Inside Language, Literacy, and Content [Level D]

Focus on Vocabulary: Use Context Clues: Specialized Vocabulary and Language

Context clues can help you figure out the meanings of special kinds of words.

• Technical words are words associated with science, trade, the arts, and other fields. Often, the meaning of a word depends on the field the word is used in. For example, in baseball, pitch means to throw the ball toward the batter. In music, pitch means how high or low a tone sounds.
• Figurative language is associated with creative texts, such as stories and poems. It goes beyond the literal meaning to create a mental image. For example, pulling the wool over someone’s eyes means to fool them.

How the Strategy Works

When you see a word that is confusing, use the context to figure out the meaning that makes the most sense.

1. Think about the topic of the text.
2. Reread the sentence and look for clues in the other words.
3. Read the sentences before and after to find more clues.
4. Check the word in a dictionary.

Follow the Strategy in Action to figure out the meaning of each underlined word. Identify technical terms and figurative language.

Is there a link between environmental education and teens’ behaviors? Scientific studies have established just a connection. They show that the more teens know about environmental issues, the more likely they are to care about them. Some of these teens have turned the tables on their elders. The young have become the leaders; older people have begun to follow.

Strategy in Action

“ I know that links in a chain connect to each other. I see connection in the next sentence about scientific studies. This tells me that the word link is figurative language for a scientific connection.”

Illustration of the check icon REMEMBER You can use the context of a word to figure out the meaning that fits in the situation.