CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.4

Description: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 4A, 4A

Exemplars

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

Description: Interpreting Word Meaning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-25

I-25

Grade level: 9
Word count: 2014 words
Author: Ellen Weitzenhofer
Synopsis: A caring person who enjoys helping people solve their problems might be interested in becoming a social worker.
Excerpt: I was naturally drawn to working at a summer camp for the disabled, to befriending a classmate who was often the object of ridicule, and to identifying elderly customers who needed additional assistance when I worked part-time jobs.

Do you notice when your parents are not feeling their best, when your friends are not getting along, or when your teachers seem to have something on their minds? If so, you have empathy, the ability to identify with and understand another's situation, feelings, and motives.

Question: Which sentence helps to explain the meaning of the word "empathy"?
  1. I was naturally drawn to befriending a classmate who was often the object of ridicule.
  2. I worked for the Department of Health, where I set up programs for providing care.
  3. During my teenage years I babysat for a family with a boy, named Derrick.
  4. I would arrange transportation for residents to local shopping areas.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain how the context of a selection helped you to understand a word or phrase you did not know.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

Description: Interpreting Word Meaning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-9

I-9

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1814 words
Author: Tamara Smith
Synopsis: Want to change the world? Then do what Wangari did: plant a tree.
Excerpt: Wangari devoted much of her time to the progression of democracy, human rights (particularly women's rights), and environmental issues. She served on many boards, contributing her expertise and perceptive genius about the intersection of poverty reduction and environmentalism. She spoke at the United Nations a number of times, addressing women's issues within the specific context of environmentalism at special sessions of the U.N.'s General Assembly.

Question: In this excerpt, the word "intersection" refers to
  1. the connection between two seemingly unrelated issues.
  2. the social gathering place where two or more village roads meet.
  3. the group of scientific elements that two or more sets have in common.
  4. the points at which two or more rivers cross one another.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain how the context of a selection helped you to understand a word or phrase you did not know.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions