Summary
You’re reading a book, when all of a sudden you come across a word you don’t know. You *could* look it up in a dictionary, but it’s in the other room, and besides, dictionaries are heavy. Instead, you can use the word’s context--that is, the meanings of the words that surround it--to deduce the mystery meaning. In this BrainPOP movie, you’ll learn to use context clues to figure out unfamiliar words. Learn how to look for synonyms of the unfamiliar word in surrounding sentences. Or find antonyms that'll help you define the word by its opposite. Finally, learn to keep an eye out for false cognates--tricky words that sound like other words, but have completely different meanings! So ditch the dictionary, and click on this movie instead!
Viewer safety
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Context Clues:
- What is one new thing you learned about context clues?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining context clues.
- Draw or give one example of your own.