Topic: Context Clues:
Recognizing Definition as a Context clue
Target Learners:
Second Year HS students
This Learning Object is applicable for all year levels.
Introduction:
Improving one’s vocabulary does not merely mean that you can recognize new words. It means the ability to understand these words when you encounter them in your reading and the ability to use them writing and in conversation.
You do not have to look up the dictionary every word you do not understand. Oftentimes, you can get the meaning from the context of the sentence where the word is found.
In this lesson, you will learn how to look for the definition of a word in a text.
Objective:Recognize definition as a context clue.
Review: Analyze the example given
Example:
- You must try to fulfill your oath because it is a solemn promise.
The word oath is being defined as solemn promise, without looking the dictionary we can easily get the meaning of that word because it is found in the text.
Discussion:
Context clues indicate whish of the possible meanings of a word is intended by the writer or speaker.
One of the clues you can find to define a word is its exact definition in the text after a comma.
Example: I thought my patient had the worst case until I found out that he has boanthrophy,a mental disorder in which a man believes that he is an ox.
We can find the definition of some words in sentences inside the parentheses.
Example: The hunters went to the tropical areas of America to find Manakins(a small tropical bird with beautiful feathers), but found no sign of them.
There are times when a word is defined in a part of the sentence separated by a dash.
Example: She was in the telpher- a light car hanging from cables-when the power was shot down by lightning.
We can also find the meaning of a word in a text through the signal word “or” before or after the word being defined.
Example: To translate orally or to construe is a very difficult task if the person speaking is delivering a poem.
Summary:
It is very important to pay attention to parentheses, commas, dashes, and the word “or” because they often signal that the definition of the word will follow.
Assessment:
Give the definition of the underlined word in each sentence.
- We failed to make the clay ball spherical or globose, so we just made a
Cylinder.
- Most fruits blet-decay internally-several days after ripening.
- He worked in the publishing house for ten years and learned reprography (the production of graphic material) until he became supervisor.
- Many volunteers arrived at the site with a portmanteau (a large suitcase for clothes) and their packed since the first free meal starts at dinner.
- Nowadays, it is not surprising that many children and adolescents have a mania, a strong uncontrollable desire, for television and video games.
