Vocabulary Detective: Sports Edition

Name:

Date:

📚 Part 1: Choose & Check (Context Clues)

WALT: We are learning to use context clues in sports sentences to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Success criteria: I can point to clues before or after a word, make a sensible meaning guess, and explain one clue I used.

1. Read: "The goalkeeper dived to the corner and made a spectacular save." What does spectacular most likely mean?

dangerous

slow

impressive

small

2. Read: "After the long run he felt exhausted and collapsed on the grass." What does exhausted mean?

very tired

excited

hungry

warm

3. Read: "The coach's harsh criticism made the team rethink their tactics." What does harsh most likely mean?

kind

strict or severe

quiet

friendly

4. Check all that help you guess the meaning of furious in: "The striker was furious after missing the final penalty."

missing the final penalty

smiled widely

clenched his fists

jumped for joy

✏️ Part 2: Detective Practice & Short Answers

Short sports paragraph (read slowly): The marathon runner pushed on despite the rain. Near the end he felt exhausted and his legs wobbled, but his determined pace kept him moving. At the finish the crowd cheered for the spectacular effort.

5. Matching: Draw a line or write the letter that matches each word to the best clue.

1. exhausted

2. furious

3. spectacular

4. determined

A. impressive to watch

B. very tired

C. refused to give up

D. very angry

6. Detective record — Word 1:

Write one word you might not know from the paragraph: ___________

Sentence before or clue you found:

My best guess for the meaning:

7. Detective record — Word 2:

Write another word: ___________

Sentence before or clue you found:

My best guess for the meaning:

8. Detective record — Word 3:

Write a third word: ___________

Sentence before or clue you found:

My best guess for the meaning:

9. Exit reflection: What should you do when you find a difficult word while reading? Why?

Differentiation: For students who need support, work with a partner or copy a simpler sentence from the display. For advanced learners, try breaking the word into parts (prefix/suffix) and explain nuance.

Extension: Create your own short sports sentence using one new word and include one clue before or after so another student can guess the meaning.