Context clues activities, in teaching order
By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated
Short answer
Good context clues activities teach students to notice an unknown word, find the clue, guess a meaning and check it by putting the meaning back in the sentence. Start with nonsense words, which force students to use context, then signal word hunts, clue sorts, cloze sentences and finally real passages. The check step is what turns guessing into a strategy.
Students with weak vocabulary often handle unknown words in one of two ways: they stop, or they skip and keep going with a hole in the meaning. Context clues activities give them a third option. The routine is short: notice the word, find the clue, try a meaning, check it in the sentence.
The six activities below run from easiest to hardest. Each has a short example. For goal wording, see IEP goals for context clues. The pillar on reading comprehension strategies shows how vocabulary supports the other comprehension strategies.
What you need before you start
- A clue type chart: definition, synonym, antonym, example and general sense, each with its signal words.
- 20 to 30 sentences with one unfamiliar word each, sorted by clue type.
- 3 or 4 short passages at the student's instructional level with 5 or 6 unfamiliar words marked.
- A probe of 6 words in an unpracticed passage, scored 1 point for a fitting meaning and 1 for the clue.
- The accuracy data sheet.
The What Works Clearinghouse guide on adolescent literacy recommends explicit vocabulary instruction that includes strategies students can use on their own.[1] The National Reading Panel report also reviewed vocabulary instruction and found that several methods, including learning words from context, contributed to growth.[2] Every activity below ends with the student doing the routine alone.
Step-by-step
Step 1: Nonsense words
Replace a real word with a made-up one. "After the long hike, Marcus was so blorpy that he drank three bottles of water." What does blorpy mean? Thirsty. How do you know? He drank three bottles of water after a hike.
Nonsense words are the best starting point because the student cannot already know them. The only way to an answer is the context. Do 5 to 8 a session. Have the student write one for a partner.
Step 2: Signal word hunts
Give a short paragraph and have the student highlight the signal words: means, or, but, unlike, such as, for example. Then ask which unknown word each one points to.
Example: "The desert is arid, which means it gets very little rain." The signal is "which means," and it points to arid. This teaches students where to look before they try a meaning.
Step 3: Clue sorts
Give 10 sentence cards, 2 of each clue type. The student sorts them into 5 piles and says the meaning of each target word. Sorting makes the student think about how the author helps, not only what the word means.
Keep a sixth pile for "no clue here." Some sentences really do not explain the word. Learning to say so, and then use another tool, is part of the skill.
Step 4: Cloze with choices, then open cloze
Remove the target word and give 3 choices. "The puppy was so ____ that it hid under the bed when the doorbell rang. (brave, timid, hungry)" The student chooses and names the clue: hid under the bed.
Once the student gets 8 of 10 with choices, drop the choices. Open cloze asks the student to produce a word that fits, which is closer to what reading demands.
Step 5: Substitute and check
This is the step most programs skip. After the student guesses a meaning, they put it back in the sentence in place of the word and reread. If it makes sense, keep it. If not, look for another clue.
Example: "The reluctant swimmer stood at the edge for 10 minutes before getting in." Guess: excited. Check: "The excited swimmer stood at the edge for 10 minutes." That does not fit. New guess: not wanting to. Check: it fits.
Step 6: Word detective in real passages
Use real passages from class texts with 5 or 6 unfamiliar words. The student fills a 4-column chart: word, clue, my meaning, does it check. Then compare with a dictionary meaning and talk about differences.
When context is not enough, add word parts. "Un-" in "unpredictable" plus a contrast clue is stronger than either alone. A morphology lesson fits here.
Worked example from start to finish
Ty is a fictional 5th grader reading near a grade 4 level. He skips unknown words and loses the thread of science passages. Lessons are 15 minutes, 3 days a week, in a small group.
Baseline. Three probes, each an unpracticed grade 4 passage with 6 marked unfamiliar words. Words scored at 2 points (meaning and clue): 1, 2 and 1 out of 6. Median: 1 out of 6. On the first probe he said "I don't know" for 4 of 6 words.
| Week | Activity focus | Probe (words with meaning and clue, out of 6) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steps 1 and 2: nonsense words, signal word hunts | 2 |
| 2 | Step 3: clue sorts | 2 |
| 3 | Step 4: cloze with choices | 3 |
| 4 | Step 5: substitute and check | 3 |
| 5 | Step 6: word detective chart, science passages | 4 |
| 6 | Step 6, chart faded to margin notes | 5 |
His error pattern changed too. In week 1 he gave "I don't know" for 9 of 12 words. By week 6 he tried every word, and his wrong answers were close meanings that the check step usually caught. His goal is 5 of 6 on 3 consecutive probes, so the teacher keeps probing every 2 weeks.
Common mistakes
Weak: Using sentences with words the student already knows. Better: Use nonsense words or check that the target words are truly unfamiliar.
Weak: Teaching only definition clues, because they are easy to find. Better: Teach all five types, and spend extra time on contrast and general sense.
Weak: Accepting any guess and moving on. Better: Require the substitute-and-check step every time.
Weak: Telling students context always works. Better: Teach them to say "no clue here" and switch to word parts or a dictionary.
Weak: Practicing only on worksheets. Better: End every week with words from the class novel or the science chapter.
Templates and tools
- Goal templates: determine word meaning from context clues, figure out an unfamiliar word from context and use a word-learning routine on an unknown word.
- The vocabulary goals page holds all 55 vocabulary templates.
- Paste a draft goal into the goal checker.
- The same clue-hunting routine drives inference work; see inference activities.
Frequently asked questions
Why use nonsense words for context clues practice?
Because the student cannot already know them. With a real word, a student may answer from memory and never use the clue. A nonsense word forces the student to work from the sentence, which is the skill you want to teach.
What is the substitute-and-check step?
After guessing a meaning, the student puts it in place of the unknown word and rereads the sentence. If it makes sense, they keep it. If not, they look for another clue. It turns guessing into a self-checking strategy.
What if the sentence gives no clue?
Teach students to say so. Then they read the sentences before and after, check word parts such as prefixes and roots, or use a dictionary and choose the meaning that fits the sentence.
Use it in IEP Atlas
- Vocabulary goals (reading)
- Determine word meaning from context clues (goal template)
- Morphology in the IEP glossary
- Accuracy data sheet
- IEP goal checker
Related guides
- Reading comprehension strategies for struggling readers
- IEP goals for context clues: 20 examples
- Inference activities that teach the clue, not the guess
- Vocabulary goals for speech therapy
- Vocabulary interventions for struggling readers
Sources
- Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
- Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.