I disagree. Often, context clues do work, but not always. When they don't, they can rely on morphology. If they don't know a root or can't figure out the parts of a word, well, they need to decide if it is essential that they know the meaning. If not, they can skip it. That is what real readers do. I *never* sit with a dictionary and look up every word I do not know. I use context clues and morphology, and then if I don't absolutely need to know the meaning, I move on. Later, if I'm interested, I might look up the word, but usually not.
Teaching context clues is not just about a couple of strategies. There are many, and they all require thinking. Sometimes commas will set off the definition, often a sentence before or after will give clue, or sometimes you have to read the whole paragraph. And sometimes, yes, there will be no context clues. This is why students need a variety of strategies to use. I don't see the point of teaching the students the names of the types of contexts - it's just something else for them to memorize, and really doesn't serve to help them. But teaching them how to figure out words is powerful. But it cannot be just one or two strategies. On Feb 3, 2008 4:24 PM, Linda Crumrine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think we need to teach our students that they should try context > clues, but that they often do not work. Beck teaches there are 4 > types of context, and this is what I teach my students. Here is an > example of each type of context: > Categories of Natural Context: > > Misdirective - There's a wireless and lots of books. > > Nondirective - Paula put down her pirn, wrapped herself in a > paduasoy, and entered puerperium. > > General Context - Eagles eat carrion mostly in the winter, when other > food is hard to find. > > Directive Context - Eagles have talons, or claws, to help hold > slippery, wriggling fish. > > I think when we teach context, we also need to teach flexibility of > thinking. > > > > > On Feb 3, 2008, at 7:05 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > we do not do any dictionary work in my high school classroom. > > they are > > struggling readers and i have found the dictionary will not help. > > they are not > > inclined to work their way through the definitions to find the > > correct one. > > would they not have to understand the context anyway to find the > > correct > > dictionary meaning? we use context clues to find the definition > > because they will > > not have a dictionary to use during a test or the SAT and sadly, > > they will > > not make the effort to use one when they come across a word they > > do not > > understand when reading anytime. > > > > *\l/**\l/**\l/*Lynn*\l/**\l/**\l/* > > Once you learn to read, you will be forever free" > > > > -Frederick Douglass > > http://readingsisters101.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. > > (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy? > > NCID=aolcmp003000000025 > > 48) > > _______________________________________________ > > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http:// > > literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
