CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4c
The Standard
Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use print and digital reference tools to investigate unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words. They identify the pronunciation, exact meaning, and part of speech that fit the word’s use in context.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students select the correct entry and meaning for the way a word is used in context. They can report its pronunciation and part of speech, then name the reference feature that gave the answer.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often choose the first definition without checking how the word is used in the sentence. They may treat thesaurus synonyms as interchangeable or confuse a word’s part of speech with its meaning. Pronunciation guides and entry abbreviations can also be misread.
How to Assess It
- Give students a sentence containing the word “conduct.” Ask them to use a reference source to record its meaning, part of speech, and pronunciation in that sentence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a print dictionary and word cards, then have them locate each word and label its pronunciation, meaning, and part of speech.
Ask students to explain in writing which meaning of “charge” fits a sentence and cite two details from the dictionary entry.
Play a reference relay where teams match words to pronunciation guides, definitions, and parts of speech before checking the full entries.
Have students find an unfamiliar word in a menu, headline, or game guide, then create a clear glossary entry for it.
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Printable L.6.4c Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4c, 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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Where This Standard Sits
Before This Standard
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What This Unlocks
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4c
Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precis...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4c
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word o...
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