Fourth Grade English Language Arts Context Clues Lesson Plan and Resources

Fourth Grade English Language Arts Context Clues Lesson Plan and Resources

Big Idea- An expanded vocabulary enhances one’s ability to express ideas and information.     

Essential Questions- What strategies and resources do I use to figure out unknown vocabulary words?

PA Academic Standard(s) – CC.1.2.4.F Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in grade level text, including figurative language.  

Competency(ies)- Students read, understand, and respond to text with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.   

Objectives – Fourth grade students will be able to write 1 sentence that contains context clues for a make-believe word. Students will be able to define vocabulary words using context clues 4 out of 5 times. 

Materials needed- Frindle by Andrew Clements, conclusion sentences, word cards for evaluation, pencils and paper

Lesson Outline:

Motivation (Anticipatory Set)- Ask the students: If I came into the classroom and asked you for an umbrella what do you think I would need it for? Allow for responses. Ask the students: If I came into the classroom wearing a sun-hat, sun-glasses, flip-flops, sun-screen, and a cover-up and asked you for an umbrella, now what would you think I would need it for? Allow for responses. Ask the students: Why do you think your answers changed when I asked the same question both times? Allow for responses. The second time that you were answering the question you had additional context. I did not tell you any more information about the umbrella, I just told you more about the situation so you were able to make a better inference about what the umbrella would be used for. Today we are going to talk about how we can use the context in our stories to better understand unknown words. 

Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity) Read the section of Frindle to the students where Nick is first using the word “Frindle” in the classroom. Ask the students: How can we determine what the word “Frindle” means when he does not tell us what it is? He does not state what “Frindle” means but instead uses the word in several situations. Discuss the various situations in which Nick uses the word Frindle. Ask the students for their guesses about what Frindle means. Place each one in the context of the story and eliminate possibilities. Tell the students: You can use definitions, synonyms, antonyms, examples, and general context clues to determine meaning in a story. Ask the students: What did we use in this story to determine that a “Frindle” was a pen? (examples and general context clues)

Conclusion (Application Activity)- Display the five sentence below with bolded words. Students should work in pairs to determine the meaning of the bolded words in each sentence. 

1. The jagged edge had sharp points sticking out it.   

2. We only packed essential items for our trip because we did not have space in the car for extra items.  

3. The girl descended down the stairs into the basement.  

4. The mom coaxed the baby to eat the food by pretending it was an airplane.

5. After all of our items were scanned, the cash register calculated the total price.

Evaluation of Learning- 

Activity #1: Students will be given a piece of paper with a word written on it. They must create a make-believe word to replace the word on their paper. Then they will use the make-believe word in a sentence which they will write on the paper. The papers will be collected and the sentences will be shared with the class and the students will determine what the make-believe words means. Example: The student’s card says “hair brush.” The student decides to call the hair brush a boozle. The sentence might be: My boozle got stuck in my hair when I was trying to get all of the knots out. 

Click here to save a copy of the activity to Google Drive™.

Activity #2: Students will:

-Make up their own word to substitute for a real word (ex. boogala means book)

-Write 10 sentences using their made up word. The sentences should all include context clues that reveal the true meaning of the word.

-Write out a plan for introducing their new word into the world.

-Create an advertisement poster for their new word that illustrates the meaning.

-The project is 3 pages and printer friendly. A full scoring rubric is included on the 4th page.

Click here to download the project for free.