CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4
The Standard
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Language Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use nearby text, prefixes, suffixes, roots, dictionaries, and glossaries to work out unfamiliar words. They choose a useful strategy, test the meaning in context, and explain their evidence.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a grade-level passage, students can state a fitting meaning and point to the context clue or word part that helped. They can use a reference source to confirm the meaning and select the correct entry for the sentence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose a familiar definition even when it does not fit the sentence. They may expect context to give a direct definition, split words incorrectly, or copy the first dictionary meaning.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: In “The dense fog made the trail obscure, so the hikers stopped,” define “obscure,” underline the clues, and name your strategy.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs prefix, root, and suffix cards to build words, predict meanings, and check each word in a dictionary.
Ask students to explain in writing: Which clue best reveals the word’s meaning, and why is another possible meaning wrong?
Play Context Clue Relay, where teams match sentence cards, target words, meanings, and clue types before explaining each match.
Have students find an unfamiliar word on a food label, game guide, or news article, then use two strategies to define it.
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Printable L.5.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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