since she was an infant. It is not surprising that she is a really good swimmer.

Clues Listening

Using context _____ should not be considered as a substitute for a complete program of vocabulary development. The more extensive readers' speaking and _____ vocabularies are, the greater their resources are for using context clues.

Surrounding

Usually context refers to the text ____ an unfamiliar word and includes language structure (syntactic) clues and meaning (semantic) clues.

Meaning

When trying to determine the pronunciation and _____ of an unfamiliar word, readers can use several types of context clues.