CCRA.L.4: Unknown and Multiple-Meaning Words: Context, Word Parts and References
In plain English: CCRA.L.4 is the Common Core College and Career Readiness anchor standard for language that asks students to work out or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts and consulting general and specialized reference materials. In grades 6-12 it is carried by L.6.4 through L.11-12.4.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language · Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Also written as CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.4 · Official standard
CCRA.L.4 is the reader's toolkit for words they do not know yet, and for familiar words that mean something else in a new sentence. Students use three strategies the standard names: context clues (the words and sentences around the word), meaningful word parts (prefixes, roots and suffixes) and reference materials, both general (a dictionary or thesaurus) and specialized (a glossary for one subject). The grade-level standards add a fourth habit: check the first guess by putting the meaning back into the sentence. Across grades 6-12 the strategies stay the same while the words, roots and references grow harder, and grades 9-12 add word families, etymology and usage.
The lesson uses an original kayaking story written for this page for grades 6-8, the opening of H. G. Wells's novel The Time Machine (1895) for grades 9-12, and a reference page of dictionary entries and a geometry glossary, also written for this page. Every activity has a grades 6-8 version and a grades 9-12 version, and the grade-level pages under Related Standards give each band in full.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Use context clues such as restatement, contrast and cause and effect to work out an unknown word
Tell which meaning of a multiple-meaning word fits a specific sentence
Break a word into prefix, root and suffix and use the parts as a clue to its meaning
Choose between a general dictionary and a specialized glossary, and pick the entry and sense that fit
Verify a first guess by testing the meaning in the original sentence
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Naming nouns, verbs and adjectives, so they can tell a word's part of speech in a sentence
Reading a dictionary entry: guide words, numbered senses and example phrases
Recognizing common prefixes such as un-, re- and pre-
Citing a sentence or paragraph as evidence for an answer CCRA.R.1
"Read this: 'Before the concert, the band had to pitch a tent in the park. By the time the first song began, the sky was pitch black, and the singer's voice rose to its highest pitch.' What does each 'pitch' mean, and which nearby words told you?"
Take answers. The first pitch means set up (the clue is "a tent"), the second, in "pitch black," means completely dark (the clue is "sky" and "black"), and the third means how high or low a sound is (the clues are "voice" and "rose"). Students used the words around each one, which is a context clue. A word like pitch is a multiple-meaning word: one spelling, several meanings, and only the sentence tells you which one is meant. Today students add two more tools, word parts and reference works, and a final check.
Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
Three strategies and a check.
Context clues: the meaning is often in the nearby words. Watch for a restatement (the same idea in other words, often after a comma or dash), an example, a contrast (but, although, unlike), a cause and effect, or the general sense of the paragraph.
Word parts: a prefix comes before the root (in-, inter-, re-), a root carries the core meaning (Latin aud, hear; vis, see; port, carry), and a suffix often shows the part of speech (-ible, -ity, -tion).
Reference materials: a general dictionary gives pronunciation, part of speech, numbered senses and often the word's origin. A specialized reference, such as a glossary for geometry or biology, gives the precise meaning a word has in one subject.
Verify: put your meaning back into the sentence. If the sentence still makes sense, keep it; if not, try another sense.
How the anchor grows. Every grade-level standard below carries CCRA.L.4.
Progression of CCRA.L.4 in grades 6-12
Grade-level standard
Band
What this band adds
L.6.4
Grade 6
Context clues in a sentence or paragraph; common Greek and Latin affixes and roots (audience, auditory, audible); reference works for pronunciation, precise meaning and part of speech; checking a first guess
L.7.4
Grade 7
The same strategies with new roots (belligerent, bellicose, rebel), and specialized as well as general reference materials
L.8.4
Grade 8
The same strategies with new roots (precede, recede, secede), and the same general and specialized references
L.9-10.4
Grades 9-10
Context from a whole text as well as a sentence or paragraph; patterns of word changes (analyze, analysis, analytical); looking up etymology
L.11-12.4
Grades 11-12
Patterns of word changes such as conceive, conception, conceivable; references for etymology and standard usage
Model text (grades 6-8). The story below was written for this page. Read it aloud once, then reread paragraphs 1, 3 and 5 with the three examples. A kayak is a small, narrow boat moved with a double-bladed paddle.
1The fog rolled across Pickett Sound so quickly that Maya could no longer see the far shore. Ten minutes earlier the sound, the long channel of salt water between Heron Island and the mainland, had been as flat as a tabletop. Now it had turned gray in every direction.
2"Raft up," called Mr. Okafor, the guide. The six kayaks drifted together, and the paddlers gripped one another's boats so that no one would float away. Visibility had dwindled to a few boat lengths: Maya could still see Jonah's yellow kayak beside her, but the kayak at the far end of the raft was only a shadow.
3Mr. Okafor took out his compass. "We paddled out on a bearing of 90 degrees, due east," he said. "To get back, we turn around and follow the opposite bearing, 270 degrees, due west."
4Jonah looked skeptical. He squinted at the compass and shook his head, as if he doubted that a little needle could know more than his own eyes.
5"Trust the compass, and listen," Mr. Okafor said. Somewhere ahead, a bell clanged on a buoy near the dock. The current was pushing the kayaks slowly north, away from the dock, so the paddlers kept turning their bows a little to the left to stay on course. At first the bell was almost inaudible under the slap of the waves, but it grew louder with every stroke.
6Twenty minutes later, the bow of Maya's kayak scraped the sandy bank below the boathouse. Behind her, the fog still lay over the sound like a wet wool blanket. Her arms ached, but her plan for the summer was sound: she would learn to read a compass herself.
SVHS (original passage; invented people and place), Fog on Pickett Sound. Original passage written for this page.
Context clue: restatement
Paragraph 1 says the sound had been "as flat as a tabletop." What is a sound here, and what told you?
Result: The writer restates it right after the word, between commas: "the long channel of salt water between Heron Island and the mainland." So here a sound is a body of water, not a noise. A restatement set off by commas is one of the easiest clues to spot.
Word parts
In paragraph 5 the bell is "almost inaudible under the slap of the waves." Use word parts to work out inaudible.
Result: in- (not) + aud (Latin root meaning hear, as in audience and auditory) + -ible (able to be). Inaudible means not able to be heard. Verify: "the bell was almost not able to be heard under the slap of the waves, but it grew louder" makes sense.
Reference: choosing the sense
Mr. Okafor speaks of "a bearing of 90 degrees" (paragraph 3). Which sense of bearing in the Text 3 entry fits?
Result: Sense 2, a direction measured with a compass, often in degrees. The clues are "compass" and "degrees" in the same paragraph. Sense 1 (the way a person stands and behaves) and sense 3 (a machine part) do not fit a sentence about which way to paddle.
Guided Practice15 minutes
A harder text (grades 9-12). H. G. Wells (1866-1946) was an English writer whose short novel The Time Machine (1895) opens at a dinner party, where an inventor called the Time Traveller explains a startling new idea about geometry and dimensions to his guests. Filby and the Psychologist are two of the guests. The sentences are long and the vocabulary is formal, which makes the excerpt a good workout for all three strategies. Grades 6-8 classes can read paragraphs 1-4 with the teacher and work on the first two steps.
1The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The fire burnt brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that luxurious after-dinner atmosphere, when thought runs gracefully free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us in this way—marking the points with a lean forefinger—as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity.
2“You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for instance, they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.”
3“Is not that rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon?” said Filby, an argumentative person with red hair.
4“I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonable ground for it. You will soon admit as much as I need from you. You know of course that a mathematical line, a line of thickness nil, has no real existence. They taught you that? Neither has a mathematical plane. These things are mere abstractions.”
5“That is all right,” said the Psychologist.
6“Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a real existence.”
7“There I object,” said Filby. “Of course a solid body may exist. All real things—”
8“So most people think. But wait a moment. Can an instantaneous cube exist?”
9“Don’t follow you,” said Filby.
10“Can a cube that does not last for any time at all, have a real existence?”
11Filby became pensive. “Clearly,” the Time Traveller proceeded, “any real body must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, Thickness, and—Duration. But through a natural infirmity of the flesh, which I will explain to you in a moment, we incline to overlook this fact. There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time. There is, however, a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between the former three dimensions and the latter, because it happens that our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the latter from the beginning to the end of our lives.”
H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, chapter I, Introduction (opening) (1895). Public domain (published 1895). Source text.
"Recondite" (paragraph 1). Ask: "What do you know about the matter the Time Traveller is expounding?" The context gives only a little: the guests must "follow me carefully," and Filby calls it "a large thing to expect us to begin upon." Word parts help little here, so students turn to the Text 3 entry: hard to understand; known only to a few experts. Verify: "expounding a hard-to-understand matter to us" fits the guests' reaction. Point out that the entry also gives two accepted pronunciations.
"Incandescent" (paragraph 1). A student may split off in- and guess "not candescent." Warn about this trap: in- does not always mean not. In incandescent it strengthens the root, from Latin incandescere, to glow. Here the context helps: "the soft radiance of the incandescent lights." Incandescent lights glow because they are heated, as an electric bulb with a glowing wire does.
"Patents" (paragraph 1). "Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed us." Students know patent as a legal document. Using the Text 3 entry, they test each sense in the sentence: sense 2, an invention protected by a patent, is the one that fits. The chairs are his own inventions, which is why they are so comfortable.
"Controvert" (paragraph 2). Word parts: Latin contro- (against) + vertere (to turn). Context: "one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted." Together: to argue against or deny. Verify: "I shall have to argue against one or two ideas that almost everyone accepts" fits the next sentence, which challenges the geometry taught at school.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students work alone on a four-box word log for three words: grades 6-8 choose three words from "Fog on Pickett Sound" that were not modeled; grades 9-12 choose three words from paragraphs 4-11 of the Wells excerpt. For each word the four boxes are: (1) my guess from context, with the clue quoted; (2) word parts, if any help; (3) what the reference says, with the sense number; (4) my check, with the meaning put back into the sentence. Students use the reference page below, and a print or online dictionary for any word it does not list. Collect the logs as the formative check.
1General dictionary entries
2sound¹ adjective 1. in good condition; not damaged, weak or diseased: The old bridge is still sound. 2. based on good reasons; sensible: sound advice. [Old English sund, healthy, whole]
3sound² noun 1. something that is heard: the sound of a bell. verb 2. to make a noise, or cause something to make one: Sound the horn. 3. to seem when heard or read: The plan sounds risky. [from Latin sonus, a sound]
4sound³ noun a long, narrow inlet of the sea, or a channel of water between the mainland and an island: a ferry across the sound. [Old English sund, swimming, sea]
5bearing (BAIR-ing) noun 1. the way a person stands, moves and behaves: a calm, proud bearing. 2. a direction measured with a compass, often in degrees: a bearing of 180 degrees. 3. a machine part that supports a turning part and reduces friction. 4. bearings, plural: a sense of where you are: lose your bearings.
6patent (PAT-nt) noun 1. a government grant that gives an inventor the sole right to make and sell an invention for a set number of years. 2. an invention protected by a patent. adjective 3. obvious; plain to see: a patent error.
7recondite (REK-uhn-dyte or ri-KON-dyte) adjective hard to understand; known only to a few experts: a recondite subject. [Latin reconditus, hidden, from recondere, to put away, hide]
8Specialized glossary: geometry terms
9line: a straight path of points that extends without end in both directions. A line has length but no width or thickness.
10plane: a flat surface that extends without end in all directions. A plane has length and width but no thickness.
11dimension: a direction in which something can be measured. A line has one dimension, a plane has two, and a solid such as a cube has three: length, width and height.
SVHS (original reference entries written for this page), Reference Page: Dictionary Entries and a Geometry Glossary. Original passage written for this page.
Closure5 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) Write one multiple-meaning word from today and two of its meanings, each in a short sentence. (2) Name the strategy that helped you most with a hard word today, and say why it worked for that word.
Teacher note: the Wells excerpt describes an after-dinner scene from 1895 in which the guests have glasses at the table. Keep the discussion on the vocabulary. The quiz and homework use all three texts above; the reference page is Text 3 in Independent Practice.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a clue-word bookmark: "that is," "or," "such as," "but," "unlike," "because," "so"
Pre-teach the roots aud, vis and port with one picture each before the story
Pair the Wells excerpt with a read-aloud and a short gloss of each speaker
For Advanced Students
Ask students to find two words in the Wells excerpt where context and word parts point in different directions, and explain which clue wins
Have students compare the entry for one word in two different dictionaries and report what each adds
Ask students to write a short passage that teaches three hard words through context alone
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that students name the clue they used, not only the meaning. For multiple-meaning words, look for the sense that fits this sentence rather than the first sense listed. For word parts, check that the parts are real (in- can mean not, into or very) and that students confirm the meaning in context. For references, look for the right entry and sense number, and in grades 9-12 for the use of a specialized glossary, word families and word origins.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Clue Hunt Card Sort
15 minPairs
Pairs read eight sentence cards, each with one hard word in bold. For each card they write the meaning, quote the clue, and sort the card under the clue type: restatement, example, contrast, cause and effect, or general sense. All sentences were written for this activity.
Grades 6-8 Version
The trail was so treacherous, full of loose rocks and hidden holes, that the ranger closed it.
Unlike his gregarious sister, who chatted with everyone at the party, Leo stood quietly by the wall.
The museum displayed a fossil, the hardened remains of a plant or animal from long ago.
Because the soup was bland, Grandpa added salt, pepper and a pinch of chili.
Amphibians, such as frogs, toads and salamanders, spend part of their lives in water.
After the long drought, the lake shrank and the farmers' wells ran dry.
The new rule was lenient: students could turn in late work for a week without losing points.
Ms. Reyes is meticulous; she checks every measurement twice and labels every jar.
Teacher key, one defensible sort: dangerous (example); friendly and fond of company (contrast); remains of an ancient living thing (restatement); mild, without much flavor (cause and effect); animals that live both in water and on land (example); a long period without rain (cause and effect); not strict (general sense, explained after the colon); very careful about details (example).
Grades 9-12 Version
The coach's speech was laconic, just two sentences, while the principal spoke for twenty minutes.
Far from being ephemeral, the town's spring fair has run every year for 150 years.
The witness's account was corroborated by two security videos and a store receipt.
Because the steel had grown brittle in the cold, a small crack spread quickly across the beam.
The new manager was a pragmatist; she cared less about theory than about what would actually work by Friday.
The once-busy port is now moribund: its warehouses are empty and only one ship docks there each month.
Her prose is florid, crowded with long adjectives and elaborate comparisons, unlike the plain style of her first book.
The old map was ambiguous; the faded symbol could mean either a well or a church.
Teacher key: using few words (restatement and contrast); short-lived (contrast); confirmed by other evidence (example); hard but easily broken (cause and effect); a practical person (restatement after the semicolon); dying or close to ending (example); very ornate (example and contrast); open to more than one meaning (general sense).
Discussion Questions
Which cards had more than one kind of clue? Which kind did you rely on?
Which signal words (unlike, such as, because, far from) pointed you to the clue?
Pick one card and remove the clue. Could you still work out the word?
Modification
For students who need support, underline the clue on each card and ask only for the meaning and the clue type.
2
Word-Part Families
15 minSmall groups (3-4)
Groups build words from prefix, root and suffix cards, define each word from its parts, then check the definition in a dictionary. The point is the check: word parts suggest a meaning, and the dictionary or the sentence confirms it.
Grades 6-8 Version
Root cards: aud (hear), port (carry), dict (say). Prefix cards: trans- (across), pre- (before). Suffix cards: -ible and -able (able to be), -ory (having to do with), -ate (verb ending)
Each group builds at least six real words and writes a meaning from the parts
Teacher key: audible (able to be heard), auditory (having to do with hearing), transport (carry across), portable (able to be carried), predict (say before it happens), dictate (say aloud for someone to write down)
Groups check two of their words in a dictionary and note any meaning the parts did not predict
Grades 9-12 Version
Groups chart three word families from the grade-level standards: analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy; conceive, conception, conceivable
For each word they give the part of speech and write one sentence that uses it correctly, then explain how the suffix changes the word's job in a sentence
Then they test the prefix in-: in inaudible it means not, but in incandescent it strengthens the root (Latin incandescere, to glow). Groups write one rule of thumb for when word parts can mislead
Discussion Questions
Which word surprised you when you checked it in the dictionary?
Why do word parts give a clue rather than a final answer?
How does knowing one word in a family help with the others?
Modification
For students who need support, give one root at a time and three ready-made words that use it.
3
Which Sense Fits?
15 minSmall groups (3-4)
Groups look up multiple-meaning words in a dictionary and match each sentence to the right numbered sense. They then verify by rewriting the sentence with the definition in place of the word.
Grades 6-8 Version
Sentences written for this activity: (1) "The nurse checked the size of my pupil with a small light." (2) "Each new pupil got a locker and a map of the school." (3) "My first draft had no title." (4) "A cold draft came under the door." (5) "The fish's scales shone like coins." (6) "She practiced her scales on the piano every morning."
Groups find each word in the dictionary, write the number of the sense that fits each sentence, and rewrite the sentence with that definition
Teacher key: the dark opening at the center of the eye; a student; a first version of a piece of writing; a current of air; the small, thin plates that cover a fish; a series of musical notes going up or down in order
Grades 9-12 Version
General and specialized meanings: mean (statistics), cell (biology), volume (geometry), medium (art)
Groups write the everyday meaning from a general dictionary and the subject meaning from a class textbook's glossary, then write one sentence for each meaning
Teacher key for the subject meanings: the sum of the values divided by how many values there are; the smallest unit of structure in a living thing; the amount of space a solid takes up; the material an artist works in, such as oil paint or clay
Groups explain in one sentence why a science or math reader should check a glossary before a general dictionary
Discussion Questions
How did you decide which sense to choose when two seemed close?
Did the first sense listed ever turn out to be the right one? Why might it not be?
When is a specialized glossary better than a general dictionary?
Variation: Digital References
Groups compare the entry for one word in a print dictionary and an online dictionary, and note one thing each offers that the other does not, such as an audio pronunciation.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Three Strategies and a Check
The routine behind CCRA.L.4. Students try context first because it is fastest, use word parts when the word has familiar pieces, and consult a dictionary or a subject glossary when the first two are not enough. The grade-level standards add the final step: verify the meaning in the sentence.
Diagram 2: A Multiple-Meaning Spelling with Three Entries
"Sound" is spelled the same in all three entries of the reference page (Text 3), but the entries come from different origins, so dictionaries number them as separate words. Choosing the entry is the first step; choosing the numbered sense inside it is the second. The origins shown were checked against Wiktionary.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
CCRA.L.4 Homework: Clues, Parts and References
Directions: Answer in complete sentences. Problems 2, 5 and 6 use the Wells excerpt (Text 1, in Guided Practice) and the reference page (Text 3, in Independent Practice); cite paragraph numbers. Problems 1, 3 and 4 include their own words. Students in grades 6-8 may answer Problem 4 with two of the three words.
Part 1: Context Clues (Problems 1-2)
Read this sentence, written for this assignment: "The valley was arid: no rain had fallen for eight months, the creek bed had cracked, and only cactus grew on the slopes." What does arid mean? Name the kind of context clue and quote it.
In paragraph 1 of the Wells excerpt, the guests admire the Time Traveller's "earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it)." Use paragraphs 1 and 2 to work out what paradox means, and quote the words that helped you.
Part 2: Word Parts (Problems 3-4)
Use these Latin parts to explain each word: sub- (under), mergere (to plunge), re- (again, back), bellare (to wage war), audire (to hear). Words: submerge, rebel, audience. For each, give the meaning from its parts and one sentence that uses it.
Grades 9-12 focus: persuade, persuasion and persuasive belong to one family. Give the part of speech of each, write one sentence for each, and explain how the ending changes the word's job in the sentence.
Part 3: References and Checking (Problems 5-6)
Read the entry for dimension in the geometry glossary (Text 3). Then reread paragraph 11 of the Wells excerpt. How many dimensions does the glossary give a cube, and what does the Time Traveller add? Quote the words that show his addition.
Carry out the full routine for Duration in paragraph 11: (a) your guess from context, quoting the clue; (b) any word parts or related words you know; (c) what a dictionary says, with the sense you chose; (d) your check, with the meaning put back in the sentence.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Context Clues
Meaning correct; clue quoted and its type named
Meaning correct but clue missing or misnamed
Meaning missing or wrong
Word Parts
Parts identified correctly and combined into an accurate meaning; sentences use the words correctly
Parts identified but meaning or sentence vague
Parts missing or wrong
Reference Use
Right entry and sense chosen; reference compared with the text
Entry used but sense not matched to the text
No reference used
Checking
Meaning tested in the original sentence and confirmed
Check mentioned but not carried out
No check
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-6, 16 and 20 use "Fog on Pickett Sound" (Text 2, in Direct Instruction), questions 7-13, 15, 17 and 19 use the Wells excerpt (Text 1, in Guided Practice), and questions 6 and 12 also use the reference page (Text 3, in Independent Practice). Questions 14 and 18 include their own words. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 4 of "Fog on Pickett Sound," Jonah "looked skeptical." What does skeptical mean here?
Answer: B
The next sentence explains the word: Jonah shook his head "as if he doubted that a little needle could know more than his own eyes." That is doubt. Fear (A) is a natural guess in fog, but the clue is about not trusting the compass, not about being afraid; nothing in the paragraph suggests excitement (C) or tiredness (D).
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
"Visibility had dwindled to a few boat lengths" (paragraph 2). What does dwindled mean?
Answer: C
The rest of the sentence shows the effect: Maya can still see the kayak beside her, but the one at the far end is "only a shadow." Whatever had dwindled has become smaller. "Grown larger" (A) and "grown clearer" (B) reverse the clue; "grown louder" (D) confuses sight with sound.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Visibility (paragraph 2) is built on the Latin root vis, see. What does visibility mean in this sentence?
Answer: A
The root vis (see) and the ending -ibility (being able to) give "how well or how far one can see," and the sentence measures it "to a few boat lengths." Choice B attaches the word to speed, and C and D to hearing and touch, none of which the root suggests.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses current in the same sense as paragraph 5 of "Fog on Pickett Sound"?
Answer: C
In paragraph 5 "the current was pushing the kayaks slowly north": water moving in one direction. Only C uses that sense. A and D use current as an adjective meaning present or latest; B is a flow of electricity, a related idea of flow but not moving water.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 6, "the bow of Maya's kayak scraped the sandy bank." Which meaning of bow fits?
Answer: D
The bow is the part of the kayak, and in a landing the front of the boat is what reaches the shore first. Choices A, B and C are real meanings of the same spelling, but none of them is part of a kayak. A dictionary's pronunciation guide also shows that this sense rhymes with "cow," unlike the bow tied in a ribbon.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 6 ends, "her plan for the summer was sound." Which entry and sense on the reference page (Text 3) fits this sound?
Answer: B
A plan can be sensible, and the words after the colon give the good reason: she will learn to read a compass herself. Sense 1 (A) describes things such as bridges. Choice C is a verb, but here sound follows "was" and describes the plan, so it is an adjective. Choice D is the meaning of sound earlier in the same paragraph, which is the trap.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 1 of the Wells excerpt (Text 1), the Time Traveller "was expounding a recondite matter to us." What does expounding mean?
Answer: A
He is "marking the points with a lean forefinger," and in paragraph 2 he tells the guests, "You must follow me carefully." Both show careful explaining. Choice B borrows the meaning of recondite (hidden) from the same sentence; C and D are not supported by anything he does.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 11 says that "our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction." Using the prefix inter- (between) and the context, what does intermittently mean?
Answer: C
The prefix inter- points to gaps between, from Latin inter- (between) and mittere (to send). Choice A is the opposite of that clue. Choices B and D contradict the sentence itself, which says the movement is "in one direction."
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 11 says, "through a natural infirmity of the flesh [...] we incline to overlook this fact." Using the parts in- (not), firm (strong) and -ity (state of), what is an infirmity?
Answer: D
Not + strong + state of gives "a state of not being strong," a weakness, and the sentence says this weakness makes us overlook something. Choice B ignores the prefix in-; choice A keeps only the root firm; nothing in the parts suggests a trick (C).
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 4, the Time Traveller calls a mathematical line and a mathematical plane "mere abstractions." What are abstractions here?
Answer: D
The paragraph says such a line "has no real existence" and that "neither has a mathematical plane," so an abstraction is an idea rather than a real object. Choice A is the opposite. A chalkboard line (B) is a real drawing of the idea, not the idea, and nothing calls the ideas mistakes (C).
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 8, the Time Traveller asks whether an instantaneous cube can exist. Which paragraph restates his question in plainer words?
Answer: D
After Filby says "Don't follow you" (paragraph 9), the Time Traveller restates the question: "Can a cube that does not last for any time at all, have a real existence?" That restatement defines instantaneous as lasting no time at all. Paragraphs 6 and 7 come before the word appears, and paragraph 9 is Filby's reply, not a restatement.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 11 speaks of "the three planes of Space." Why is the geometry glossary in Text 3 a better reference here than a general dictionary?
Answer: C
The passage is about length, breadth and thickness, so it uses the specialized mathematical sense: "A plane has length and width but no thickness." A general dictionary does list plane (A is false), but among several unrelated senses such as an airplane. The glossary gives no pronunciation (B), and the word was not invented by Wells (D).
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 1 describes the after-dinner mood, "when thought runs gracefully free of the trammels of precision." What are trammels?
Answer: A
"Runs free of" signals that trammels hold thought back; after dinner, the guests are relaxed and not held back by the need to be exact. Choice B links the word to "precision" rather than to "free of"; choices C and D have no clue in the sentence.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
The Latin verb cedere means to go. Using the prefix, what does recede mean?
Answer: B
The prefix re- means back, so recede means to go back, as floodwater recedes. "To go before" (A) is precede, with pre-; "to go apart" (C) is secede, with se-; "to go across" (D) would need trans-.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
The narrator admires the Time Traveller's "fecundity" (paragraph 1), but the context gives only a hint. Look up fecundity in a print or online dictionary. Which sense fits paragraph 1, and what does the word suggest about the Time Traveller?
Model answer: A dictionary gives senses such as the ability to produce offspring and, more broadly, the ability to produce growth: fruitfulness. Here it is used figuratively. The guests admire "his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity," so the sense is productiveness of mind: he is full of new ideas. Rubric: 2 points for the right sense, the quoted context and the figurative meaning; 1 point for a dictionary definition without applying it to paragraph 1; 0 otherwise.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 2 of "Fog on Pickett Sound," Mr. Okafor calls, "Raft up." What does the phrase mean, and which sentence gives the clue?
Model answer: "Raft up" means to bring the kayaks together and hold on to one another so they float as one group, like a raft. The next sentence shows it: "The six kayaks drifted together, and the paddlers gripped one another's boats so that no one would float away." Later the paragraph calls the group "the raft." Rubric: 2 points for the meaning and the quoted clue; 1 point for the meaning only; 0 otherwise.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 2 of the Wells excerpt (Text 1), the Time Traveller says the geometry taught at school "is founded on a misconception." Use the word parts and the context to explain misconception.
Model answer: The prefix mis- means wrongly or badly, and a conception is an idea or understanding, so a misconception is a mistaken idea. The context agrees: he has just said he must "controvert one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted," so he thinks the accepted geometry rests on a wrong idea. Rubric: 2 points for both parts and a supporting quotation; 1 point for a correct meaning without parts or evidence; 0 otherwise.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Grades 9-12 focus: conclude, conclusion and conclusive belong to one word family. Give the part of speech of each, use each in a sentence, and explain what the ending of conclusive adds.
Model answer:Conclude is a verb: "The scientists concluded that the samples were clean." Conclusion is a noun: "Her conclusion was based on three trials." Conclusive is an adjective: "The video was conclusive evidence that the ball was out." The ending -ive makes an adjective; conclusive describes something that settles a question. Rubric: 2 points for three correct parts of speech and three correct sentences with the ending explained; 1 point for two; 0 otherwise.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
A student guesses that pensive in paragraph 11 ("Filby became pensive") means angry. Show how the student should verify the guess, and correct it.
Model answer: First, test the guess in context. Filby has just said "Don't follow you," and the Time Traveller has restated his question in simpler words. Nothing shows anger; Filby stops objecting and goes quiet while the Time Traveller goes on. Second, check a dictionary, which defines pensive as thoughtful, deep in serious thought. Put it back: "Filby became thoughtful" fits the moment, so the guess "angry" is wrong. Rubric: 2 points for testing in context, checking a reference and correcting the guess; 1 point for only one of the checks; 0 otherwise.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Paragraph 5 of "Fog on Pickett Sound" says the paddlers kept turning "to stay on course." What does course mean here? Write one sentence that uses a different meaning of the word, and name the clue that told you which meaning fits the story.
Model answer: Here a course is the route or direction the paddlers are trying to follow. The clue is the cause and effect in the sentence: "The current was pushing the kayaks slowly north, away from the dock," so they turn to keep their direction toward the dock. A different meaning: "My favorite course this year is biology," where a course is a class. Rubric: 2 points for the meaning, the clue and a correct sentence with another meaning; 1 point for two of these; 0 otherwise.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does CCRA.L.4 mean?
It means students can work out the meaning of a word they do not know, or choose the right meaning of a word that has several, by using context clues, word parts and reference works. It is the anchor behind every "figure out the word" moment in reading, from grade 6 through grade 12.
What are the three strategies in CCRA.L.4?
Context clues, meaningful word parts, and general and specialized reference materials. Context means the surrounding words and sentences. Word parts are prefixes, roots and suffixes. General references are dictionaries and thesauruses; specialized ones are subject glossaries or technical dictionaries. The grade-level standards add a fourth habit, checking the first guess in the sentence.
How is CCRA.L.4 different from CCRA.R.4?
CCRA.L.4 is about the strategies for unlocking a word; CCRA.R.4 is about interpreting words in a text and analyzing how the author's word choices shape meaning and tone. A student uses L.4 to learn that recondite means hard to understand, and R.4 to explain why Wells chose such a formal word for a dinner-party talk.
Is CCRA.L.4 the same in grade 6 and grade 12?
The three strategies are the same, but the words, roots and references grow harder. Grade 6 focuses on common Greek and Latin roots and basic reference use, grade 7 adds specialized references, grades 9-10 add word families such as analyze, analysis, analytical and the study of etymology, and grades 11-12 add standard usage. The progression table in Direct Instruction gives each band.
Which Greek and Latin roots should middle school students learn?
The standards give examples rather than a list: audience, auditory and audible in grade 6, belligerent, bellicose and rebel in grade 7, and precede, recede and secede in grade 8. Many teachers start with roots that unlock many words, such as aud (hear), vis (see), port (carry) and dict (say), and choose the rest from the texts students are reading.
Why do word parts sometimes give the wrong meaning?
Because a prefix can have more than one meaning, and some words only look as if they contain a part. The prefix in- means not in inaudible but strengthens the root in incandescent, glowing with heat. That is why the grade-level standards ask students to verify a meaning from word parts in the sentence or in a dictionary.
What is the difference between a general and a specialized reference?
A general dictionary covers the whole language and lists many senses of each word. A specialized reference covers one field, such as a biology glossary, a legal dictionary or a geometry glossary, and gives the precise meaning a word has there. For mean in a statistics problem, a statistics glossary gives the exact sense, the average, while a general dictionary also lists unkind and to intend.
Can students use online dictionaries for CCRA.L.4?
Yes. The grade-level standards name reference materials "both print and digital." Online dictionaries add audio pronunciations and quick searches, but students should still read the numbered senses and choose the one that fits the sentence rather than taking the first definition shown.
How can parents help with CCRA.L.4 at home?
Ask "What do you think it means, and what told you?" when a child meets a new word, before reaching for a dictionary. Point out multiple-meaning words in everyday life, such as a bank account and a river bank, and look up one word together, choosing the sense that fits the sentence where it was found.
How does CCRA.L.4 connect to CCRA.L.5 and CCRA.L.6?
The three anchors form the Vocabulary Acquisition and Use cluster. L.4 gives the strategies for unknown words, L.5 deals with figurative language, word relationships and shades of meaning, and L.6 asks students to build and use a wide academic and subject vocabulary, gathering new words on their own. L.4's routine is the main tool for that independent work.
07
Related Standards
8 standards
These are the grade-level standards that carry anchor CCRA.L.4 in grades 6-12, plus closely related anchors.
Grades 6-8
L.6.4Grade-band standard
Grade 6: context, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, references, checking
