Context Clues Strategy


Look for How Something Is Done EXAMPLE: The witness took her oath by swearing to tell the truth.


CLUE: This sentence explains the meaning of the word oath by telling how a person takes an oath in a court of law. The sentence makes it clear that the oath involves a promise, or solemn statement, about telling the truth.


Here is another strategy for using context clues to figure out the meaning of new words, such as alibi from the essay on page 182.


Read the sentence with the unknown word and some of the sentences around it.


These opposing lawyers may try to establish an alibi by showing that the accused wasn’t at the crime scene when the crime was committed.


••••• Look for context clues to the word’s meaning. What clues to


How Something Is Done do you find? •••••


The sentence says that establishing an alibi involves showing that the accused person wasn’t there when the crime was committed.


Think about the context clues and other information you may already know.


•••••


I have seen detective shows on television in which someone accused of a crime tries to provide an alibi to prove he or she could not have committed the crime during a certain time.


Predict a meaning for the word. •••••


I think alibi means “proof that a person was somewhere else.”


Check your Word Wisdom Dictionary to be sure of the meaning. Which of the meanings fits the context? •••••


In this context, alibi means “a claim to have been somewhere else when a crime was committed.”


Have one student read aloud the Example sentence. Ask students which words or phrases in the sentence help tell what an oath is. An oath is taken by swearing to tell the truth. Explain that an oath is a promise to tell the truth or act in a certain way.


Law and Order Part 1 183 PRACTICE


Part 1 Daily Planner Day 1


Day 2


Day 3 Day 4 Day 5


Page(s) to Use


Pretest, p. T255 Introduce Unit Theme, p. 182 Unlock Through Context Reading Selection, p. 182


Introduce Context Clues Strategy, p. 183


Unlock the Meanings, p. 184 Unlock the Meanings, p. 185 Process the Meanings, p. 186


Apply What You’ve Learned, p. 187


Write It!, p. 187 Posttest, p. T255


Practice the strategy. Use context clues.


Choose the correct words.


Write the sentences. Connect the words. Complete the sentences. Apply skills to writing.


Assess students’ knowledge.


Unit 9 Law and Order Part 1 T183


Strategy/Skills Assess prior knowledge.


Read words in context.


WORD LIST compliance forensic culprit


circumstantial surveillance perpetrate prosecution alibi


injurious acquit


Have students use the Five-Step Process on this page—Read, Look, Think, Predict, and Check—to understand the meaning of alibi. Remind students that clues that tell how something is done, as well as other context clues, do not necessari- ly appear in the same sentence in which the word appears.


Context Clues Strategy:


Look for How Something Is Done


OBJECTIVE Students will C learn this unit’s specific context clues strategy to help them unlock the meanings of new words.


GUIDE STUDENTS Tell students that they are about to learn a final context clues strategy, Look For How Something Is Done. This type of clue provides informa- tion related to actions. It may name steps in a process or activities that are related to the word. Often, these steps or actions are introduced in a phrase that begins with the word by. Explain that students will once again use the Five-Step Process to find the meanings of unfamiliar words in context.


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