Word Meanings in Stories
Aligned to RL.4.4 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
When you meet a tricky word in a story, the words around it often give hints about what it means. Some words even come from old myths — like a person being called 'a real hero' after a brave rescue. Use the story's clues to figure out the meaning.
Worked examples
Example 1
In the sentence 'The tired hikers finally reached the summit and cheered,' the words 'reached' and 'cheered' hint that a summit is the very top of the mountain.
Example 2
In 'The drought lasted so long the well ran dry,' the second half tells you a drought is a long time without rain.
Example 3
Some words have a plain meaning and a story meaning. A 'shadow' on a wall is one thing; 'a shadow fell over the group' is another.
Practice questions
- Find an unfamiliar word while reading and use the nearby sentences to guess its meaning.
- Explain what someone means if they call a strong friend 'a real Hercules.'
- Pick a word from a story and rewrite its sentence using an easier word that means the same thing.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
El Significado de las Palabras
Cuando encuentras una palabra difícil en una historia, las palabras a su alrededor suelen dar pistas de lo que significa. Algunas palabras incluso vienen de mitos antiguos — como llamar a alguien 'un verdadero héroe' después de un rescate valiente. Usa las pistas de la historia para deducir el significado.
Ejemplo 1: En la oración 'Los excursionistas cansados por fin llegaron a la cima y gritaron de alegría,' las palabras 'llegaron' y 'gritaron' sugieren que la cima es la parte más alta de la montaña.
Ejemplo 2: En 'La sequía duró tanto que el pozo se secó', la segunda mitad te dice que una sequía es un largo tiempo sin lluvia.
Ejemplo 3: Algunas palabras tienen un significado simple y uno narrativo. Una 'sombra' en la pared es una cosa; 'una sombra cayó sobre el grupo' es otra.
More Reading: Literature lessons
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