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L.9-10.4Common CoreELALanguageGrades 9-10

L.9-10.4: Unknown and Multiple-Meaning Words, Word Patterns and References

In plain English: L.9-10.4 is the Common Core ELA standard that asks students in grades 9 and 10 to work out the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words, choosing flexibly among strategies. They use context, patterns of word change such as analyze, analysis, analytical, and dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses, and they verify each first guess in context or in a dictionary.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9—10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

  1. a.Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  2. b.Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
  3. c.Consult general and specialized 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, its part of speech, or its etymology.
  4. 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
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01

Lesson Plan

65-75 min

Overview

Students practice the four strategies of L.9-10.4 on a text that demands them: the opening of chapter IV of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), in which Victor sees his creature come to life. The excerpt mixes truly unknown words (lassitude, delineate) with familiar words in older senses (accidents, support, compose), so students learn when context is enough and when a first guess must be checked.

For part c, students read real entries from the 1913 printing of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary and find pronunciation, part of speech, etymology and precise meaning. For part b, they build word families, including the standard's examples analyze, analysis, analytical and advocate, advocacy. A short passage about Galvani and Volta, written for this page, carries the multiple-meaning words of science (charge, current, pile, cell).

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words in a grade 9-10 literary text and an informational science passage
  • Use the meaning of a sentence or paragraph, and a word's position and function, as clues to meaning
  • Identify and correctly use patterns of word change that signal a different meaning or part of speech
  • Consult print and digital dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses to find pronunciation, part of speech, etymology and precise meaning
  • Verify a preliminary meaning in context and in a dictionary, and revise it when needed

Prior Knowledge Required

Students should already be comfortable with:

  • Using context, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, and references to find word meanings L.8.4
  • Using relationships between words, such as synonyms, to understand each word L.8.5
  • Identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in a sentence

Lesson Procedure

65-75 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

  1. Warm-Up10 minutes

    Warm-Up Prompt

    "What does 'charge' mean in each sentence? (1) The phone needs a charge. (2) The bank added a late charge. (3) The captain led the charge. How did you know each time?"

    Give students two minutes to write three meanings, then collect how they decided: the other words in the sentence, the topic, the part of speech, or a guess. Name these as strategies. Explain that charge is a multiple-meaning word: one spelling, several meanings, and only the context tells a reader which one is meant. Tell students they will meet the word again in today's science passage.

  2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

    A routine with four moves. Strong readers choose among strategies instead of using the same one every time. Post these four moves and model each one aloud:

    • Context (part a): use the meaning of the sentence, paragraph or whole text, and the word's position and function in its sentence (subject, verb, object, modifier).
    • Word parts and patterns (part b): look for a family you know and for endings that signal a part of speech.
    • References (part c): a general dictionary for pronunciation, part of speech, etymology and precise meaning; a glossary for a subject's special meaning; a thesaurus for related words, to be checked before use.
    • Verify (part d): put the meaning back into the sentence, and confirm it in a dictionary when the stakes are high.

    Read the opening of chapter IV of Frankenstein (1818) aloud. Students mark every word they could not explain to a partner, and every familiar word that seems to be used in an unfamiliar way.

    It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.

    How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips.

    The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. [...] I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window-shutters, I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs. I took refuge in the court-yard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.

    Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, volume I, chapter IV (opening; the description of Victor's nightmare in paragraph 3 is omitted and marked [...]) (1818). Public domain (published 1818). Source text.

    • Context: the meaning of the paragraph

      "At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes" (paragraph 3). What does lassitude mean?

      Result: Victor has paced his room "a long time" and now throws himself on the bed, looking for "forgetfulness." The paragraph shows a worn-out man, so lassitude means weariness or exhaustion. The same clue settles a second word: succeeded here means "came after," not "did well."

    • Context: a word's position and function

      "Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance" (paragraph 4). Which meaning of support fits?

      Result: Support is the verb, "no mortal" is its subject and "the horror" is its object. Nobody can hold up or pay for a horror, so the sense is "endure, bear." Paragraph 3 uses the same idea with a different verb: Victor was "Unable to endure" the sight.

    • Patterns of word change: the official examples

      Complete each sentence with analyze, analysis or analytical, then with advocate or advocacy: (1) The class will ____ the chapter. (2) Her ____ of the chapter was careful. (3) He took an ____ approach. (4) She is an ____ for the library. (5) Her ____ won the vote.

      Result: (1) analyze, a verb after "will"; (2) analysis, a noun after "her"; (3) analytical, an adjective before the noun "approach"; (4) advocate, a noun after "an" (a person); (5) advocacy, a noun naming the activity. The ending signals the part of speech: -ize and -ate verbs, -sis and -acy nouns, -ical adjectives.

    • Consulting a reference: pronunciation, part of speech, etymology

      Check the guess about lassitude in the 1913 Webster entry in Guided Practice.

      Result: The mark in Las"si*tude puts the stress on the first syllable (LAS-si-tude); n. shows it is a noun; the etymology traces it to Latin lassus, "faint, weary"; and the definition, "languor; debility; weariness," confirms the guess from context.

    • Verifying a first guess

      "The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature" (paragraph 3). A student's first guess: accidents means crashes or injuries.

      Result: Check in context: the sentence compares the events of life with feelings, and nobody has been hurt. Check in a dictionary: current dictionaries list an older sense, an event that happens by chance. Verified meaning: the chance events of life. The first guess is revised.

    Point out that a text from 1818 contains both unknown words (lassitude) and familiar words in older senses (accidents, support). The second kind is harder, because readers do not notice they need a strategy. Multiple-meaning words and changed meanings are where verifying matters most.

  3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes

    Hand out the dictionary entries below, from the 1913 printing of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, a major American dictionary first published in 1890. Walk through Diagram 1 first. Then explain the abbreviations students will meet: n. noun, v. t. transitive verb, a. adjective, imp. past tense, p. p. past participle, p. pr. present participle, Etym. etymology, L. Latin, LL. Late Latin, F. French, OE. Old English, Defn. definition, [Obs.] obsolete. The short names after each quotation are its authors (Shak. is Shakespeare; Ps. is the Book of Psalms).

    ANIMATE An"i*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Animated; p. pr. & vb. n. Animating.] Etym: [L. animatus, p. p. of animare, fr. anima breath, soul; akin to animus soul, mind, [...] Cf. Animal.]

    1. To give natural life to; to make alive; to quicken; as, the soul animates the body.

    [...]

    3. To give spirit or vigor to; to stimulate or incite; to inspirit; to rouse; to enliven. The more to animate the people, he stood on high . . . and cried unto them with a loud voice. Knolles.

    [...]

    ANIMATE An"i*mate, a. Etym: [L. animatus, p. p.]

    Defn: Endowed with life; alive; living; animated; lively. The admirable structure of animate bodies. Bentley.

    [...]

    ANIMATION An`i*ma"tion, n. Etym: [L. animatio, fr. animare.]

    1. The act of animating, or giving life or spirit; the state of being animate or alive. The animation of the same soul quickening the whole frame. Bp. Hall. [...]

    2. The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness; as, he recited the story with great animation. Suspended animation, temporary suspension of the vital functions, as in persons nearly drowned.

    [...]

    COUNTENANCE Coun"te*nance [...], n. Etym: [OE. contenance, countenaunce, demeanor, composure, F. contenance demeanor, fr. L. continentia continence, LL. also, demeanor, fr. L. continere to hold together, repress, contain. See Contain, and cf. Continence.]

    1. Appearance or expression of the face; look; aspect; mien. So spake the Son, and into terror changed His countenance. Milton.

    2. The face; the features. In countenance somewhat doth resemble you. Shak.

    3. Approving or encouraging aspect of face; hence, favor, good will, support; aid; encouragement. Thou hast made him . . . glad with thy countenance. Ps. xxi. 6. This is the magistrate's peculiar province, to give countenance to piety and virtue, and to rebuke vice. Atterbury.

    [...]

    COUNTENANCE Coun"te*nance [...], v. t. [imp. & p. p. Countenanced [...]; p. pr. & vb. n. Countenancing.]

    1. To encourage; to favor; to approve; to aid; to abet. This conceit, though countenanced by learned men, is not made out either by experience or reason. Sir T. Browne. Error supports custom, custom countenances error. Milton.

    [...]

    INANIMATE In*an"i*mate, a. Etym: [L. inanimatus; pref. in- not + animatus animate.]

    Defn: Not animate; destitute of life or spirit; lifeless; dead; inactive; dull; as, stones and earth are inanimate substances. Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves. Byron.

    [...]

    LASSITUDE Las"si*tude, n. Etym: [L. lassitudo, fr. lassus faint, weary; akin to E. late: cf. F. lassitude. See Late.]

    Defn: A condition of the body, or mind, when its voluntary functions are performed with difficulty, and only by a strong exertion of the will; languor; debility; weariness. The corporeal instruments of action being strained to a high pitch . . . will soon feel a lassitude. Barrow.

    Noah Webster, revised under the editorship of Noah Porter (G. and C. Merriam Company), Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, entries for animate, animation, countenance, inanimate and lassitude (selected senses; omitted senses and entries are marked [...]) (1890; this edition 1913). Public domain (published 1913). Source text.

    Pairs complete the organizer for four words from the Frankenstein excerpt. For each word they write a first guess from context, then find the entry, choose the numbered sense that fits and record whether the guess was confirmed or revised. Circulate and ask: "Which sense did you reject, and what in the sentence ruled it out?"

    Guess, check and verify organizer
    Word (paragraph)First guess from contextPart of speech and sense in the entryConfirmed or revised?
    inanimate (3)
    animation (4)
    countenance (4)
    lassitude (3)

  4. Independent Practice15 minutes

    Students read the passage below, which is written for this page and describes real events from the history of science. Several familiar words carry a special meaning here. Students keep a strategy log for four words of their choice: the word, the strategy used first, the meaning, and how they verified it. Some quiz questions use this passage.

    In the 1780s the Italian anatomist Luigi Galvani, working in Bologna, noticed that the legs of dissected frogs twitched when metal instruments touched them. In 1791 he published his explanation: the muscles, he argued, carried a natural "animal electricity" of their own.

    Alessandro Volta, a physics professor at Pavia, was not convinced. He suspected that the charge came from two different metals meeting in moist tissue, not from the frog itself. To test the idea, he stacked discs of zinc and copper, one pair on top of another, and separated each pair with cloth or cardboard soaked in salt water. In 1800 he reported that this pile, as he called it, produced a steady current, a continuous flow of electric charge. It is usually described as the first electric battery. In modern terms each zinc-copper pair acts as a cell, and the unit of electric potential, the volt, is named for Volta.

    Galvani's name stayed in the language as well. To galvanize people is to shock or stir them into sudden action, as a coach's halftime speech might galvanize a tired team. In a hardware store the same word means something else: galvanized nails are coated with zinc so that they resist rust.

    Writers followed the debate. In her introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley recalled listening to a conversation about the nature of life, and she named galvanism as one of the ideas behind it.

    Written for this page (the events and dates are real), Frogs, Metals and the First Battery (an informational passage about Galvani and Volta). Original passage written for this page.

  5. Closure5-10 minutes

    Exit ticket: (1) Name one word from today in which context was enough, and one in which you needed a reference. (2) Write one sentence explaining why a first guess about a familiar word can be the riskiest guess of all.

    Teacher note on the texts: the 1818 excerpt keeps Shelley's British spellings (colour, ardour, endeavoured) and words such as wretch and monster, which Victor uses for the creature he abandons; students may discuss what those words show about him. The dictionary entries are from 1913. Their quotations and some definitions reflect the usage of that time, so students should check a current dictionary before using a sense in their own writing, and should note that a sense marked [Obs.] was already out of use by 1913.

Differentiation Strategies

For Struggling Students

  • Give a strategy bookmark with the four moves and one example each
  • Pre-teach the dictionary abbreviations with a one-page key and highlight the sense lines in each entry
  • Reduce the Word Detective set to four cards and provide the clue sentence already underlined

For Advanced Students

  • Compare the 1913 entry for countenance with a current dictionary and list senses that were added, dropped or relabeled
  • Find three more words in the excerpt used in older senses and write a short guide for classmates
  • Research how the word galvanize spread from science into everyday speech, citing a dictionary that gives dated senses

Assessment Guidance

What to Look For

Grade the reasoning as well as the meaning. A strong answer names the clue (a phrase in the sentence, the paragraph's situation, the word's function), chooses the sense that fits rather than the first one listed, and shows a check. For word families, look for the right part of speech in the right slot, not only the right root. For references, look for students who can say why a glossary, dictionary or thesaurus suits a question. Watch for students who trust a familiar meaning without checking it, and for students who copy the first dictionary sense whether or not it fits.

02

Classroom Activities

3 Activities

1

Word Detective Cards

20 minGroups of 3-4

Each group works through eight word cards from the Frankenstein excerpt, naming the kind of context clue that unlocks each word before checking a dictionary (parts a and d).

The Eight Cards

  • accomplishment (paragraph 1)
  • delineate (paragraph 2)
  • luxuriances (paragraph 2)
  • traversing (paragraph 3)
  • inarticulate (paragraph 3)
  • detain (paragraph 3)
  • refuge (paragraph 3)
  • agitation (paragraph 3)

Procedure

  • For each card, the group copies the sentence, underlines the words that act as clues and labels the clue: meaning of the sentence, meaning of the paragraph, or the word's position and function
  • The group writes a meaning and rates its confidence from 1 to 3
  • For every card rated 1 or 2, one member checks a dictionary and the group records whether the meaning was confirmed or revised
  • Teacher key: accomplishment, completion (not a skill); delineate, describe or portray; luxuriances, rich or attractive features; traversing, crossing back and forth (pacing); inarticulate, not formed into clear words; detain, hold back; refuge, shelter; agitation, nervous distress

Discussion Questions

  • Which card was solved by its position in the sentence rather than by its meaning?
  • Accomplishment is a familiar word. Why was it easy to misread here?
  • Were any of your confident guesses wrong? What would have caught them?
2

Word Family Workshop

15 minPairs

Pairs build word families, label each member's part of speech and write sentences that use each form correctly (part b).

Families

  • convulse: the excerpt uses convulsive (paragraph 1) and convulsed (paragraph 3)
  • infuse: the excerpt uses infuse (paragraph 1) and infusing (paragraph 3)
  • diagnose, which follows the same pattern as analyze and analysis
  • adequate, which follows the same pattern as advocate and advocacy

Procedure

  • Pairs list every form they can build (verb, noun, adjective, adverb) and check each in a dictionary; a form the dictionary does not list is crossed out
  • Pairs label the part of speech and circle the ending that signals it
  • Pairs write one sentence for each form, then trade with another pair, who checks that each form is used as the right part of speech
  • Teacher key: convulse, convulsion, convulsive, convulsively; infuse, infusion; diagnose, diagnosis, diagnostic; adequate, adequacy, adequately, inadequate

Variation for Advanced Students

Pairs mark the stressed syllable in each form, using a dictionary, and find one family in which the stress moves when the ending changes.

3

Reference Stations

20 minGroups of 4, rotating

Groups rotate through four stations, each built around a different kind of reference, print or digital, and use each one for the job it does best (parts c and d).

Stations

  • Station 1, print dictionary: find the pronunciation and part of speech of dismally (paragraph 1)
  • Station 2, online dictionary: find the etymology of mummy (paragraph 4)
  • Station 3, thesaurus: list synonyms for wretch (paragraph 2), then use a dictionary to choose the one closest to Victor's meaning
  • Station 4, glossary of a biology textbook: find the precise meaning of arteries (paragraph 2)

Procedure

  • Four minutes per station; each group records what it found and the name of the reference
  • At each station, the group writes one sentence on why this reference suited the question better than the others
  • Teacher key: dismally is an adverb stressed on the first syllable; mummy comes through Medieval Latin mumia from Arabic; arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart; for wretch, a thesaurus offers words such as outcast, villain and unfortunate, and only a dictionary check shows which sense Victor means

Discussion Questions

  • Why is a thesaurus risky without a dictionary?
  • When would a glossary give a better answer than a general dictionary?

Modification for Distance Learning

Post each station as a breakout room with links to a free online dictionary, a thesaurus and a textbook glossary. Groups record findings in a shared table.

03

Diagrams & Visual Aids

2 diagrams

Diagram 1: Reading a Dictionary Entry (1913 Webster, countenance)

Reading a dictionary entry: countenance (1913 Webster) Coun"te*nance Headword: " marks the stress, * splits syllables v. t. Part of speech: transitive verb (takes an object) imp. & p. p. Countenanced Word forms: past tense and past participle 1. To encourage; to favor Numbered sense: pick the one that fits Error supports custom ... Milton. Quotation showing the sense in use, with its author Etym: [... L. continere ...] Etymology (noun entry): the Latin source word Marks shown are those of the Project Gutenberg digital text of the dictionary.
Each part of an entry answers a different question from part c of the standard. The marks after the headword give the pronunciation (which syllable is stressed and where the syllables break), v. t. gives the part of speech, and the numbered senses let a reader choose the precise meaning. The etymology, shown here from the noun entry, traces countenance to a Latin verb. Modern dictionaries use different symbols but the same parts.

Diagram 2: Word Families and Parts of Speech

Patterns of word change: same family, new part of speech Latin anima: breath, soul animate verb or adjective animation noun: -ation inanimate adjective: in- = not animated adjective: -ed Official examples in the standard analyze verb analysis noun: -sis analytical adjective: -ical advocate verb or noun advocacy noun: -acy Stress can move too: AN-i-mate, but an-i-MA-tion; a-NAL-y-sis, but an-a-LYT-i-cal.
Top: words built on the Latin anima, as the 1913 entries in Guided Practice trace them. A prefix changes the meaning (in-, "not"), and a suffix changes the part of speech (-ation makes a noun). Bottom: the standard's own examples. Analyze, analysis and analytical are verb, noun and adjective; advocate is a verb ("to advocate a change") or a noun ("an advocate for students"), and advocacy names the activity. The stress shifts are those given in current dictionaries.

04

Homework Assignment

~30 min

L.9-10.4 Homework: Unlocking Unknown and Multiple-Meaning Words

Directions: Complete all six problems. For Problems 2, 5 and 6 you need a print or online dictionary; name each reference you use. Problems 5 and 6 use the Frankenstein excerpt and the Galvani passage in the lesson plan.

Part 1: Context and Position (Problems 1-2)

  1. Each sentence uses familiar words in less familiar senses (table, turns on, sound, flat, strike, wanting). Give the meaning of each and name the clue you used (meaning of the sentence, or the word's position and function): (a) The senator moved to table the bill until next session. (b) The whole plot turns on a single lost letter. (c) Her argument was sound, even though her delivery was flat. (d) The captain ordered the crew to strike the sails before the storm. (e) The jury found the witness's story wanting.
  2. Some words change part of speech, meaning and even pronunciation with their position. For each pair, name the part of speech of the repeated word in each sentence, give its meaning, and say which syllable is stressed; confirm the stress in a dictionary: (a) The workers object to the schedule. / The object on the desk is a paperweight. (b) The team will present its findings. / She bought a present for her aunt. (c) The metal will contract in the cold. / They signed a contract.

Part 2: Patterns of Word Change (Problems 3-4)

  1. The standard's example analyze, analysis, analytical follows a pattern, and so does advocate, advocacy. Use the patterns to complete each family, then write one sentence for each form you complete: (a) hypothesize, ____ (noun), ____ (adjective); (b) synthesize, ____ (noun), ____ (adjective); (c) legitimate, ____ (noun); (d) pirate, ____ (noun). Check each form in a dictionary.
  2. Each sentence uses the wrong member of a word family. Rewrite it correctly and name the part of speech the sentence needs: (a) The lab team will analysis the samples tomorrow. (b) Maya is a tireless advocacy for the school garden. (c) The detective's analyze of the clues was careful. (d) His hypothesis argument ignored the evidence. (e) The club's advocate of recycling changed school policy.

Part 3: References and Verification (Problems 5-6)

  1. Look up glimmer (Frankenstein, paragraph 1) and complexion (paragraph 2) in a current dictionary. For each, record the pronunciation, the part of speech used in the excerpt, the etymology and the sense that fits. Then explain in two sentences how the history of complexion helps explain why it has more than one meaning.
  2. In the Galvani passage, potential (paragraph 2) and resist (paragraph 3) have meanings you may know from everyday speech. For each word, write (1) your first guess, (2) what the context shows, (3) what a science glossary or dictionary says, and (4) your verified meaning. Did the reference confirm or change your guess?

Rubric

CriterionFull Credit (2 pts)Partial Credit (1 pt)No Credit (0 pts)
Context CluesMeanings fit the sentences and each clue is namedMost meanings fit; clues vagueMeanings guessed without clues
Word PatternsForms correct, parts of speech named, sentences use them correctlySome forms or sentences wrongForms missing or unrelated
Reference UsePronunciation, part of speech, etymology and sense recorded, references namedSome elements or reference names missingNo reference used
VerificationGuess, context, reference and final meaning all shownFinal meaning without the checkNo verification

05

Quiz: 20 Questions

Interactive, with answers

Instructions

Questions 1-5 and 14 use the Frankenstein excerpt (paragraph numbers as shown in Direct Instruction), Questions 4-8 use the 1913 Webster entries in Guided Practice, and Questions 12, 13, 15 and 18 use the Galvani passage in Independent Practice. 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

  1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 2 of the Frankenstein excerpt, Victor asks, "How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe?" What does catastrophe mean here?

  2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    "Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room" (paragraph 3). What does aspect mean in this sentence?

  3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    "I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep" (paragraph 3). What does compose mean here?

  4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    "Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance" (paragraph 4). Using the 1913 Webster entries, which sense of countenance fits this sentence?

  5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    "A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch" (paragraph 4). Which sense of animation in the 1913 entry fits?

  6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In the 1913 Webster entry, the headword is printed In*an"i*mate. Which syllable carries the main stress?

  7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Under the verb countenance, the entry quotes Milton: "Error supports custom, custom countenances error." What part of speech is countenances in this quotation?

  8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to the etymology in the 1913 noun entry, countenance goes back to a Latin verb meaning what?

  9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    The entry for the adjective inanimate explains its prefix. In which word does in- have the same meaning?

  10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Choose the form that completes the sentence: The safety report places strong ____ on wearing goggles.

  11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Choose the form that completes the sentence: The class tested the ____ of the new thermometer.

  12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 2 of the Galvani passage, what does current mean, and what kind of clue shows it?

  13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 2 of the Galvani passage, which meaning of pile is used?

  14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student reads "his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set" (paragraph 2) and guesses that dun means "finished" (done). What is the best way to verify the guess?

  15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    A student meets the word cell in the Galvani passage (paragraph 2) and again in a biology textbook. Which reference would you use for each, and why? Give both meanings.

  16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    A thesaurus lists shake, disturb, stir up and campaign as synonyms of agitate. In "a convulsive motion agitated its limbs" (paragraph 1), which synonym fits best, which one does not fit at all, and how would you verify your choice?

  17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Paragraph 1 describes "the dull yellow eye of the creature," and paragraph 3 mentions "the being I had created." List four words in the family of create, give the part of speech of each, and write one sentence about the excerpt for two of them.

  18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Use paragraph 3 of the Galvani passage to explain two meanings of galvanize and where the word comes from.

  19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    "How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?" (paragraph 2). Explain how the position and function of form show its meaning here, and give one different meaning form has in another position.

  20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Walk through all four moves of the routine for pattered in "the rain pattered dismally against the panes" (paragraph 1). Write one sentence for each move.

0 of 20 answered · 0 correct

06

Frequently Asked Questions

10 Questions

What does L.9-10.4 mean?

L.9-10.4 means that students in grades 9 and 10 can work out what unfamiliar words and words with several meanings mean in the texts they read, choosing the strategy that suits each word.

The four parts name the strategies: context (a), patterns of word change such as analyze, analysis, analytical (b), dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses (c), and checking the first guess (d).

What are the strategies in L.9-10.4?

The strategies are using context, using word families and endings, consulting references, and verifying.

The standard asks students to choose "flexibly" among them. A word with a clear definition clue needs only context; a word with several senses may need all four.

How is L.9-10.4 different from L.8.4?

L.9-10.4 applies the same routine to harder texts and adds patterns of word change that shift the part of speech.

In grade 8, part b uses Greek and Latin affixes and roots, such as precede, recede, secede. In grades 9-10, part b asks students to identify and correctly use changes such as analyze, analysis, analytical and advocate, advocacy.

What is a multiple-meaning word?

A multiple-meaning word has one spelling and two or more meanings, such as charge, current, pile and aspect.

These words are often harder than rare words, because readers think they already know them. Context decides which meaning is meant, and the part of speech is often the first clue.

Why use a 1913 dictionary in class?

An old dictionary shows how meanings change, and it is free to print and share because it is in the public domain.

It also records older senses that appear in older books, such as countenance meaning favor. For students' own writing, a current dictionary remains the reference to check.

Are context clues enough, or do students still need a dictionary?

Context is often enough for a rough meaning, but a dictionary is needed for a precise meaning, pronunciation or history, and for checking a guess.

Context can mislead with familiar words used in older senses, such as accidents meaning chance events. Part d of the standard exists for exactly that case.

How is L.9-10.4 tested?

L.9-10.4 is usually tested with words-in-context questions that ask what a word or phrase means as it is used in a passage.

The digital SAT Reading and Writing section includes such questions in its Craft and Structure domain, and many state tests do too. In class, strategy logs and short explanations show how a student reached a meaning.

Should students use online dictionaries?

Yes: the standard names both print and digital references, and online dictionaries add audio pronunciations.

Students should use a dictionary from a known publisher and read past the first definition to choose the sense that fits the sentence.

Why do some words change their stress when the ending changes?

Many English suffixes move the stress, so the same family can sound different: AN-i-mate but an-i-MA-tion.

A dictionary marks the stress for each form. Knowing the pattern helps students recognize a family member they have heard but never seen written.

How can parents help with vocabulary at home?

Ask your student to explain one unfamiliar word from their reading and how they figured it out.

Look up a multiple-meaning word together, such as table or strike, and count its senses. Talking about which clue helped matters more than memorizing lists.