Context clues are words or phrases that help students understand what a word means in context. Oftentimes, teachers know that they are essential for students to learn, but aren’t sure of the right ways to teach context clues to their upper elementary students. Context clues are often used in detective stories, mystery novels, and films to add detail about the setting. Students will have more success learning if they can identify the clues that might be present. You can teach context clues skills at any level. This blog post will share five ways teachers can introduce contextual clues to their students at upper elementary levels.
Show, Don’t Tell
If you are trying to teach context clues and teach your students the meaning of a word, show them what the word means rather than tell them what it means. For example, if you are teaching your students the word “sunset,” show them the beautiful sunset you have seen. You can also have your child tell you what the word “sunset” means.
If your student is trying to learn about electricity, have them explain what electricity is to you. Having kids explain what they already know will help them make connections between what they already know and the new information. It also gives them a chance to use their imagination and use words in a way that is not explicitly defined for them.
Have Students Summarize What They Already Know
This can be done for almost any topic, not just vocabulary. For example, a science topic might involve the study of weather, oceans, the earth’s crust, the atmosphere, animals, and plants. If your students are trying to learn this topic, have them summarize what they already know about the topic. It can be a summarizing technique that is also helping your students learn. For example, a student might use the word “weird” a lot when talking about weather, oceans, or the earth’s crust.
You can help your students understand why they are using the word “weird” by asking them why they are using it. If your students are trying to learn about the word “weird,” asking them what they already know about the word will help them make connections between what they already know and the new information.
Play Word Games to Teach Context Clues
If you are teaching your students the meaning of a word, you can also teach the phonics of that word by playing a word game. There are many word games that can be used to teach phonics. Some example of phonics word games include:
- Find the Syllable: Find the sound of the word by looking at the syllables of the word.
- Find the Word: Given a list of words that have the same syllable, find the one that has the correct letter for the syllable.
- Sound-A-Loud: Write the words on paper and have your students sound them out. Then have your students call out the letters on a poster board.
- Syllable Hunt: Write the words on paper and have your students find the words that start with each syllable.
Integrate Reading and Writing Together
In upper elementary levels, students are working on developing their writing skills. It can be helpful for them to integrate reading and writing together. For example, students can make connections between reading a short story and then writing a summary of what they learned from reading the story. They could also make connections between reading a specific Wikipedia article on a subject they are learning about and then writing an explanation of what they learned from reading that article.
Create a Mystery Story Project
This is a fun way to help students develop context clues. Students can create a mystery story. They can choose a subject that they are learning about and then they can use the clues they discovered to solve the mystery. Students can then present their mystery story to the class. This can help students make connections between what they learned and their use of context clues.
Context clues are words or phrases that help students understand what a word means in context. They are often used in detective stories, mystery novels, and films to add detail about the setting. Students will have more success if they can identify the clues that might be present. These skills can be taught at any level.
