L.6.4: Context Clues, Greek and Latin Roots, Reference Materials and Verifying Word Meanings
In plain English: L.6.4 is the Common Core grade 6 ELA standard that asks students to figure out the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words in grade 6 reading. Students choose flexibly among context clues, Greek and Latin roots and affixes, and dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses, and they verify a first guess by checking it in context or in a dictionary.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a.Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b.Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
c.Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
d.Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Language Standards · Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use · Official standard
Students learn a routine for words they do not know and for familiar words used in an unfamiliar way. A multiple-meaning word is a word with more than one meaning, such as present (a gift, or to show something to a group); the reader has to work out which meaning fits. The standard names four strategies, and students learn to choose among them flexibly: context clues (hints in the sentence or paragraph, including the word's position and job in the sentence), Greek and Latin word parts (a root is the core of a word that carries its basic meaning, and an affix is a part added to it: a prefix at the start or a suffix at the end), reference materials (dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses, in print and online) and verification, checking a first guess, called a preliminary meaning, before trusting it.
The official example family, audience, auditory and audible, anchors the word-parts work: all three come from the Latin audire, "to hear." Students practice on grade 6 reading and content: the opening of Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" (1894), a science lecture for young people by Arabella B. Buckley, The Fairy-Land of Science (1879), an original social studies passage about Roman aqueducts, and a page of model dictionary, thesaurus and glossary entries.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Use the meaning of a sentence or paragraph, and a word's position and job in the sentence, to find the meaning of an unknown or multiple-meaning word
Use common Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes, such as aud in audience, auditory and audible, as clues to meaning
Use print and digital dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses to find a word's pronunciation, part of speech and precise meaning
Verify a preliminary meaning by checking it in context or in a dictionary
Choose the strategies that fit a particular word instead of using the same one every time
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Using context such as cause and effect and comparisons as a clue L.5.4
Using Greek and Latin affixes and roots such as photo and graph L.5.4
Finding pronunciations and meanings in a dictionary or glossary L.4.4
"Read the sentence: After the long hike, the scouts were famished, so they ate every sandwich in the cooler and asked for more. You may never have seen the word famished. What do you think it means? What in the sentence told you?"
Collect guesses (very hungry, starving) and ask students to point to the words that helped: long hike, ate every sandwich, asked for more. Then ask where famished sits in the sentence: after were, describing the scouts, so it is an adjective, a describing word. Tell students they just used two strategies, the meaning of the sentence and the word's job in it, and that today they will add word parts, reference books and a final check.
Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
Part 1: Context (standard a). Reread the sentence and the sentences around it. Look for a definition (an aqueduct is ...), examples, a contrast (unlike, but, although) or the overall meaning of the paragraph. Then check the word's position and function: a word after the or a is usually a noun, a word after will or to is usually a verb, and a word before a noun or after is or was often describes. The job tells you which kind of meaning to look for.
Part 2: Greek and Latin word parts (standard b). Many English words are built from Greek or Latin parts. Break the word into prefix, root and suffix, give each part its meaning, and put the meanings together (Diagram 1). Common parts in grade 6 texts include the Latin roots aud (hear), port (carry), spect (look) and dict (say), the Greek parts tele (far), graph (write) and micro (small), the prefixes re- (again), sub- (under), trans- (across) and in- (not, or sometimes in), and the suffixes -ible and -able (able to be) and -or (one who). Word parts give a clue, not a definition: many words, such as bungalow or kayak, did not come from Greek or Latin at all.
Part 3: Reference materials (standard c). A dictionary gives the pronunciation (how to say the word), the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective and so on) and numbered meanings; pick the meaning that fits your sentence. A glossary is a short dictionary at the back of a textbook with the meaning used in that subject. A thesaurus lists synonyms (words with similar meanings) and antonyms (opposites), which helps you find a more precise word. All three come in print and online.
Part 4: Verify (standard d). Your first guess is a preliminary meaning. Put it back into the sentence in place of the word: if the sentence still makes sense, keep it; if not, or if you are unsure, check a dictionary (Diagram 2). Choosing flexibly means using the strategies that help with this word, not every strategy every time.
Context: the overall meaning of the paragraph
My grandmother is frugal. She reuses gift wrap, mends old clothes instead of buying new ones, and never throws away leftovers.
Result: Preliminary meaning: careful not to waste money or things. The first sentence alone gives no clue, but the next sentence lists three examples of saving, so the whole paragraph defines the word. Verify: "My grandmother is careful not to waste money or things" makes sense with every example.
Context: a word's position and function
Students will present their science projects on Friday. Compare: My aunt mailed me a birthday present.
Result: In the first sentence, present follows will, so it is a verb: to show or explain something to a group. In the second, it follows a birthday, so it is a noun: a gift. A dictionary also shows that the two are said differently: the verb is pri-ZENT and the noun is PREZ-uhnt.
Latin root: the official example family
audience, auditory, audible
Result: All three share the Latin root aud, from audire, "to hear." An audience is the people who hear a show or talk; auditory means relating to hearing, as in the auditory nerve; audible means able to be heard (-ible means "able to be"). Apply it: in The whisper was inaudible from the back row, the prefix in- (not) gives "not able to be heard," and "from the back row" confirms it.
Reference materials: pronunciation, part of speech and precise meaning
The class will record the temperature every hour. A student is not sure how to say record here.
Result: A dictionary lists two entries: record as a noun, said REK-erd (a written account, or the best result ever, as in a world record), and as a verb, said rih-KORD (to write down or save information). After will, the word is a verb, so it is said rih-KORD and means "write down." A thesaurus would offer log or note as synonyms, and a science glossary would give the meaning used in class.
Verifying a preliminary meaning
Maya's class notes were invaluable; without them, I would have failed the history test.
Result: Preliminary meaning from word parts: in- (not) + valuable, so "not valuable." Verify in context: the notes kept the writer from failing, so "not valuable" does not fit. The dictionary gives "extremely valuable; worth more than can be measured." The prefix does mean "not," but the word means the notes are too valuable to put a price on. The context check caught the mistake.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Read the opening of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" aloud. It is set in India in the 1890s, when the country was ruled by Britain. Rikki-tikki is a mongoose, a small, quick animal that hunts snakes; Darzee and Chuchundra are animal characters. In pairs, students fill in the organizer for the five words in the table: which strategy they tried, the clue, a preliminary meaning, and how they verified it with a dictionary (print or online). Model the first row together. Do not discuss the rest of paragraph 3 yet; two of its words are on the quiz.
1This is the story of the great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handed, through the bath-rooms of the big bungalow in Segowlee cantonment. Darzee, the Tailorbird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the muskrat, who never comes out into the middle of the floor, but always creeps round by the wall, gave him advice, but Rikki-tikki did the real fighting.
2He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and his habits. His eyes and the end of his restless nose were pink. He could scratch himself anywhere he pleased with any leg, front or back, that he chose to use. He could fluff up his tail till it looked like a bottle brush, and his war cry as he scuttled through the long grass was: “Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
3One day, a high summer flood washed him out of the burrow where he lived with his father and mother, and carried him, kicking and clucking, down a roadside ditch. He found a little wisp of grass floating there, and clung to it till he lost his senses. When he revived, he was lying in the hot sun on the middle of a garden path, very draggled indeed, and a small boy was saying, “Here’s a dead mongoose. Let’s have a funeral.”
4“No,” said his mother, “let’s take him in and dry him. Perhaps he isn’t really dead.”
5They took him into the house, and a big man picked him up between his finger and thumb and said he was not dead but half choked. So they wrapped him in cotton wool, and warmed him over a little fire, and he opened his eyes and sneezed.
Rudyard Kipling, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, from The Jungle Book (opening) (1894). Public domain (published 1894). Source text.
Word organizer (teacher key in the last three columns)
Word (paragraph)
Strategy that helps
Preliminary meaning
Verified meaning (teacher key)
single-handed (1)
Word parts (single + hand) and context
with one hand, or alone
Alone, without help. The same paragraph checks it: the others "helped" with advice, "but Rikki-tikki did the real fighting."
cantonment (1)
Context gives only "a place"; use a dictionary
a kind of town
A permanent military station, especially one in British India. The dictionary also gives the pronunciation, kan-TOHN-muhnt.
bungalow (1)
No Greek or Latin parts; use a dictionary or glossary
a big house
A one-story house, often with a porch. The word came into English from a Hindi word for a house in the Bengal style.
scuttled (2)
Context: "restless nose," "war cry," "through the long grass"
ran fast
Ran with short, quick steps. A multiple-meaning word: the dictionary also lists "to sink a ship on purpose," which does not fit a mongoose.
draggled (3)
Context: a flood carried him "down a roadside ditch"
wet and messy
Made wet and dirty, as if dragged through mud. The flood and ditch in the same paragraph confirm it.
Ask: which word needed a dictionary no matter what, and why? (Cantonment and bungalow: the context says only that they are places, and their parts do not help.) Which strategy was fastest for scuttled? Stress that choosing flexibly means starting with the strategy most likely to help.
Independent Practice10-15 minutes
Students read the social studies passage below. For each of the six words in italics, they (1) break it into word parts and give the meaning of each part, using the parts from Direct Instruction plus these: aqua (Latin, water), duct (Latin ducere, to lead), terra (Latin, earth), grad (Latin gradus, step), grav (Latin gravis, heavy); (2) write a preliminary meaning; and (3) verify it with the context and the glossary on the reference page in Closure, or a dictionary for the words the glossary does not list.
1Two thousand years ago, the city of Rome needed far more water than its wells and the Tiber River could supply. Roman engineers solved the problem with aqueducts. An aqueduct is a channel that carries water from a distant source, such as a spring in the hills, to a city. Most of the channel ran through subterranean tunnels, where the water stayed cool and clean. Where the channel had to cross a valley, workers built tall stone arches to hold it up.
2The channel sloped downhill very gradually, only a little over each kilometer, so gravity, not pumps, kept the water moving. Along some routes, water was transported more than 50 kilometers. Inspectors walked the routes to look for cracks and blockages, and crews repaired any damage they found. At the end of the line, the water flowed into public fountains, public baths and a few private homes.
Written for this page (a model social studies passage), Water for Ancient Rome. Original passage written for this page.
Teacher key.aqueducts: aqua (water) + duct (lead): channels that lead water to a city, and the next sentence defines the word. subterranean: sub (under) + terra (earth): under the ground; the tunnels confirm it. gradually: grad (step) + -ual + -ly: little by little, by small steps; "only a little over each kilometer" confirms it. gravity: grav (heavy): the force that pulls things down, which is why the water ran downhill without pumps. transported: trans (across) + port (carry): carried from one place to another. Inspectors: in (into) + spect (look) + -or (one who): people who look closely at something to find problems, as the sentence shows.
Closure5 minutes
Exit ticket: Write one word you figured out today, the strategy you used first, and how you verified the meaning.
Teacher note on the texts: Both published excerpts are quoted exactly. Kipling, who was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), wrote "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" when India was ruled by Britain. The human family in the story are English newcomers living at a British army post, and Indian people barely appear; students may notice that, apart from the animals, the story shows India only from the side of its British rulers. Buckley gave her lectures to young audiences in 1878 and published them in 1879, and some of her science words are old-fashioned: her "water-dust" and "heat-waves" are what we now call tiny water droplets and heat, and she uses British spellings such as vapour and travelling. Her demonstration uses a flame and boiling water, so it is a reading here, not a student activity.
For the quiz: Questions 10-14 and 17 use the Buckley excerpt below, in which she is speaking to an audience beside a kettle of boiling water; Dr. Tyndall is John Tyndall, a scientist of her time. Questions 9, 10 and 14 also use the reference page after it, and Questions 15 and 16 use paragraph 3 of the Kipling excerpt in Guided Practice.
1The clouds you see floating in the sky are made of exactly the same kind of water-dust as the cloud from the kettle, and I wish to show you that this is also really the same as the invisible steam within the kettle. I will do so by an experiment suggested by Dr. Tyndall. Here is another spirit-lamp, which I will hold under the cloud of steam - see! the cloud disappears! As soon as the water-dust is heated the heat-waves scatter it again into invisible particles, which float away into the room. Even without the spirit-lamp, you can convince yourself that water-vapour may be invisible; for close to the mouth of the kettle you will see a short blank space before the cloud begins. In this space there must be steam, but it is still so hot that you cannot see it; and this proves that heat-waves can so shake water apart as to carry it away invisibly right before your eyes.
2Now, although we never see any water travelling from our earth up into the skies, we know that it goes there, for it comes down again in rain, and so it must go up invisibly. But where does the heat come from which makes this water invisible? Not from below, as in the case of the kettle, but from above, pouring down from the sun. Wherever the sun-waves touch the rivers, ponds, lakes, seas, or fields of ice and snow upon our earth, they carry off invisible water-vapour. They dart down through the top layers of the water, and shake the water-particles forcibly apart; and in this case the drops fly asunder more easily and before they are so hot, because they are not kept down by a great weight of water above, as in the kettle, but find plenty of room to spread themselves out in the gaps between the air-atoms of the atmosphere.
Arabella B. Buckley, The Fairy-Land of Science, Lecture IV, "A Drop of Water on Its Travels" (steam and invisible water) (1879). Public domain (published 1879). Source text.
Dictionary entry spir·it (SPIR-it) noun 1. the part of a person that is thought of as separate from the body, including the mind and feelings. 2. a ghost. 3. a mood or attitude: The team was in high spirits after the win. 4. loyalty and enthusiasm for a group: school spirit. 5. often spirits: a liquid containing alcohol, used as a fuel or for cleaning: a lamp that burns spirits. verb spir·it·ed, spir·it·ing. to carry away quickly and secretly: Guards spirited the queen out of the palace.
Dictionary entry des·ert 1. (DEZ-ert) noun a dry region with little rainfall and few plants. 2. (dih-ZURT) verb to leave a person or place you should stay with: A good friend would never desert you. Compare dessert (dih-ZURT), noun, the sweet course at the end of a meal.
Thesaurus entry scat·ter verb Synonyms: disperse (to spread widely in different directions), sprinkle (to drop small amounts over a surface), strew (to throw things untidily over a surface), squander (to waste money or chances). Antonyms: gather, collect.
Glossary, Unit 4: Ancient Rome aqueduct (AK-wuh-duhkt) noun a channel, often carried on arches or through tunnels, that brings water from a distant source to a city. gravity (GRAV-ih-tee) noun the force that pulls objects toward the center of Earth. subterranean (sub-tuh-RAY-nee-uhn) adjective under the ground.
Written for this page (model entries, not copied from a published dictionary), Reference page: dictionary, thesaurus and glossary entries. Original passage written for this page.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a bookmark with the five steps from Diagram 2 and three sentence starters: "The clue is ...", "The word parts are ...", "I checked by ..."
Start with words whose context gives a definition or an example before moving to contrast and paragraph-level clues
Provide a short root chart with a picture for each root (an ear for aud, an eye for spect, a box being carried for port)
For Advanced Students
Have students build a word family web like Diagram 1 for a root of their choice and check every word's history in an online etymology dictionary
Ask students to collect three "false friends," words whose parts mislead (such as invaluable), and explain the trap
Have students compare a print dictionary entry and an online entry for the same word and report which gives more help with pronunciation
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that students name the clue behind a meaning, not just the meaning; a correct meaning with no clue may come from prior knowledge rather than a strategy. For word parts, look for each part's meaning combined into a definition that fits the sentence. For reference work, check that students choose the numbered meaning that fits the context and can read the pronunciation and the part of speech. Most important, look for the verification step: students should plug their meaning back into the sentence and change it when it does not fit.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Context Clue Card Sort
15 minPairs
Each pair gets 8 sentence cards, each with one bold word. Partners sort the cards by the kind of clue that helps most (definition, example, contrast, or the overall meaning of the sentence), write a preliminary meaning, and verify it by rereading the sentence with their meaning in place (standards a and d).
Sentence Cards
1. The ship's galley, the kitchen where the cook made every meal, was tiny.
2. Our class studied amphibians, animals that live both in water and on land.
3. The market sold many kinds of legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas and black beans.
4. Some precipitation, like rain, sleet or snow, fell every day of our trip.
5. Unlike his boisterous little brothers, who shouted all through dinner, Theo ate quietly.
6. The first puzzle was simple, but the second was so intricate that it took us an hour.
7. When the power failed, the generator in the garage started up and the lights came back on.
8. The new rules were controversial: half the parents cheered, and the other half wrote angry letters.
Procedure
Partner A reads the card aloud and names the clue; partner B writes a preliminary meaning and reads the sentence again with that meaning in place of the bold word
Partners sort the cards into four piles, then compare with another pair and discuss any card they sorted differently
Teacher key: definition, cards 1 and 2 (galley: a ship's kitchen; amphibians: animals that live in water and on land); example, cards 3 and 4 (legumes: beans, peas and lentils; precipitation: water that falls from the sky as rain, sleet or snow); contrast, cards 5 and 6 (boisterous: loud and full of energy; intricate: having many detailed parts, complicated); overall meaning of the sentence, cards 7 and 8 (generator: a machine that makes electricity; controversial: causing strong disagreement). Two cards per pile.
Discussion Questions
Which signal words (such as unlike, but, such as, like) pointed you to a clue?
On card 1, how do the commas help you find the definition?
2
Root Family Builders
15 minGroups of 3
Each group gets 4 root cards and 12 word cards. Groups match each word to its Greek or Latin root, underline the root, write a meaning built from the parts, and check one word per root in a dictionary, noting whether the word parts gave a good clue (standards b and c).
Groups sort the 12 word cards under the 4 root cards; telegraph fits two roots, so groups place it under tele and draw a line to graph
For each word, one student names the other parts (for example, auto, Greek for self; scope, from a Greek word meaning to look at; phone, Greek for sound or voice), and the group writes a meaning from the parts
Each group checks one word per root in a print or online dictionary and marks whether the parts gave a strong clue or only a hint
Teacher key: port: portable (able to be carried), export (to carry or send goods out of a country), transport (to carry across, from one place to another); graph: autograph (a person's own signature, written by the person), paragraph (a section of writing; the Greek word named a mark written beside the text), graphic (relating to drawing or writing; clear and vivid); tele: telescope (an instrument for looking at things far away), television (a device for seeing pictures sent from far away), telegraph (a system for sending written messages far away); micro: microscope (an instrument for looking at very small things), microphone (a device that picks up small sounds and makes them louder), microwave (a very short wave of energy, or the oven that uses it). Three words per root.
Discussion Questions
For which words did the parts give only a hint, so that the dictionary was needed for the exact meaning?
Why does paragraph have the graph root if it is not a drawing?
Modification for Distance Learning
Groups sort digital cards on a shared slide and paste a link to the online dictionary entry they used for each root.
3
Guess, Then Verify Stations
15-20 minGroups of 4
Groups rotate through 6 sentence cards. At each card, every student writes a preliminary meaning, then the group verifies it with a print dictionary, an online dictionary and a thesaurus, recording the pronunciation, part of speech and the numbered meaning that fits (standards c and d).
Sentence Cards
1. The comedian was so droll that we laughed all evening.
2. The ice on the pond was too brittle to skate on.
3. Dad was elated when his team finally won the championship.
4. After the mudslide, the mountain road was impassable for a week.
5. The toddler was inconsolable after her ice cream fell on the sidewalk.
6. This year our small garden will yield about ten pounds of tomatoes.
Procedure
Each student writes a preliminary meaning on a sticky note before anyone opens a reference
Student 1 checks a print dictionary, student 2 an online dictionary, student 3 a thesaurus for a synonym that could replace the word, and student 4 reads the sentence aloud with each meaning to verify the fit
The group records the pronunciation, part of speech and the number of the meaning that fits, and marks each preliminary meaning as confirmed or changed
Teacher key: droll, adjective, funny in an odd or clever way; brittle, adjective, hard but easily broken; elated, adjective, very happy and excited; impassable, adjective, impossible to travel on or through (im- not + pass + -able); inconsolable, adjective, too upset to be comforted (in- not + console + -able); yield, verb, to produce, as crops do (a multiple-meaning word: it can also mean to give way, as on a traffic sign)
Discussion Questions
Which preliminary meanings changed after the dictionary check, and what misled you?
On card 6, how did the rest of the sentence tell you which meaning of yield to choose?
Challenge Variation
Groups write a sentence card for a multiple-meaning word of their own, with a context that points to its less common meaning, and trade it with another group.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: The aud Word Family (Official Example)
The Latin root aud, from audire, "to hear," appears in all four words. The suffix changes the kind of word: -ience makes a noun (here, the people who hear), -itory means "relating to," -ible means "able to be," and -ition names an act. Word parts are a clue; a dictionary confirms the exact meaning.
Diagram 2: A Flexible Routine for Unknown Words
Students start with the sentence and the word's job, try word parts when the word has them, and make a preliminary guess. Every guess is verified by plugging it back into the sentence; if it does not fit or the reader is unsure, a dictionary, glossary or thesaurus settles it.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
L.6.4 Homework: Figuring Out Unknown and Multiple-Meaning Words
Directions: Complete all six problems. You will need a print or online dictionary for Problems 3-6. Use Diagram 2 as a checklist.
Part 1: Context and Word Parts (Problems 1-3)
Write the meaning of each bold word, the clue that helped (definition, example, contrast or the overall meaning) and the word's part of speech, based on its position in the sentence: (a) The team's victory was decisive; they won by thirty points. (b) Unlike his gregarious sister, who talks to everyone at parties, Leo stays in a corner with one friend. (c) The museum displayed artifacts, such as clay pots, arrowheads and copper coins, found at the site. (d) Forecasters say the wind will abate by morning, so the ferry should run again at noon.
Use the word parts to write a preliminary meaning for each word, then check it in a dictionary and correct it if needed: spectator, inspect, predict, contradict. Word parts: spect (Latin, look), dict (Latin, say), pre- (before), contra- (against), in- (into), -or (one who).
Each bold word has more than one meaning. For each sentence, look the word up and write the dictionary meaning that fits, its part of speech and its entry number: (a) The current in the river was too strong for swimming. (b) The pitcher threw a perfect pitch. (c) Please file the reports in the cabinet. Then write your own sentence using a different meaning of one of the three words.
Part 2: Reference Materials and Verifying (Problems 4-6)
Look up each word in a dictionary (print or online) and copy its pronunciation, its part of speech and the meaning that fits the sentence: (a) The diver could not fathom how deep the cave went. (b) After the long swim meet, Ana felt lethargic and napped all afternoon. (c) The meticulous baker weighed every ingredient twice. (d) Our jovial bus driver greeted every student with a joke. Then use a thesaurus to find one synonym for meticulous and write a sentence with it.
A student made a preliminary guess for each bold word. Verify each guess in context and in a dictionary, say whether it is right, and fix it if it is wrong: (a) Keep the can away from the grill, because the fuel inside is inflammable. Guess: "not able to burn." (b) After the rain started, the playground was deserted. Guess: "dry, like a desert." (c) I read a biography of Amelia Earhart for my report. Guess: "a book about a person's life, written by someone else." (d) Our cat is nocturnal: she sleeps all day and prowls all night. Guess: "active at night."
Keep a word log for your reading this week. Record three words you did not know. For each one, copy the sentence, name the strategy you tried first, write your preliminary meaning, explain how you verified it, and write the final meaning.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Context Clues
All four meanings, clues and parts of speech correct
Two or three correct, or clues missing
Fewer than two correct
Word Parts
Parts combined into four sensible preliminary meanings, each checked
Meanings written but not checked, or two wrong
Parts not used
Reference Materials
Pronunciation, part of speech and the fitting meaning for every word; multiple-meaning senses chosen correctly
Most entries complete
Entries copied without choosing the fitting meaning
Verifying
Every guess checked and fixed with a reason; word log complete
Most guesses checked, or log incomplete
Guesses accepted without checking
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 10-14 and 17 use the Buckley excerpt in Closure, Questions 9, 10 and 14 also use the reference page right after it, and Questions 15 and 16 use paragraph 3 of the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" excerpt in Guided Practice; paragraph numbers are shown beside each passage. The other questions use new sentences. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
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
Read the sentence: The trail was so steep and narrow that the hikers moved with trepidation, testing each step before trusting it. What does trepidation most likely mean?
Answer: B
The clues are steep and narrow and testing each step before trusting it, which describe careful, worried movement, so trepidation means fear or nervous worry. A ignores the danger the sentence describes. C contradicts the slow, careful testing. D has no support: the sentence never mentions how the hikers feel about each other.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Read the sentence: Although the first speaker rambled for twenty minutes, the second speaker was concise and finished in three. What does concise mean?
Answer: C
Although signals a contrast with the speaker who rambled for twenty minutes, and "finished in three" confirms that concise means brief and to the point. A and B describe how a speaker might sound, which the sentence never mentions. D describes the rambling speaker, the opposite of the contrast clue.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Read the sentence: The neighbors will object if the band practices after ten at night. Based on its position in the sentence, which meaning of object fits?
Answer: D
Object follows will, the spot where a verb goes, so only the verb meaning fits: the neighbors will protest. A, B and C are all real dictionary meanings of object, but they are nouns, and a noun cannot follow will here. A student who chooses A picks the most familiar meaning without checking the word's job.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
The Latin root aud means "hear," and the Latin suffix -orium means "a place for." What is an auditorium?
Answer: A
Put the parts together: a place for hearing, which is a room where an audience listens. B names a person, but -orium means a place, not "one who." C names a machine, and D names a test; both use the root aud but ignore the suffix.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which word shares the Latin root of audience, auditory and audible?
Answer: C
Audio (sound that is heard or recorded) comes from audire, "to hear," like the three official example words. The other three only look similar. Audacious (bold, daring) comes from the Latin audere, "to dare." Author comes from the Latin auctor, a maker or creator. Auburn is a color word from a different Latin word. Matching letters are not enough; the meaning must fit too.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
The Latin prefix sub- means "under." What does subsoil most likely mean?
Answer: B
Sub- (under) + soil gives "the soil under," the layer below the topsoil. A describes erosion, which the parts do not name. C treats sub- as if it meant "super." D adds a meaning, gardens, that none of the parts gives.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Kai wrote, "The coach said we played well." He wants a more precise word than said that shows the coach was proud and happy. Which reference should he use?
Answer: D
A thesaurus lists synonyms, so Kai can compare choices such as praised or cheered and pick the one with the exact shade of meaning. A glossary defines subject terms and lists no synonyms. An atlas is a book of maps. A pronunciation key shows how to say words, not which word to choose.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In chapter 3 of her science textbook, Lena meets the word mass. Which reference will most likely give the meaning her science class uses?
Answer: A
A textbook glossary defines words with the meaning used in that subject, here "the amount of matter in an object." A thesaurus gives synonyms, not a subject meaning. A dictionary of place names does not cover science terms. The index only lists the pages where mass appears, without defining it.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Use the reference page in Closure. How is desert pronounced in this sentence: A true friend would never desert you during a hard time.
Answer: B
The word follows would never, so it is a verb, and the entry gives the verb meaning "to leave a person or place you should stay with" and the pronunciation dih-ZURT. A picks the noun, which cannot follow would never. C matches the right meaning with the noun's pronunciation. D confuses desert with dessert, which only sounds like the verb.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 1 of the Buckley excerpt, she holds a "spirit-lamp" under the cloud of steam. Which numbered meaning of spirit on the reference page fits?
Answer: D
Buckley uses the lamp to heat the steam, so it must burn a fuel, and meaning 5 names spirits used as fuel, with the example "a lamp that burns spirits." A takes the magic-sounding result literally. B and C are real meanings of spirit, but neither fits a lamp that heats steam. This is why a reader must choose the meaning that fits the context.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 2 of the Buckley excerpt, the sun-waves "shake the water-particles forcibly apart; and in this case the drops fly asunder more easily." What does asunder mean?
Answer: A
The same sentence says the particles are shaken "apart," and asunder restates the idea, so it means apart. B contradicts the paragraph, which says the water goes up into the sky. C is the opposite of shaking apart. D ignores forcibly, which points to a strong, quick action.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 1 of the Buckley excerpt, which meaning of invisible do the word parts and the context support?
Answer: C
The parts are in- (not) + vis (see, from the Latin videre) + -ible (able to be): not able to be seen. The context confirms it: near the kettle's mouth "there must be steam, but it is still so hot that you cannot see it." A takes the clue "so hot" as the meaning. B adds an idea, the microscope, that no part names. D ignores the prefix in-.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 2, Buckley says the water spreads out "in the gaps between the air-atoms of the atmosphere." Atmosphere comes from the Greek atmos ("vapor") and sphaira ("ball"). What does it mean here?
Answer: B
The parts suggest a ball of vapor around something, and the context, air-atoms above the rivers and seas, points to the air that surrounds the earth. A is a real meaning of atmosphere, but it does not fit a science passage about air-atoms. C reads the parts too literally. D names where the water comes from, not where it goes.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Use the reference page in Closure. Buckley writes that the heat-waves "scatter it again into invisible particles, which float away into the room." Which synonym for scatter fits this sentence best?
Answer: A
The particles spread out and float away in many directions, which matches disperse, "to spread widely in different directions." Sprinkle means dropping small amounts over a surface, and strew means throwing things untidily over a surface; the particles float away rather than land on anything. Squander means to waste money or chances, a different idea.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 3 of the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" excerpt, Kipling writes that Rikki-tikki "clung to it till he lost his senses. When he revived, he was lying in the hot sun." Use the word parts and the context to explain what revived means. The Latin prefix re- means "again," and the Latin root viv means "live."
Model answer:Re- (again) + viv (live) suggests "came to life again." The context supports it: before, Rikki-tikki "lost his senses," and afterward he is lying on a path, and the boy even thinks he is dead. So revived means woke up or became conscious again. Plugging it in, "When he woke up again, he was lying in the hot sun," makes sense. Rubric line: 2 points for using both the word parts and a context clue and verifying the meaning in the sentence; 1 point for a correct meaning with only one strategy.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
In the same sentence, Rikki-tikki "lost his senses." Senses is a multiple-meaning word: it can mean sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, or it can mean a clear, conscious mind. Which meaning fits, and what in the paragraph tells you? How could a dictionary help you check?
Model answer: It means he fainted: he lost consciousness. He was being carried down a ditch by a flood, and the next sentence says "When he revived," which means he was unconscious before. It does not mean he lost only his sight or hearing. A dictionary lists both meanings of senses, often with the phrase "lose one's senses," so I can choose the one that fits the story. Rubric line: 2 points for the correct meaning, a context clue from the paragraph and a sensible use of the dictionary; 1 point for two of the three.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 2 of the Buckley excerpt, the sun-waves "shake the water-particles forcibly apart." The word particle comes from the Latin particula, "a small part." Explain what water-particles are, using the word history and the context, and write one other word that shares the Latin root part.
Model answer: Water-particles are tiny bits of water, pieces much too small to see. The word history gives "small part," and the context says they are shaken apart and spread into the air invisibly, so they must be very small. Another word with the root is part itself, or partial (only in part) or partition (something that divides a space into parts). Rubric line: 2 points for a meaning supported by both the word history and the context, plus a correct related word; 1 point for the meaning with only one support, or a correct meaning with no related word.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Jaden reads: The new schedule was a boon to the soccer team; with an extra hour of practice each week, they won their next five games. He guesses that boon means "a problem." Explain how he can verify his guess, and give the correct meaning.
Model answer: Jaden should plug his guess into the sentence: "The new schedule was a problem to the soccer team" does not fit, because the schedule gave the team more practice and they won five games. The context points to something helpful. A dictionary confirms that a boon is a benefit or a welcome help. Rubric line: 2 points for checking the guess in context, naming the clue and giving the correct meaning (a benefit or help); 1 point for the correct meaning without explaining the check.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
For each word, name the strategy you would try first and explain why: (a) pemmican in The explorers packed pemmican, a mix of dried meat and fat, for the long trip. (b) transatlantic in Their transatlantic flight left New York at 8:00 p.m. (c) gale in The ferry stayed in port because of the gale.
Model answer: (a) Context first: the words after the comma define pemmican as "a mix of dried meat and fat," and word parts would not help because the word is not built from Greek or Latin parts. (b) Word parts first: trans- means across, so a transatlantic flight crosses the Atlantic Ocean, and "New York" fits. (c) A dictionary: the sentence only shows that a gale is a reason to stay in port, so it could be fog, a storm or a strike; a dictionary gives the precise meaning, a very strong wind. Rubric line: 2 points for a sensible first strategy with a reason for all three words; 1 point for two of the three.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
The word produce changes its pronunciation with its part of speech: the noun is PROH-doos and the verb is pruh-DOOS. Write one sentence using each, label the part of speech and the meaning, and explain how a reader can tell which one you mean.
Model answer: "The farm stand sells fresh produce every Saturday." (noun, PROH-doos: fruits and vegetables) "Our apple trees produce more fruit every year." (verb, pruh-DOOS: to make or grow) A reader can tell by the word's position: after fresh, it names a thing, so it is a noun; after the subject trees, it is the action, so it is a verb. Rubric line: 2 points for two correct sentences, labels and an explanation based on position or function; 1 point for correct sentences without the explanation.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does L.6.4 mean?
L.6.4 means that sixth graders can figure out the meaning of unknown words and of words with several meanings, choosing the right strategy for each word.
The four strategies are context clues (part a), Greek and Latin word parts (part b), reference materials such as dictionaries (part c) and checking a first guess (part d).
What are context clues?
Context clues are hints in the words and sentences around an unknown word.
They include a definition, examples, a contrast signaled by words like unlike or although, and the overall meaning of the paragraph. The word's position also helps: after will, it is probably a verb.
Which Greek and Latin roots should a sixth grader know?
L.6.4 does not give a list; it asks for "common, grade-appropriate" roots and affixes, such as the official example aud (hear).
Roots that often appear in grade 6 texts include port (carry), spect (look), dict (say), tele (far), graph (write) and micro (small), with prefixes such as re-, pre-, sub- and trans-.
What is a multiple-meaning word?
A multiple-meaning word is spelled the same but has more than one meaning, such as bat, current or present.
Readers use context and the word's job in the sentence to pick the right meaning, and a dictionary's numbered meanings to confirm it. Some, like record, are also said differently as a noun and a verb.
When should my student use a dictionary, a glossary or a thesaurus?
Use a dictionary for pronunciation, part of speech and exact meaning, a glossary for the meaning used in a textbook subject, and a thesaurus to find a more precise synonym.
L.6.4 asks students to use all three, both in print and online.
What does "verify the preliminary determination" mean in L.6.4?
It means checking a first guess about a word's meaning before trusting it.
Students plug their guess back into the sentence, and if it does not fit or they are unsure, they check a dictionary. This catches traps such as invaluable, which means very valuable, not "not valuable."
Why not just look up every word?
Looking up every word interrupts reading, and many words can be figured out quickly from context or word parts.
L.6.4 asks students to choose flexibly: use the fastest strategy that works, and save the dictionary for words the other strategies cannot settle or for checking.
How is L.6.4 tested?
L.6.4 is usually tested with vocabulary-in-context questions: students read a passage and choose what a word means as it is used there.
Many state tests use this format. Classroom tests often add word-part questions and tasks with a dictionary entry, such as choosing the meaning that fits a sentence.
How can parents help with L.6.4 at home?
When your child meets a new word, ask, "What do you think it means, and what told you?" before anyone looks it up.
Then look it up together and check the guess. Noticing word families, such as telephone and microphone, on signs and packages also builds the habit.
What comes after L.6.4?
L.7.4 and L.8.4 keep the same four strategies with harder words and add general and specialized reference materials, such as a science dictionary.
The official grade 7 root example is belligerent, bellicose and rebel, and the grade 8 example is precede, recede and secede.
07
Related Standards
6 standards
These standards connect to L.6.4: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
L.5.4Prerequisite
Use context, Greek and Latin word parts and reference materials to find word meanings
Lesson coming soon
L.4.4Prerequisite
Use context, affixes and roots, and dictionaries or glossaries for word meanings
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
L.6.5Parallel
Understand figures of speech, word relationships and connotations
Lesson coming soon
RI.6.4Parallel
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text, including technical meanings
Lesson coming soon
After this lesson
L.7.4Next step
Use context, word parts, general and specialized references, and verify meanings
Lesson coming soon
L.8.4Extends to
Use context, word parts and references to determine and verify word meanings
