Academic Vocabulary
Context Clues
From the Texts!
Content Words
Words in Action
100

the ability to understand something

What is "comprehend"?

100
  1. Fill in the blank

  2. Now that she had hit three home runs, she felt ______ that she had a place on the team.

    A. available

    B. potential

    C. secure


What is "secure"?

100

defined as physically weak, unhealthy, delicate, or easily broken or damaged

What is "frail'?

from "Thank You, M'am"

100

The reason an author writes a text

What is Author's Purpose?

100


Although Maya was nervous about the science presentation, she tried to remain composed as she walked up to the podium. She took a deep breath, smiled at her classmates, and began speaking clearly.


Based on the context of the passage, what does the word composed show about Maya's actions?

  • A. She was trying to look organized and prepared.
  • B. She was trying to hide her nervousness by acting calm and cool.
  • C. She was planning to write down her thoughts quickly.
  • D. She was showing that she was angry about the project.

What is B? 

B. She was trying to hide her nervousness by acting calm and cool.




200

Going beyond the author's words to understand what is not being said in the text

What is "Inferencing"?

200
  1. A crossing guard at a school works to ________ the safety of the children while they are crossing the street.

    A. ensure

    B. convene

    C. rely

What is "Ensure"?

200

a question or comment that you write directly on a text to capture your reaction to what you are reading

What is "annotation"?
200


.

A writer uses dark, stormy imagery, eerie sounds, and isolated settings to create a feeling of suspense and dread for the reader. What literary term describes this overall atmosphere experienced by the reader?

A. Tone
B. Mood
C. Theme
D. Plot


What is B?

 Mood is the emotional atmosphere or climate that a piece of writing creates for the audience or reader.

200

The robotics team followed its written instructions and completed the steps needed to run the program.

What did the team do?

A. They executed the plan

B. They questioned the plan without acting

C. They erased the plan

D. They delayed the plan indefinitely

What is "A"?

To execute something is to carry it out or complete it.

300

To understand the word's meaning, the teacher told the students to look at the surrounding text for helpful _________ clues.

What is "Context"? 

(Context Clues)

300
  1. We shop there because we can ______ or depend on that store to sell only the freshest fruits and vegetables.

    A. dominate

    B. rely

    C. ensure

What is "rely"?

300

Even when the hike became steep and tiring, Amira stayed determined to reach the summit and kept

moving forward. Amira was resolute. What does RESOLUTE mean?

A. Easily distracted

B. Unsure of every choice

C. Firmly determined

D. Unwilling to begin

What is "C" Firmly determined?

300

Memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, personal narratives are all examples of.....

What is Literary Nonfiction?

300

One article explains steps in order, while another compares two animals and describes their differences.

The authors organized the information in different ways. What are these ways called?

A. Text structures

B. Inferences

C. Author messages

D. Revisions

What are Text Structures?

400


Before giving your final speech, you should _________ your main arguments to make sure your audience can easily follow your logic.


  • A) emphasize
  • B) contradict
  • C) isolate
  • D) modify


What is "Emphasize"?

400

 Kai ambition is to become an engineer, design useful machines, and attend college. What does

ambition mean?

A. Annotations

B. Goals

C. Text structures

D. Revisions

What are "Goals"?

400

23. The tablet transmitted a photo to the classroom computer, and the image appeared on the computer

screen a moment later. What does transmitted mean?


A. Deleted from every device

B. Moved from one machine to another

C. Printed on paper only

D. Changed into a drawing by hand

What is "B" Moved from one machine to another?

400

 the 5 Author's Purposes

What is Persuade, Entertain, Inform, Explain, and Describe?

400


.

An author writes, "The ancient oak tree groaned and clawed at the windowpane during the fierce storm." How does the specific choice of the verbs groaned and clawed impact the scene?

A. It makes the tree sound friendly and welcoming.

B. It personifies the tree, giving it a menacing and living quality that adds suspense.

C. It describes the scientific process of how trees grow.

D. It shows that the storm is happening on a sunny day.



What is B? 

Personification is giving human actions (groaning and clawing) to a non-human object creates vivid, eerie imagery and builds suspense. 

500

to judge, appraise, or calculate the quality, importance, amount, or value of someone or something

What is "evaluate"?

500

It is difficult to imagine a surfeit of talent in one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein simply does not have the time to make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer, and lecturer.

What does the word surfeit mean in this sentence?


A) A complete lack
B) An excess or overabundance
C) A hidden type
D) A steady decline  

What is "B"? 

B — The context shows that Bernstein has so much talent across multiple fields—conductor, performer, writer, and lecturer—that he cannot use it all).

500

Only the team's most skilled runners qualified for the special race. They were considered the elite

runners in their group. What does elite mean?

A. Least experienced

B. Best in their group

C. Most recently hired

D. Most frequently absent

What is "B" The best in their group?

500


Which of the following best defines the term "connotation"?

A. The literal dictionary definition of a word without any emotional or personal associations.

B. The emotional or cultural meaning and feeling associated with a word beyond its literal definition.

C. An intentional exaggeration used for emphasis or dramatic comedic effect in a narrative.

D. A direct comparison between two unlike things  without using the words "like" or "as."

hint

Think about how certain words make you feel (such as the difference between "slim" and "skinny") rather than what you would look up in a strict dictionary lookup.

What is B? The emotional or cultural meaning and feeling associated with a word beyond its literal definition.


 

500


The coach praised the soccer team for their tenacious defense during the championship game.




If the author replaced the word tenacious with the word stubborn, how would the meaning or tone of the sentence change?

  • A. It would make the defense sound lazy and poorly trained.
  • B. It would make the defense sound funny and lighthearted.
  • C. It would shift the tone from a positive compliment to a slightly negative criticism.
  • D. It would not change the meaning or tone of the sentence at all.

What is C? It would shift the tone from a positive compliment to a slightly negative criticism. 

Tenacious implies hard-working and persistent, while stubborn can imply being difficult or uncooperative.