English Language Arts and Reading.6.2.B

The student is expected to

use context such as definition, analogy, and examples to clarify the meaning of words; and

vocabulary strand teks talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.

rhetorical device that compares two dissimilar ideas or objects for the purpose of explaining or clarifying an idea; by making an analogy, a writer is able to explain one element by comparing it to another that is more familiar (e.g., “the effect of pollution in our environment is like that of a cancer in the body”)
Authors often include hints or clues to help the reader understand unfamiliar words. These hints can be found in phrases (e.g., definitions, analogies, or examples) provided near the first use of a new or specialized word in the text. Students should know how to identify these types of clarifying phrases in the sentences that precede or follow a specific word to help them determine meaning. For example, a definition can be embedded in the text near the unfamiliar word and offset by commas and a word or phrase (e.g., meaning, that is) that signals a clarification is being presented. In the sentence “The scientists collected feedback from the participants that was mostly qualitative, meaning it was based on impressions, opinions, and views, instead of information that could be measured with numbers,” students should know that the information provided after meaning is a definition for the word qualitative which proceeds it.

Research

1. Ilter, I. (2019). The efficacy of context clue strategy instruction on middle grades students' vocabulary development. Research in Middle Level Education, 42(1). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19404476.2018.1554522?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Summary: This study compares the effectiveness of context clue strategy instruction to wide reading practices in terms of their impact on the vocabulary. Sixth grade students were selected for the study; students selected for the experimental group were taught how to use context cues to infer meaning. Direct instruction was used to present the concept to the students. The results suggest that teaching students how to infer meaning from context clue is an instructional strategy that positively impacts the level of student achievement in reading. 

2. Nagy, W. E., Anderson, R. C., & Herman, P. A. (1987). Learning word meanings from context during normal reading. American Educational Research Journal, 24, 237–270. Accessed online at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/00028312024002237

Summary: This study investigated incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. A total of 352 students in third, fifth, and seventh grades read either expository or narrative passages selected from grade-level textbooks and were tested on their knowledge of difficult words from the passages. Small but reliable gains in knowledge of words from the passages read were found at all grade and ability levels.