Spanish Language Arts.4.3.B

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The student is expected to

use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the relevant meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple-meaning words;

Artes del lenguaje y lectura en español.4.3.B

Se espera que el estudiante

use el contexto dentro y fuera de la oración para determinar el significado relevante de palabras desconocidas o de palabras de significado múltiple;

TEKS Talk - SLA Vocabulary image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.

Proporcione una hoja de trabajo que contiene varias palabras que tienen varios significados, por ej., banco 1) institución financiera; 2) mueble para sentarse; 3) conjunto de peces; planta 1) parte inferior del pie; 2) vegetal 3) lugar donde se trabaja, sinónimo de fábrica; café 1) color marrón; 2) bebida hecha con semillas de café; 3) planta que produce semillas de café; mango 1) fruta; 2) agarradera de una herramienta o utensilio de cocina; entre otras. Forme equipos de trabajo de tres integrantes y pídales que lean las palabras. Cada equipo pasa al frente a representar con mímica uno de los significados de la palabra. El grupo tiene que identificar cuál de los significados están representando. Posteriormente, pídales que escriban oraciones que correspondan a cada uno de los significados. Revise el trabajo hecho.


Further Explanation

Los estudiantes amplían su vocabulario al buscar el significado que corresponde al contexto en que se encuentra la palabra que contiene diferentes significados.

Frequently, words require context to understand their intended usage. Many words in the Spanish language look or sound like other words with completely different meanings. These multiple-meaning words require the students to use the information around the word, either spoken or written, to determine how the word should be interpreted. Multiple-meaning words are also known as homonyms. Multiple-meaning words are challenging in reading because readers must rely solely on the context to know which form of a word is being used. For example, the word pila could refer to a group of things lying one upon the other or to an electric battery. In the following sentence, La pila de libros no me dejaba ver el pizarrón, it’s clear which meaning of pila the writer intends.
The meaning of a word is relevant when it connects directly with the matter at hand. Since words often have more than one meaning, they can be used in different ways and in diverse contexts. Students are required to investigate the meaning of a word that logically connects to the sentence, paragraph or text being read. For instance, the word banco (bank) relates to both a financial institution or the rising ground bordering a river. If the text being read is about landforms, the first meaning (financial institution) is irrelevant, whereas the second one is directly connected to the topic.
Authors often include hints, or clues, to help the reader understand unfamiliar words. These hints are found in words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms), word parts (e.g., affixes and roots), phrases (e.g., definitions, examples), and sentence structure (conjunctions that signal relationships between ideas.) Students use the words or sentences that precede or follow a specific word or sentence to help them determine meaning.