3rd and 4th Grade Objective • Studentswillusecontextcluestodecodeunfamiliarwords. Materials Needed • Whiteboardanddry-erasemarker(orchalkboardandchalk) • WordDetectiveActivityreproducible Introduction Inalowvoice,saytostudents,“Ifyoucanhearme,pleaseraise yoursnooble.” Studentswilllikelygiggleorgiveyouaquizzicallook,butsimplyrepeattheinstructionuntiloneortwostudents beginraisingtheirhands.Acknowledgetheircorrectresponseswithasmileornod. Onceotherstudentsbegintocatchon,confirmthatthenonsenseword“snooble”meanthand.Askavolunteerto explainhowsheguessedthecorrectmeaningofthenonsenseword. Procedure 1. Explainthatgoodreadersoftenusecontextcluestodecodeunfamiliarvocabularywords.Pointoutthatother wordsinthetextmaygivethemhintsaboutthemeaningofwordstheydonotknow. 2.Displayafewexamplesentencesontheboardtodemonstratetheuseofcontextcluesindecodingword meanings,suchas: •Theangrydogbarkedferociously,scaringtheyoungkitten. •Afterstudying,Tomisoptimistichewilldowellonthetest. •Thecourageousexplorerclimbedthedangerousmountain. 3.Remindthestudentsthattheotherwordsinthesentence,orcontextclues,willgivethemanideaofwhatthe wordsmean. 4.Invitevolunteerstotrytodecodethemeaningoftheunderlinedwords.Thenhavethemcomeuptotheboard andcircleotherwordsinthesentencethatservedascontextclues.(Forexample,inthefirstsentence,theymight circletheword“angry”or“scaring”becausethesewordsindicatethatthedog’sbarkwasferocious.) Guided/Independent Practice 1. Declareallofyourstudentsworddetectives!DistributeacopyoftheWordDetectiveActivitytoeachstudent. 2.Havestudentsworkwithapartnerorsmallgroup.Instructthemtoreadtheparagraphtogetheranduse contextcluestodiscoverthemeaningofthenonsensewords. 3.Encouragestudentstowritethemeaningofeachwordandlistallofthecontextcluesthathelpedthem decodethecorrectmeaningoftheword. ©Lakeshore www.lakeshorelearning.com Directions: Read the passage below. Use context clues to decode the meaning of the underlined nonsense words. Thebigyellowschoolgleekpulledtoastopatthecorner.Thedriver openedthedoor,andIclimbedupthestepstogetonboard.Iwalked downthenarrowzupherlookingforanemptyseat.ThenIsawmy friendJackwavingtomefromthelastrow.“Overhere,Nate!”heyelled. Inoddedandmademywaytowardhim.Itookmynorjotfilledwith booksandplaceditundertheseat.ThenIploppeddownbesidehim andenjoyedtheridetoblat. Gleekprobablymeans___________.Thecluewordsthathelpedme decodethisnonsensewordare:__________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Zupherprobablymeans______________.Thecluewordsthathelped medecodethisnonsensewordare:______________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Norjotprobablymeans___________________.Thecluewordsthat helpedmedecodethisnonsensewordare:________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Blatprobablymeans__________________.Thecluewordsthathelped medecodethisnonsensewordare:______________________________ ______________________________________________________________ www.lakeshorelearning.com ©Lakeshore Gleek means bus. The clue words: big yellow school; pulled to a stop; driver Zupher means aisle. The clue words: walked; narrow; empty seat Norjot means backpack. The clue words: filled with books; placed it under the seat Blat means school. The clue words: the ride to www.lakeshorelearning.com ©Lakeshore