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 example
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.
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: 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.
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