Scott Foresman Reading Street

Vocabulary Strategy

Use context clues to determine word meaning.

INTRODUCE

Remind students of strategies they can use when they encounter unknown words.

Look for context clues.
Decide whether a word with a similar meaning, a synonym, is a context clue.
Try the synonym to see if it makes sense in the context.

TEACH

Discuss the steps on p. 610 for using context clues.
Have students read "Gone to the Moon," paying attention to how vocabulary is used.
Model using synonyms to determine the meaning of taunted.

MODEL Sometimes when I
see an unfamiliar word, I can
find a synonym near it that will

give me its meaning. In paragraph 2, the text says that the "moon still taunted us" and then it uses the word teased. So taunted means almost the same thing as teased.

then… use Tested Vocabulary Cards.

If… students need more practice with the lesson vocabulary,

Context Clues

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students determine the meaning of trudged using the synonym on p. 611, paragraph 4. (plod) You may also wish to point out that the paragraph includes leaped, a verb whose meaning contrasts with trudged.
Have students determine the meanings of the remaining words and explain the context clues they used.
If you gave category clues for vocabulary words (p. 610b), ask students to write their own category clues.
Have students complete Practice Book p. 245.

WRITE Writing should include

vocabulary words and other words that describe walking on the moon and the physical features of the moon.

Practice Book p. 245

with | without Answers

As you read “Gone to the Moon,” look for
synonyms to help you understand the
meanings of the vocabulary words.

Try the synonym in place of the word in the
sentence. Does it make sense?

Look at the sentences around the sentence
with the unknown word. The author may use a
synonym there.

Look at the sentence in which the unknown word
appears. The author may give a synonym in the
same sentence.

Context Clues Sometimes when you are
reading, you see a word you don’t know. The
author may give you a synonym for the word. A synonym is a word that has the same or almost
the same meaning as another word. Look for a synonym. It can help you understand the
meaning of the word you don’t know.

Vocabulary Strategy
for Synonyms

Try the strategy.
Then, if you need
more help, use
your glossary
or a dictionary.

staggered

trudged

trench

rille

loomed

summoning

taunted

runt

     Imagine how their hearts
raced as the moon loomed
before them. Imagine their awe
as two of them stepped where
no person had ever set foot.
They saw craters and a rille, a
narrow valley that looks like a
trench.
     With every step, they
leaped rather than trudged.
(On Earth, because of gravity,
we plod along.) It was easy to
pick up moon rocks under whose weight they would have
staggered and stumbled on Earth.
     Was it worth it to go to the
moon? Yes!

People have long dreamed
of going to the moon. Maybe this is because the moon circles so close by. No other thing in space
is closer to Earth. How could we not conquer this small thing,
this runt?
When the machine age
arrived, the moon still taunted us.
“I’m so close,” it teased. “Why
don’t you come on up?” In 1969,
three people did. Summoning all
our knowledge and technology,
we sent them into space and
guided them to the moon. They
had to call on all their bravery
to blast off into the unknown.

Imagine you made a trip to the moon. Write a journal entry describing a walk on the moon. Use words
from the Words to Know list.



	Close
	Access Content Use ELL Poster 25 to preteach vocabulary. Choose from the following to meet language proficiency levels. Beginning Complete vocabulary frames for challenging words. Intermediate Have one student write the vocabulary words on a set of cards and another write the matching definitions on the backs. Advanced Teach the lesson on pp. 610–611. Revisit the category clues given for vocabulary words (p. 610b). Encourage students to add words to each category. Resources for home-language words may include parents, bilingual staff members, bilingual dictionaries, or online translation sources. Context Clues List each vocabulary word and write its synonym. Check meanings in a dictionary.