Vermont Grade 2 English

Use Context to Explain an Informational Word

Determine a word’s meaning in a topic text. Use the original reading below to discuss a particular skill, then apply that reasoning to a fuller classroom text.

Curriculum reference: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy, June 2010 edition, from the Vermont English language arts standards page.

Vermont Grade 2 references for this activity

The Vermont Agency of Education identifies the Common Core State Standards for K–12 English language arts. The linked CCSS edition lists separate grade reading requirements, including Grade 2. The agency also identifies Vermont Early Learning Standards for prekindergarten through Grade 3. Read the complete standards and the school’s curriculum sequence. This original example selects one reading focus; it does not fulfill the complete curriculum.

These selected reference labels identify an activity focus, with the correct grade and PDF page linked separately. Read the complete standards selected by the school and its learning sequence, including reading, writing, language, speaking, and listening. This short original example does not fulfill the entire curriculum or establish a student’s grade-level proficiency.

Why the jar has a lid

This original classroom example is separate from official assessment questions.

In this classroom observation, a jar holds dry seeds. Its lid makes a barrier between the seeds and the space outside. A barrier is something that blocks a path. With the lid in place, seeds cannot fall out through the opening when the jar is gently tilted. The observation says nothing about whether the lid keeps out water.

Try the activity

What does “barrier” mean here? Use the definition and the example together. Does “barrier” mean that this lid blocks everything under every condition?

Follow the reasoning

The passage defines a barrier as something that blocks a path. Its particular example is the lid blocking the jar’s opening so seeds do not fall through it during the described tilt. The definition explains the general word, and the example connects that meaning with the topic. Neither establishes that the lid blocks every material or works under every condition. The final sentence specifically leaves water protection untested. Explain the meaning in a complete sentence and point to both clues, rather than replacing the word with an unrelated familiar object.

Notice what needs more practice

This is an invented reading example, not an instruction to shake containers or handle materials. A topic word can have different uses in other texts. The contextual definition here concerns blocking a path; it does not measure the strength or seal of the lid.

Use the next session to build independence

1. Find the word’s explicit definition.
2. Explain how the nearby example uses that meaning.
3. Separate what the described observation shows from what it leaves untested.

Read a fuller informational classroom text. Use definitions, examples, and other nearby clues to explain unfamiliar topic words. Check a suitable reference when the text leaves the meaning uncertain.

For more general reading and writing resources, visit the Grade 2 English Online Center.

Vermont Grade 2 English: useful planning questions

Does knowing one example tell me every possible use of a word?

No. Explain the word in its present context and check how another text uses it before assuming the meanings are identical.

Which standards does the school use?

The Vermont Agency of Education identifies the Common Core State Standards for K–12 English language arts. The linked CCSS edition lists separate grade reading requirements, including Grade 2. The agency also identifies Vermont Early Learning Standards for prekindergarten through Grade 3. Read the complete standards and the school’s curriculum sequence. This original example selects one reading focus; it does not fulfill the complete curriculum. The school’s sequence also includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language work beyond this example.