21/03/2015

ConstructingMeaningwithContextClues,PriorKnowledge&WordStructureVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com

Menu

(/)

Course Navigator

Next Lesson (/academy/lesson/readingstrategies-using-visualization.html)

Constructing Meaning with Context Clues, Prior Knowledge & Word

Structure
Chapter 1 (/academy/topic/interpretingCourse Progress (/academy/course/analyzing-and-interpreting-literature.html#courseProgressAnchor)
literature.html)
/ Lesson 2

Video

Quiz

Help

Course

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Patrick Burke

In this lesson, you will learn how readers use prior knowledge, context clues and word structure to aid their
understanding of what they read. Explore these strategies through examples from literature and everyday
life.

Prior Knowledge
Reading requires a lot from our brains. We decode out each word, put those words together
into sentences and paragraphs, and hold all of the information in our working memory as we
go. There is another aspect of reading we do without thinking much about it: activating our
https://study.com/academy/lesson/constructingmeaningwithcontextcluespriorknowledgewordstructure.html

1/5

21/03/2015

ConstructingMeaningwithContextClues,PriorKnowledge&WordStructureVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com

prior knowledge.
Prior knowledge is the information we carry around with us, and all the previous experiences
we call up when reading. For example, when we read a book about sea turtles, we recall
everything we already know about the subject of turtles and related topics like the ocean and
reptiles.
Prior knowledge gives us a foundation to build upon, so when we read about a broad topic,
like U.S. current events, we don't have to start all over again from the beginning. Just as
knowing a bit about each U.S. state helps you to understand a national newspaper, it helps if
you already know what a turtle is and what they look like when reading about sea turtles.
When we read a novel, we make connections to what we already know, including connections
to other works of literature. Through different reading experiences we develop expectations of
specic genres, say, mystery or romance novels, and start to recognize the literary conventions
authors use.
Prior knowledge is also particularly helpful when reading historical ction, where knowing even
a little bit about the past can assist you as a reader. Think about how our understanding of the
history of slavery in the Southern United States could aid our understanding of books like
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Toni Morrison's Beloved, and Margaret
Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, all of which deal with slavery (and slavery's legacy) through very
different perspectives.

Context Clues
When faced with a word we don't know, especially when reading, we often use the context in
which the word is used to determine its meaning.
Take, for example, this quote from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain,
'The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was
rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow
was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out.'
You might not have immediately recognized the word 'sivilize' by sight, but if you read it aloud
you might notice that it sounds like 'civilize,' which matches the Widow Douglas' plans for
Huck. If you didn't know what the word 'dismal' meant, you could look at the rest of the
sentence - 'rough living,' 'couldn't stand it any longer' - and know 'dismal' wasn't a good thing.
Context clues provide readers with enough information that they can infer or make an
educated guess about the meaning of a word. Often, context clues mean we don't have to
check an online dictionary or other reference material, allowing us to continue reading with
less disruption.
Here is another example from the novel The Golden Notebook by British writer Doris Lessing:
'I don't think I really saw people then, except as appendages to my needs.'

https://study.com/academy/lesson/constructingmeaningwithcontextcluespriorknowledgewordstructure.html

2/5

21/03/2015

ConstructingMeaningwithContextClues,PriorKnowledge&WordStructureVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com

If you didn't know what 'appendages' meant, you could use the context clues in the rest of the
sentence to gure it out. The speaker says she wasn't able to 'see people' except for how they
could serve her needs, making an 'appendage' something that is secondary to a primary
object.

Word Structure
In addition to drawing on prior knowledge and using context clues, we also use our knowledge
of word structure to aid us when reading. Word structure describes how words are formed
and can be broken down into component parts.
A word, like 'disenchanted,' can be broken down into smaller parts. First, there is the root word
'enchant,' which you might know as meaning either 'to delight' or 'to put under a spell.' The
prex 'dis-' has a negative or opposite effect on a word, so the result is the opposite: neither
enchanting nor delightful. Finally, the sux or ending '-ed' changes the word to the past tense.
We can employ our knowledge of words and word parts to gure out the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
Here's another example: 'Ancient Greeks believed in a geocentric universe.' Take the word
'geocentric.' You might recognize the root 'geo-' from other words like 'geography', 'geology',
and 'geode'. As you probably already know, 'geography' is both the charting of land and the
class in school where you study maps.
In fact, the root 'geo-' comes from the Greek for 'earth description'.
'Geocentric' also contains another familiar root, 'centr,' which we've seen before in words like
'center,' 'central,' and even the baseball position 'centereld.' So, we can infer 'geocentric' has
something to do with the center of the earth or the earth being the center of something.
Depending on the context of the sentence, we can likely gure out which denition is correct.
Since the sentence discusses 'a geocentric universe,' we can assume that the ancient Greeks
believed that the Earth was at the center of the universe.

Lesson Summary
Prior knowledge, context clues and word structure are all ways to support our understanding
when we read. Prior knowledge consists of all of the collective experiences and know-how we
bring to the table when we read, including everything we've previously read and studied. We
use context clues, or the information surrounding an unfamiliar word or phrase, to determine
its meaning. Word structure describes how words can be broken into parts like word roots,
prexes and suxes.

Share

Feedback

Rate

https://study.com/academy/lesson/constructingmeaningwithcontextcluespriorknowledgewordstructure.html

3/5

21/03/2015

ConstructingMeaningwithContextClues,PriorKnowledge&WordStructureVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com

Explore our library of over 10,000 lessons

Search
Search Lessons and Courses

or Browse
Browse by subject

(http://www.facebook.com/EducationPortalcom) (http://twitter.com/studydotcom)
(https://plus.google.com/116202902421420650540/posts)

Follow Us:

(http://www.youtube.com/user/EducationPortalVideo/)
Home (/) | About Us (/pages/About_Us.html) | Careers (/pages/Employment.html) |
Teach for Us (/pages/Contractors.html) | FAQ (http://support.study.com) | Contact Support
(http://www.bbb.org/sanjose/business-reviews/educational-consultants/remilon1000006412#bbbseal)
Terms of Use (/pages/terms_of_use.html)| Privacy Policy (/pages/privacy_policy.html)
copyright 2003- 2015 Study.com. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights
reserved.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/constructingmeaningwithcontextcluespriorknowledgewordstructure.html

4/5

21/03/2015

ConstructingMeaningwithContextClues,PriorKnowledge&WordStructureVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com

https://study.com/academy/lesson/constructingmeaningwithcontextcluespriorknowledgewordstructure.html

5/5