• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Using context clues). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Use the clues in the sentence. What does the word in brackets mean? The water was so murky that we couldn't see the fish. (murky) (cloudy and dark / very deep / freezing cold / crystal clear) → cloudy and darkPrompt: Look at the other words in the sentence. What do they tell you?
2. Use context clues. What does the word in brackets most likely mean? The mayor's speech was laconic: just two sentences long. (laconic) (using few words / extremely long / very rude / full of jokes) → using few wordsPrompt: Look for signal words: unlike, despite, so…that, a colon or dash that explains.
3. Use the clues in the sentence. What does the word in brackets mean? The puppy was so famished that it ate two bowls of food in a minute. (famished) (very hungry / very dirty / very small / very sleepy) → very hungryPrompt: Look at the other words in the sentence. What do they tell you?

• Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
• Share the objective: Context clues: definitions and restatements. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Use the context clue to choose the meaning of the word in capitals. The hikers were FAMISHED — extremely hungry — after the six-hour climb.
• Step 1: Writers often define or restate a hard word right beside it, using commas, dashes, brackets or phrases like 'or', 'that is' and 'which means'.
• Step 2: So the answer is: extremely hungry
• Answer: extremely hungry
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Use the context clue to choose the meaning of the word in capitals. The scientist used a PIPETTE, or thin glass tube, to add one drop at a time. (a measuring jug / a microscope / a thin tube for moving small amounts of liquid / a type of chemical) → a thin tube for moving small amounts of liquidPrompt: Look for a clue right next to the word: commas, dashes, brackets, 'or', 'that is', 'which means'.
2. Which part of the sentence is the context clue that explains the word in capitals? The ruins were full of ARTEFACTS, or objects made by people long ago. (or objects made by people long ago / The ruins / were full of / long ago) → or objects made by people long agoPrompt: Look for a clue right next to the word: commas, dashes, brackets, 'or', 'that is', 'which means'.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Which part of the sentence is the context clue that explains the word in capitals? The speech was full of JARGON, specialist words that most listeners did not understand. (specialist words that most listeners did not understand / most listeners / full of / The speech was) → specialist words that most listeners did not understandPrompt: Look for a clue right next to the word: commas, dashes, brackets, 'or', 'that is', 'which means'.
2. Use the context clue to choose the meaning of the word in capitals. The museum displays ARTEFACTS — objects made by people long ago. (objects made by people in the past / ancient buildings / fossils of animals / old paintings only) → objects made by people in the pastPrompt: Look for a clue right next to the word: commas, dashes, brackets, 'or', 'that is', 'which means'.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-6.