• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Having Fun First

Helping you to creatively reach all your unique learners

Subscribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Shop Website
    • Teachers Pay Teachers
    • Amazon Storefront
  • FREEBIE
  • Curriculum
  • Contact

on March 29, 2022 · Leave a Comment

5 Reading Comprehension Activities for Context Clues

Hey there friends,

I hope you’re having a great week. Here at my house, we are getting excited about some consistent sunshine. You’re probably saying, “Man she mentions being excited about the sun a lot.” Yeah, I sure do, but I live in Washington state and we have 7 seasons here… Fall, Winter, Gray, Spring Teaser, Spring, and Summer. I’m not quite to the “angry at the gray rainy weather stage” yet, but it’s a fine line I’m walking. Ha!

So with the sunshine in mind, I made sure to bring some light-hearted, happy, yet engaging texts into my guided reading comprehension and writing curriculum this week. This week’s focus in the Guided Reading with a Purpose Curriculum is all about teaching context clues. So, I’m sharing with you the ways I introduce my students to context clues through guided reading activities with mentor texts full of new vocabulary. These activities for context clues are designed to help you teach your students how to decipher new vocabulary.

books and activities for context clues

Mentor Texts & Activities for Context Clues

The following 5 mentor texts each have accompanying resources that will help you dive into context clues with your students as well as a unique craft, writing prompts, graphic organizers, story element posters, anchor chart headers, focused worksheets to deepen understanding, book talk questions, parent connection materials, check for understanding materials, lesson plan ideas, and more. Click on the images below to preview each resource.

“The Curious Garden”

This is a book that definitely has a Springtime/Earth Day vibe when a young boy explores an abandoned railroad track to find a dying garden. He visits it daily, puts in the work, and his once gray dreary town becomes taken over with beautiful greenery and life.

The Curious Garden activities for context clues

“Chrysanthemum”

This book is a classic Kevin Henkes story. You can always count on his books for a great lesson, wonderfully written characters, and laughter. I love this mentor text for the social-emotional learning about teasing and being confident, but also for the descriptive vocabulary.

Chrysanthemum activities for context clues

“The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors ”

This book is packed with engaging language as well as an equally engaging storyline for students. Expect lots of laughter. This story follows the small moments of rock, paper, and scissors as they go in search of worthy foes. Kids will read a funny tale of how the game rock, paper scissors came to be.

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors activities for context clues

“Strange Planet”

This book will be a huge hit and explores vocabulary in an extremely fun way. I love that students use context clues without even realizing it to decipher the language the aliens use in this fictional story. My own boys LOVED this book and have read it several times.

“Verdi”

This story of a young snake trying to outrun growing up is packed with vocabulary to explore with your young readers. Every book I have picked up that’s written by Janell Cannon offers wonderful vocabulary, engaging plots, and beautiful illustrations. They can be longer books for a read-aloud, but worth the teachable opportunities inside.

Verdi activities for context clues

The books listed above are excellent for practicing context clue reading comprehension strategies and a few of them also lend to some great social-emotional learning conversations. If you don’t already have access to a copy of these books you can click on the book titles above to view them in my Amazon store. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

The resources above can also be purchased all together in my Context Clues Bundle.

Activities for Context Clues bundle

Why am I directly teaching context clues to my 2nd graders?

Though context clues aren’t officially in the common core standards until 3rd and 4th grade I know that by exposing my students to these reading comprehension strategies now I am providing a valuable foundation for their future studies. The background will increase confidence now as they are confronted with new vocabulary and when they are challenged moving forward. Still wondering about teaching this concept? Let’s pause and look at the books in our students’ hands. Our students’ reading levels are all over the place, and these years are huge for growth in not only fluency and comprehension but confidence. If we aid our students with tools to begin tackling new vocabulary we are winning!

Why “IDEAS” when teaching context clues?

Inference
Define or Restate
Examples or Explain
Antonyms (Opposite Meaning)
Synonyms (Same Meaning)

As teachers, when we are looking for strategies to deliver new content we must consider all styles of learning, as well as our audience. As a kid and even as an adult acronyms have helped me tremendously with recall and application of my thoughts. As a result, I try to incorporate this strategy when I can. Having concrete strategies and terms my students can use to tackle the unknown provides predictability, routine, and decreases the anxieties of reading harder text. I tell students that context clues are hints we can regularly find in a sentence, paragraph, or passage that can help us understand the meanings of unknown words.
I chose to focus on context clues in this week’s resources primarily focusing on the IDEAS (Inference, Define, Explain, Antonym and Synonyms) strategy. I also made sure to include picture clues, which is so important for our young readers.

vocabulary worksheets and activities for context clues

Tips for Teaching Context Clues

  1. Make sure your students are familiar with antonyms, synonyms, and inferencing.
  2. When introducing, focus on one strategy at a time.
  3. Keep mentor posters with prompts displayed to support all learners.
  4. Model using context clues in your teaching, for example, when you read aloud.
  5. Let them practice, practice, practice at school and home.

To help the at-home support you can send home this FREE context clue bookmark!

Simple Mini-Lesson Idea for Teaching Context Clues

Tell students that as we read we encounter unfamiliar words. We will be learning about how to figure out the meaning of those words using a few different strategies. Here are a few examples from one of my resources that you can use or modify to make your own. I just want to show you an approachable strategy for teaching these concepts that is not overwhelming. I simply wrote sentences using a word they would know and replaced it with a made-up word. This helps to focus on the concepts and increase that confidence.

Inferencing
My hands were freezing because I forgot to put on my topogottens.

Definition
Greg was always yopper. He never made it to class on time.

Example/Explain
We saw many lippos, such as beetles, bees and ants.

Antonyms/Synonyms
When I looked at the rollercoaster, I wished I had felt excited like my brother, but I felt finger.

You are doing a great thing preparing your students for success and increased confidence in their reading. Please contact me with any questions, or strategies you love using when teaching new vocabulary to your students, and don’t forget to grab your FREE materials for teaching context clues.

Free materials for teaching context clues

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Kacie Brown Having Fun First signature

Filed Under: Curriculum, FREEBIE, guided reading Tagged With: Context Clues, Guided Reading with a Purpose

Previous Post: « Virtual Earth Day Activities, Earth Day Read Alouds, & More!
Next Post: Pass, Shoot, Score! Basketball Nonfiction Readers and a Free Text Feature Scavenger Hunt »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Shop the Site

Visit the Shop


Shop Featured Materials + Resources

Shop Amazon

Subscribe

Sign up to gain access to valuable free resources, encouraging tips and sale alerts.

Find it Fast

Read by Category

Popular Posts

Meaningful End of the Year Gifts for Students
Guided Reading Program: Guided Reading With A Purpose!
Compare and Contrast Reading Passages from Fairy Tales
Buzzing with Excitement for Insects Reading Comprehension & Author’s Purpose Activities
Encouraging a Growth Mindset for Kids
Back to School Activities for 2nd Grade {with FREEBIES}
5 Reading Comprehension Activities for Context Clues
Travel Vacation Journal for Students
Polar Animal Unit with a Free Nonfiction Text Features Worksheet
Math Toolkit

Grab My Button

Grab My Button

Subscribe

Sign up to gain access to valuable free resources, encouraging tips and sale alerts.

Footer

Latest on Facebook

Latest on Instagram

Check out my latest blogpost all about space learn Check out my latest blogpost all about space learning in the classroom and ideas for teaching fiction vs. nonfiction.

Did I mention the freebie?! 

#havingfunfirstblog #teacherblogger #teacherbloggers #educationblog #nasa #spacelearning #spaceexploration #spaceeducation #blogposts #teachersfollowingteachers #teachersfollowteachers #teacher #teachersoftpt #teacherspayteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #secondgradeteacher  #teaching #iteachtoo #teachercreated #igteachers #havingfunfirst #igconnect4edu
Though our weather can’t decide if it’s going Though our weather can’t decide if it’s going to be spring yet, the animals and insects are out and about here in Washington. With the arrival of spring brings one of my favorite nonfiction units… insects! 

In my Insect Nonfiction Unit, I have 7 non-fiction passages about different insects with reading comprehension activities to go with each. The unit also includes compare and contrast activities, labeling diagrams, an insect observation journal, graphing our favorite insects, solving insect-themed math problems, and even a digital BOOM card deck all about insects!

👋🏻 click on the link in my profile to check out this jam packed insect unit! 

#insect #insects #insectsofinstagram #bugsofinstagram #insectsandbugs #insectunit #studyinsects #nonfiction #nonfictionunit #teachersfollowingteachers #teachersfollowteachers #teacher #teachersoftpt #teacherspayteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #secondgradeteacher  #teaching #iteachtoo #teachercreated #igteachers #havingfunfirst #igconnect4edu
I am so excited to post this bundle! It was defini I am so excited to post this bundle! It was definitely a labor of love ha! 

This unit has 5 printable passages of classic fairytales allowing you to easily compare and contrast with the featured fractured fairytale. 

I absolutely love the crafts, included a ton of extra details to help you deliver lessons with ease and all the usual treasures that come with my reading comprehension units! 

This is a great unit to support narrative writing as well! 

👋🏻 click on the link in my profile to see this bundle up close and ALSO save 20% 🎉 for the next 24 hours!! 

#readingcommunity #readingcomprehension #readingcomprehensionstrategies #readingcomprehensionskills #fairytales #fracturedfairytales #fracturedfairytale #craftsofinstagram #teachersfollowingteachers #teachersfollowteachers #teacher #teachersoftpt #teacherspayteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #secondgradeteacher  #teaching #iteachtoo #teachercreated #igteachers #havingfunfirst #igconnect4edu
I love these boys… even though they drive me so I love these boys… even though they drive me so nuts some days. 😂 #kids #lovethem #myboys #testingmealways
Looking for a fun nonfiction unit to do with your Looking for a fun nonfiction unit to do with your nuggets this spring? 

You should check out my Tide Pool and Ocean Animal & Biome Unit packed with fun activities, engaging nonfiction passages with reading comprehension, writing prompts, graphic organizers, report templates, morning work options, exciting math centers, literacy interactive centers and more. 

It has all the resources that you need for a fun and educational tide pool or ocean animal research unit!

👋🏻 Click on the link in my profile to check out this fun unit! 

#tidepool #tidepools #oceanactivities #oceanstudy #oceananimals #tidepoolanimals #nonfiction #researchproject #teachersfollowingteachers #teachersfollowteachers #teacher #teachersoftpt #teacherspayteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #secondgradeteacher  #teaching #iteachtoo #teachercreated #igteachers #havingfunfirst #igconnect4edu
Have you ever spent hours making end of the year s Have you ever spent hours making end of the year slideshows? Or have wanted to create something but didn’t have the time?⁣
⁣
Ummmm... it’s happy dance time because this super fun resource thats simple to use will make your creative life so much easier!⁣
⁣
I have created memory book templates that act as frames for teachers to make those school year photos pop! ⁣
⁣
They are so easy to use too! I already have each template in PowerPoint and Google Slides ready for you to make your own unique keepsake for your nuggets. I even included an instructional video if you need it! ⁣
⁣
There are over 80 unique slides with a variety of colors and layouts for you to choose from! 🤩Black and whites templates also included! ⁣
⁣
I have templates in the follow color themes:

🎨 BRIGHT
🎨 BRIGHT 🌈 Rainbow
🌸 PASTEL 
🌸 PASTEL 🌈 Rainbow
⛰ EARTH TONES 
⁣
👋🏻⁣ You need to click 👉🏻on the link in my profile to check this out! ⁣🥳
⁣
All images are hand drawn. ⁣
⁣
#endoftheyear #endoftheyeargifts #endoftheyearparty #endofyeargifts #endofschoolyear #endofschool #memorybooks #slideshow #endofyearslideshow 
#memorybook #memorybooks #distancelearning #endofyear #digitalart ⁣

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Latest on Pinterest

Copyright © 2022 · BRANDING + WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN