CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4
The Standard
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students figure out what unfamiliar words and phrases mean in grade-level informational texts. They use nearby words, pictures, examples, and text features as clues.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students explain an unfamiliar word using clues from the sentence, nearby sentences, pictures, or text features. They choose a meaning that fits the topic and point to evidence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may guess from one nearby word or choose a meaning they already know. They may overlook pictures, examples, definitions, headings, or other clues in the text.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short paragraph with one bold word. Ask them to write its meaning and underline two clues that support their answer.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs animal fact cards and meaning cards; students underline context clues and match each bold word to its meaning.
Ask, "What does habitat mean here, and which words or pictures helped you decide?"
Play Context Clue Bingo by reading short passages while students cover the meaning that fits each highlighted word.
Read a school lunch menu and use descriptions or pictures to work out unfamiliar food words.
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Printable RI.2.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Reading: Informational Text progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of stra...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
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